Attorneys Fees and The Law of Averages

By Cathy Moran, Certified Bankruptcy Specialist, Mountain View, CA

Lawyers become lawyers, in large part, because they can't or don't want to do math.

Judges are lawyers who got promoted.

Therein is the root of the problem with "no look" attorneys fee for consumer bankruptcy cases.

Judges don't understand mathematics. They expect the "law" of averages to result in fair compensation for debtor's lawyers, relieving judges of having to consider and approve an appropriate fee case by case.

Only the . . .

It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members.

Or Sign In Below:

No Author Biography has been linked to this Article.

The Gambling Debtor – What is a Chapter 13 Trustee to Do?

Stacey A. O’Stafy

January 28, 2024

Gambling was one of the earliest forms of entertainment, likely pre-dating recorded human history and before man invented minted currency. . . . gambling alone is not evidence of bad faith! Another article on this topic: If You’re Gonna Bet the Farm, Maybe Play Against the House

Members

Passing of Affable, Humanitarian Trustee

September 26, 2021

By Dynele Schinker-Kuharich, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Canton, OH) On Thursday, September 16, 2021, the bankruptcy community lost a good friend and esteemed colleague, Robert S. Thomas II. In an effort to pay tribute to Robert, who was loved and respected by so many, The NACTT Academy is privileged to share comments, thoughts, and tributes made by Robert’s bankruptcy colleagues....

Critical Case Comment

June 2, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee If a Chapter 13 debtor does not list a creditor on the creditor matrix when filing the petition and makes no effort to provide supplemental notice to the creditor, the provisions of Rule 3002 allow the extension of time for the creditor to file a...

Members

Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

December 13, 2020

By Professor Nancy Rapoport Dear Readers: The ConsiderChapter13.org staff has, once again, raised an important ethics issue: how far does the attorney-client privilege go? In Taylor Lohmeyer Law Firm v. United States,1 the Fifth Circuit had to wrestle with that issue after the law firm (Taylor Lohmeyer) claimed a blanket attorney-client privilege for all documents that were subject to the...

IRS Extends April 15, Other Upcoming Deadlines for Alabama Storm Victims, Provides Other Tax Relief

March 10, 2019

Victims of March 3rd tornadoes and severe storms in Alabama have until July 31, 2019, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments. The IRS is offering this relief to any Major Disaster Declaration area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as qualifying for individual assistance. Currently, this only includes Lee County, Alabama,...

From the Editor

September 20, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 13 debtor lacked “person aggrieved” standing to appeal objection to trustee’s final report. The bankruptcy court had overruled the debtor’s objection to the trustee’s final report, and debtor’s appeal was dismissed, with the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel finding that debtor lacked “person aggrieved” standing to appeal. Debtor’s objection had not included amount of...

Members

Rebecca Rogers Garcia

February 10, 2019

Rebecca Rogers Garcia was a staff attorney for Mary B. Grossman, the Chapter 13 Trustee in Milwaukee from 2002 until November 2014. Prior to her employment with the Chapter 13 Trustee; she represented debtors in consumer cases. Ms. Garcia is on the board of the Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Creditors Rights Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin and a member...

341s: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Brandi Manuel Jolley

November 19, 2023

“The chief obstacle we have had since starting Zoom revolves around the lack of high-speed internet in our division.”

Critical Case Comment – Five Theories of Post-Confirmation Property Treatment

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 26, 2023

In examining the effect of vesting of property of the estate at confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan, bankruptcy court examines the impact of five different theories on how post-confirmation property is to be treated, settling on the “Estate Replenishment Theory,” but does not decide if the debtors can receive the proceeds. (Fenimore) In re Marsh, 2023 WL 215263 (Bankr....

Members

Unscheduled Creditor May Not File a Late Proof of Claim

July 14, 2019

By Beverly M. Burden, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee (Lexington, KY) An unscheduled creditor without notice of the bankruptcy case was denied an extension of time to file a proof of claim pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 3002(c)(6)(A) in a recent opinion from the Eastern District of Kentucky. In the case of In re Fryman,1 the debtor did not include creditor Kentucky...

Members