Dealing with the Difficult Client, Difficult Opposing Counsel, or Difficult Pro Se Party – Part II of II

By Margaret Dee McGarity, Bankruptcy Judge, Eastern District of Wisconsin

Strategies for Effective Communication

Seek first to understand before trying to be understood. Analyze the situation. What is really going on? Try to put yourself in the other’s shoes. Once you are in dialog, ask probing questions and carefully listen to fully understand. Active listening skills will help here. This stage involves sorting out emotions from the facts.

Adjust your communication style. This strategy involves understanding your communication style and that of the other person and . . .

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From the Editor – Claims

October 20, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Objection sustained to one-year late proof of claim. The mortgage creditor did not object to confirmation nor file a proof of claim until one year after the bar date in the Chapter 13 case. The trustee objected to the claim, which asserted a higher arrearage than provided for in the confirmed plan. Section...

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Critical Case Comment – Don’t File a Individual Chapter 13 If the Assets Are Owned by an LLC; It Will Cost You – BIG

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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Where a debtor and debtor’s counsel initiated a Chapter 13 petition in an effort to halt a foreclosure against property held by the debtor’s LLC, and where the debtor took no steps to correct the filing, sanctions would be imposed against debtor’s counsel. (Grabill) In re Scaccia, 2022 WL 1216284 (Bankr. E.D. La. April 25, 2022) Case Summary Scaccia owned...

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Small Business Chapter 11 Update, Where Are We Eight Months In?

November 22, 2020

By M. Jonathan Hayes We are now eight months into the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, which took effect in February. The act attempted to establish a cheaper, quicker route for small businesses to reorganize under new Subchapter V of the bankruptcy code. Here are a few of my observations over the past several months. First, some small businesses...

Foreclosed and Final – Did the BAP Get It Right?

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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Waiting too long can be fatal; a Chapter 13 debtor who waits until just before the expiration of the redemption date on a judicial foreclosure loses the ability to redeem the property.

Members

A Lasting Impact: My Participation in the Tom Vaughn Memorial Internship Program

Queneshia Fleming

October 29, 2023

I am delighted to be in the inaugural class of the Tom Vaughn Memorial Internship Program for Sylvia Ford Brown, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Western District of Tennessee in Memphis. I truly feel that this internship has been invaluable to the furtherance of my career and the expansion of my knowledge of bankruptcy. I. A Little About Me...

Use Your Authentic Voice to Humanize Yourself and the Law

Cathy Moran

April 20, 2025

“Most of our clients know little about the law and have never hired a lawyer. The law is a scary unknown. Worse yet, their knowledge of the law often comes from online pro pers or AI that not only lacks the human touch but is subject to being horribly wrong.”

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Meet a Newish Trustee

The Academy

June 18, 2023

By Regina Logsdon, Academy Executive Director Erin M. McCartney was appointed as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Nebraska beginning on January 1, 2022. Erin stepped into metaphorically very large and capable shoes as she replaced retiring Kathleen Laughlin. Erin grew up in Illinois, graduating college from Bradley University in Peoria (Go Braves!). Law school required a...

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New Trustee Named

The Academy

September 10, 2023

Andrew B. Finberg has been appointed as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of New Jersey. Finberg is picking up the mantle left by happily retiring Isabel Balboa.

Meet a New Trustee

The Academy

October 22, 2023

Angela M. Scolforo was appointed as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Western District of Virginia on April Fool’s Day. She replaced Herbert L. Beskin who served as the Trustee for 20 years, retiring in March of this year. Angela received a B.A. in English from College of the Holy Cross in Worchester, Massachusetts, in1987. She did not immediately go...

From the Editor – Attorney Sanctioned

June 14, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Attorney sanctioned for filing identical schedules in two cases without updating financial information. The same attorney represented a debtor in two cases filed sixteen months apart, but the attorney filed essentially identical schedules in both cases, violating Rule 9011 by failing to make reasonable inquiry before filing the second case. The schedules in...

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Dealing with the Difficult Client, Difficult Opposing Counsel, or Difficult Pro Se Party – Part II of II

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Related Articles

From the Editor – Claims

Critical Case Comment – Don’t File a Individual Chapter 13 If the Assets Are Owned by an LLC; It Will Cost You – BIG

Small Business Chapter 11 Update, Where Are We Eight Months In?

Foreclosed and Final – Did the BAP Get It Right?

A Lasting Impact: My Participation in the Tom Vaughn Memorial Internship Program

Use Your Authentic Voice to Humanize Yourself and the Law

Meet a Newish Trustee

New Trustee Named

Meet a New Trustee

From the Editor – Attorney Sanctioned

Academy

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