It Takes a Village

By Katherine B. Brewer, Esq. (Westerville, OH)

One of the first things we focus on in law school (other than the Rule Against Perpetuities, which always brings back fond memories), is that our clients come first.

We learn the complexities of the law, memorize rule statements, and read thousands of pages of case law in order to learn how best to serve our clients. We take hours of professional responsibility classes on how to deal with clients, potential clients, court systems and how to generally be a good lawyer. We all know that studying to be a lawyer . . .

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4 Reasons to Keep Time Records No One Discusses

Cathy Moran

July 17, 2022

Mention keeping time records to a bankruptcy lawyer and you’re likely met with expressions of utter revulsion. All too many assert that the major appeal of being a bankruptcy lawyer is precisely that they don’t have to keep time. Between flat fee deals with clients, and no look fees in Chapter 13, they feel liberated from the clock and the...

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Critical Case Comment–Tardy Filed Stay Extension: Too Bad Too Sad

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

January 7, 2024

Court lacks authority to extend stay in a case with a one-time repeat filer within a year of the previous case especially where the matter is tardily raised.

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The “Snapshot” Rule – Part 2: When is the Rule Not Determinative?

April 4, 2021

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction We saw in Part 1 that the circuits are falling in line to follow the "snapshot" rule, fixing the debtor's exemption rights as of the date of the petition and finding support in both the Code and recent Supreme Court jurisprudence. As the First Circuit put it . ....

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From the Editor – Confirmation

March 8, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Plan did not properly address 910 creditor’s liens. Finding that the plan did not satisfy one of the three options for addressing a secured claim under § 1325(a)(5), specifically failing to provide for the 910 creditor’s retention of lien, the Panel observed that in response to the creditor’s objection to confirmation, the debtors...

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Critical Case Comment – Post-Petition 401(k) Contributions ARE Disposable Income

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

July 23, 2023

Post-petition voluntary contributions to a 401(k) are not reasonably necessary expenses and are thus included in disposable income in calculating a debtor’s Chapter 13 plan. (Freeman) In re Saldana, 2023 WL 3483241 (N.D. Cal. May 15, 2023) Case Summary In April of 2022, Jorden Marie Saldana filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 13. Ms. Saldana was single with no dependents...

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Critical Case Comment – You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

December 10, 2023

An over-median Chapter 13 debtor, in calculating projected disposable income, may deduct the higher of the projected plan payment for secured debts or the IRS allowance, but the debtor may not deduct the higher payment under the original contract.

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Appendix – A Review of Residential Mortgage “Stripping,” Recent Developments and the Effect of 11 U.S.C. § 1111(b)

July 18, 2021

A Brief Summary of "Strip Down" and "Strip Off" Rules Lawrence R. Ahern, III Brown & Ahern Nashville, Tennessee Most Academy readers do not need an in-depth primer on lien-stripping, but this Appendix is designed to provide a high-level summary of the most important rules involved, as interpreted by the courts since enactment of the Bankruptcy Code and as affected...

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6 Steps to Ethical Unbundling of Bankruptcy Representation

March 21, 2021

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) No matter how many hoops the client dutifully jumped through, without adequate inquiry and communication, the bankruptcy attorney was slammed for unbundling his services. The representation agreement at issue excluded representation in any adversary proceeding filed, as do most such agreements, I imagine. The client initialed every paragraph of the 19-paged representation agreement,...

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Demystifying Bankruptcy Appeals

M. Jonathan Hayes

September 11, 2022

Consumer bankruptcy attorneys in my experience tend to see appeals as a massively expensive undertaking fraught with unfamiliar rules and the threat of sanctions at every turn. That is not the reality. The purpose of this short article is to allay those fears. It’s a fun and satisfying process; dive in says I. Final order You can only appeal a...

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FDIC and OCC Proposals Threaten Expansion of Predatory Lending

January 19, 2020

Two new proposals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) could make it easier for payday and other high-cost lenders to use banks as a fig leaf, allowing online lenders to offer predatory loans at interest rates that are prohibited under state law. Online lenders have become increasingly bold in...