Bankruptcy Mastery

The content and the company at NACBA's fall workshops has me flying. I've come off two days  in Colorado Springs, making presentations on the means test and on applications for compensation and hosting the Business of Bankruptcy track with New York bankruptcy lawyer Jay Fleischman . The energy and curiosity of the newer bankruptcy lawyers was particularly energizing.  They  came with difficult … [Continue reading...]

We have an incantation that, uttered when you file the bankruptcy schedules, protects us from certain harm.  Or at least awkward admissions. Remember? Try saying :   Disputed!  Unliquidated! This spell allows you to disclose, notice, and discharge creditor claims without admitting that the debtor is liable or without determining the amount of the claim.  (Can you tell I just got around to … [Continue reading...]

If you are lonely as the Maytag repairman in this lull in bankruptcy filings, add to your practice enhancing projects  some office organization  tasks. The two that head my list are write a staff training manual and improve my work product retrieval system.  Let's work on the  retrieve and recycle  issue first. Central to good client service and making money in your bankruptcy practice it is … [Continue reading...]

Lawyers consistently ask me why I became a bankruptcy lawyer.  If you're thinking of diving into the field and don't know if it's your cup of tea then perhaps these insights will help you. I treasure making an immediate and tangible difference in people's lives, right here and right now. So many worries in life are beyond my scope or simply have no quick fix. I can't fix ill health, old age, … [Continue reading...]

Doesn't every elder's story about the past begin, "When I was your age..."? It's not the age of your body but the age of your bankruptcy practice and the state of the practice in general that interests me today.  I literally fell into bankruptcy law;  the lawyer in the office next to mine not only offered me a bankruptcy case (when I had few cases ) but offered to teach me how to handle it. That … [Continue reading...]

Over at MoneyHealthCentral, where Jay and I write for consumers about money , I did a piece this morning on how Labor Day marks a transition in my mind about the year.  It provokes resolutions about how life shall be going forward. The transition is largely in my head these days.  My boys no longer live at home, I don't have "first day of school" responsibilities any more, and September in the … [Continue reading...]

The drafters of the 1978 Bankruptcy Code knew something about the lives of real people and some of the generally accepted people practices.  They included two priceless provisions that allow debtors to protect co obligors with the debtor through the Chapter 13  plan. Co debtor Stay How often have our clients drawn on family or friends to co sign a loan?  If filing bankruptcy results in … [Continue reading...]