The initial meeting with a prospective bankruptcy client is the most important work I do as a bankruptcy lawyer. It’s also the hardest.

The Academy has just dropped two new podcast episodes – Do Not Engage Parts 1 & 2. Host Jody Bledsoe interviews Trustee Ed Maney and Attorney Ross Mumme regarding the Cestui Que Vie of Arizona. Entertaining for everyone but particularly educational for trustees who may run into this particularly difficult type of debtor. Wherever you listen to podcast, search “Fixing Broke: Consumer Bankruptcy Diary.” While there, leave a positive review!!

What are the consequences of a secured lender’s failure to comply with R. 3002.1 in a prior case when the debtor files again? Significant, it seems. . . . since their attorney said he “didn’t see the need” to do so. [Can you guess, now, how this comes out?]

Jen Lee is spot-on highlighting poor client communication as the source of both individual client anguish and with discontent with the legal profession as a whole. Failure to return calls is the most frequent complaint to the state bar where I practice. See also: -Stop the Chaos and Fix Client Communication with Smart Tech -Spitballing Chapter 13’s Image Makeover -Ditch the Bankruptcy Jargon—Marketing Chapter 13 as the Ultimate Solution (Note that there are a few comments on this article.) Thoughts on a Chapter 13 image makeover? Let us hear from you.

Courts reserve refiling bars for egregious conduct. Here Attorney Estes looks at two particularly extreme cases.