ABA, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Release First National Study On Attorney Substance Use, Mental Health Concerns

Of 11,278 attorney/participants 20.6% scored at a level consistent with problematic drinking. . . . Of 11,489 participants, 36.4% . . . score consistent with hazardous drinking or possible alcohol abuse or dependence. A significantly higher proportion of women (39.5%) . . . scored consistent with problematic use compared with men (33.7%) . . . A total of 2901 participants (22.6%) reported that they have felt their use of alcohol or other substances was problematic at some point in their lives; of those that felt their use has been a problem, 27.6% reported problematic use manifested before law school, 14.2% during law school, 43.7% within 15 years of completing law school, and 14.6% more than 15 years after completing law school.

The study also looks at drug abuse and mental health issues.

Click here for the study.

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Wholly Unsecured Junior Liens in Chapter 13: The Lien Strip Dance

Michael B. Joseph

March 10, 2024

“ . . . practice and procedure accomplishing the lien strip have been slow to evolve since 2017. . . . in the jurisdictions that opted out of usage of the Form 113 Plan, multiple iterations for lien stripping and release are found.”

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While Chapter 7 Filings Continue to Decline, Chapter 13 Filings are Trending Slightly Upward

Kevin R. Anderson

April 24, 2022

Recent headlines noted that March 2022 saw a 33.5% increase in bankruptcy filings over February. This could suggest the coming swell in bankruptcy cases anticipated since the start of the COVID pandemic. However, bankruptcy professionals recognize that consumer filings always spike in March (see chart). This phenomenon is usually attributed to the tendency to avoid filing in January and February...

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Think Beyond the Means Test

Cathy Moran

July 31, 2022

It started as a means test question: could emergency medical expenses be deemed non consumer debt. It ended up as a step back to get the bigger picture. Well seasoned bankruptcy counsel brought the fact pattern to a list serve of colleagues. The prospective debtors’ income in a small consulting corporation is declining, his health crisis raises not only income...

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Tips and Traps: Issuing A Subpoena for Bank Records

March 10, 2019

By Beverly M. Burden, Chapter 13 Trustee (Lexington, KY) I recently had to issue subpoenas to banks to get the records of a non-debtor (long story involving an attorney’s mishandling of escrowed funds held on behalf of a chapter 13 debtor). Here are some tips for others like me who do not often need to use subpoenas. These tips apply...

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Subchapter V Update

Paul W. Bonapfel

December 8, 2024

The Honorable Paul W. Bonapfel, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia, produces an extensive outline on Subchapter V. This is a FREE resource and is freshly updated!! Thank you Judge Bonapfel!

Sneak Attack on Consumer Rights

Cathy Moran

November 3, 2024

“These suits now regularly result in the plaintiff being in deep debt to the IRS with insufficient funds to pay even the tax. AKA: Tax Hell.”

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From the Editor – Dismissal

August 2, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Marijuana connection required case dismissal. The Chapter 13 debtors owned interests in an entity that was engaged in litigation to recover damages for breach of contract related to growing and selling marijuana, and this connection required dismissal of the case. Continuing administration of the case “would likely require the trustee or the court...

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Ms. Ps & Qs

Nancy B. Rapoport

May 15, 2022

Dear Readers: There are some basic truths. One is that when someone says, “hey, watch this!,” the result is likely to involve blood or stitches. Another is that, when an author describes something with the leadoff word, “interestingly,” it often isn’t. And a third is that one shouldn’t mislead bankruptcy judges. In two wonderfully written cases, bankruptcy judges made this...

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What Defines a Petition Preparer

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 26, 2024

A person or entity need not physically prepare a bankruptcy petition for a pro se debtor in order to be a bankruptcy petition preparer, but a debtor must have paid some compensation for the “services” provided.

Chapter 13 Debtor Employment in the Marijuana Industry

Michael Gieseke

August 18, 2024

Bankruptcy Courts are beginning to get a whiff of the fringes of the marijuana industry. Namely, is it automatically bad faith for “Bud” to propose a plan when his income is derived from a perfectly legal (as far as the state is concerned) business? Attorney Gieseke brings Academy readers an up to date look at what courts are saying.

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