Note:  If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar.  Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.

(Click image to see earlier sketch version of cartoon.)

*Correction:  The cartoon previously referred incorrectly to a “Chapter 7 repayment plan.”  Apologies for the confusion.

Below are some helpful posts from bankruptcy lawyer blogs on the topics of unemployment, median income and the means test.  Go to the BK Lawyer Blogs page on this site to see a full state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyer blogs.  (And get in touch if you have a blog and don’t see it listed.)

*Also, for anyone trying to figure out their median income, Best Case has a free on-line median income calculator for any state.

Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)

• The Means Test and the Unemployment Trap

Craig D. Robins, Esq. – Long Island Bankruptcy Blog (Woodbury, NY)

• The Means Test is Often the Key to a Successful Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case
• Long Island Economy: Jobs Down; Unemployment Up; Bankruptcy Up

Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)

• The “Means Test” and the Median Income for Nevada

Jonathan Ginsberg, Esq. – theBKLaw (Atlanta, GA)

• Chapter 7 and Middle Class Debtors
• How are Year End Bonuses Treated in a Median Income Test Calculation?

Reed Allmand, Esq. (Allmand & Lee) – Reed’s Bankruptcy Attorney Blog (Dallas and Ft. Worth, TX)

• Facing a Job Loss? Don’t Panic!
• Do You Have the Means to File Chapter 7?

*Click here for previous BAPCPA Man cartoons, or here for all cartoons on the site relating to consumer bankruptcy.

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal.  Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.

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Bankruptcy Billables is an overview of bankruptcy-relevant coverage and discussion from various law-related blogs.

Law Shucks

• links for 2009-08-22 – Mentions Bankruptcy Bill #19 – Law firm raids)
• This Week in Layoffs – 8/21/09
• Reading List for Deal Lawyers – Includes excellent summary of Eat What You Kill by Milt Regan.  (Eat What You Kill is also one of the books in Bankruptcy Bill’s Summer Reading List.)

Point of Law

• Will Number 25 Be The Charm? – S. Todd Brown reviews and analyzes the latest developments in the seemingly endless Congoleum asbestos bankruptcy case.

WSJ Bankruptcy Beat

• Can You Pay My Bills?
• Coyotes Hometown Seeks to Block Gretzky Claim
• Recession Scares Morbid Industries Into Liquidation
• Forget Speidi; Meet Markus and Indrani
• Where’s Schwarzenegger When You Need Him?
• Lucky Dog: Dykstra Values Pooch at $10,000

Creditslips.org

Going Concern

• Preliminary Analytics | 08.26.09 – Madoff & JP Morgan; Colonial Bank-ruptcy; U.S. Postal Service job cuts

Above The Law

• All the News That’s Fit to Recycle (NYT reports: ‘Legal job market is hard!’)
• How to Avoid Getting Fired (very funny video)
• Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 6-10 (2010)
• The Mainstream Media Is Aware That Law Firms Exist, Right? – Commentary on the lack of media attention for the role that law firms played in enabling the global financial crisis.

BLT (Bankruptcy Lawyer Topics) is a periodic review and comparison of  consumer bankruptcy topics being covered on bankruptcy lawyer blogs.

• Click on BK Lawyer Blogs for a state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyers with their own blogs.
• Have a blog post you think should be included? Or a suggestion for a future BLT theme?  Send an e-mail to bill [at] bankruptcybill [dot] us.
• Suggestion to bankruptcy lawyers with blogs: Make sure to include a “Search” function somewhere on your blog.  It makes it easier to find topical posts on your blog and increases the likelihood that a post from your blog will be included in BLT.
  

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TRUSTEE

ARKANSAS

Bankruptcy Savant – Arkansas Bankruptcy News and Info

• New Chapter 13 Trustees

CALIFORNIA

Hale Antico, Esq. – Los Angeles Bankruptcy Blog (Los Angeles, CA)

• Bankruptcy trustee with odd asset
• US Trustee’s Office median income – latest table
• US Trustee: Watchdog or Attack Dog?

Sagaria Law, PC – California Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog (San Jose, Freemon, Monterrey, Redwood City, Salinas, Sacramento, CA)

• Redwood City Bankruptcy Attorney Talks About the Different Trustees

COLORADO

James J. Pacifico, Esq. – Denver Colorado Bankruptcy Blog (Denver, CO)

• The United States Trustees’ 707(b) Declination

FLORIDA

Jordan E. Bublick, Esq. – South Florida Bankruptcy Law Blog (Miami, FL)

• Another Court Holds that Trustee Does Not Have the Ability to Administer Exempt Property for DSO Creditors
• Trustee Does Not Have the Ability to Administer Exempt Property for DSO Creditors

GEORGIA

Jonathan Ginsberg, Esq. – theBKLaw (Atlanta, GA)

• Will the Trustee Seize 100% of a Tax Refund if Only One Spouse Files Bankruptcy?
• Why Tax Refunds Payable to the Chapter 13 Trustee Will Do Little to Decrease Your Plan Balance
• Most Common Trustee Objections in Chapter 13 Cases – objection 1 – no payroll deduction
• You are Responsible for Your Chapter 13 Trustee Payments
• Trustees May Seize Exempt Property to Pay Domestic Support Obligation Debts
• New “debtor questionaire” form being used by trustees in Chapter 13 341 hearings

**  More posts about trustees after the jump ** (more…)

Note:  If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar.  Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.

No new Bankruptcy Bill or BAPCPA Man cartoons this week, but we’ll be back with more next week.  Meanwhile, given new predictions of back-to-back recessions by Nouriel Roubini of the Financial Times (”The risk of a double-dip recession is rising“), it seems appropriate to reach back to the beginning of Bankruptcy Bill for a re-run of the bankruptcy wave cartoon:

*If you like what you see and want to support us, you can do it via sponsorship/advertising/syndication/other as well as by simply making a donation in any amount via PayPal.

*Click here to see all of the Bankruptcy Bill cartoons and here to see cartoons related to “law firms.”

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal.  Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.

p.s.  Regarding copyright issues, our legal counsel, IP Aileen, says:  “Other bloggers/websites/publications:  You are more than welcome to post “Bankruptcy Wave” on your sites as long as you also include all of the text, links and images in this post, including this paragraph.  If you fail to respect our wishes, we’ll fix the economy so as to remove the need for any bankruptcy services (if you’re a lawyer) or any more coverage of the recession (if you’re a journalist/blogger).”

Note:  If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar.  Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.

*Update: In bankruptcy news today,  Michael Foreman has joined Haynes & Boones‘ New York office.  He was previously at Dorsey & Whitney.

*If you like what you see and want to support us, you can do it via sponsorship/advertising/syndication/other as well as by simply making a donation in any amount via PayPal.

*Click here to see all of the Bankruptcy Bill cartoons and here to see cartoons related to “law firms.”

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal.  Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.

p.s.  Regarding copyright issues, our legal counsel, IP Aileen, says:  “Other bloggers/websites/publications:  You are more than welcome to post Strip #19 – Law Firm Raids on your sites as long as you also include all of the text, links and images in this post, including this paragraph.  If you fail to respect our wishes, we’ll send you back to Kirkland’s restructuring group (Chicago office).”

Bankruptcy Billables is an overview of bankruptcy-relevant coverage and discussion from various law-related blogs.

Point of Law

• Cramdown still lurking
• Systemic Indifference (S. Todd Brown comments on reckless and indifferent collection practices of mortgage companies cited in a Huffington Post piece by Karen Weise.  Ties commentary into accuracy of claims process in bankruptcy cases, particularly asbestos cases.)

WSJ Bankruptcy Beat

• Lawyer aims to bring “Fiegenomics” to Washington (Bankruptcy lawyer Tom Fiegen to challenge Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley for his seat.)

Creditslips.org

• Thanks to Max
• Private Tax Collection
• The Lack of Evidentiary Foundations Fosters Fraud
• Show Me the Original Note and I Will Show You the Money
• The Alphabet Problem and the Pooling and Servicing Agreements
• Does a Tarnished Credit Report Equal an Untrustworthy Employee?
• How Much Credit Card Debt Do Bankrupt Consumers Have?
• What Does RESPA Have to do with Consumer Bankruptcy Cases?
• Countrywide Sanctioned by Ohio Court Citing Porter & Twomey
• HAMP–Is It Really All About the Money?
• The Consumer Financial Protection Agency
• Truth in Lending or Truth in Ownership of Residential Mortgage Notes
• The Problem with Houston
• Greetings to Max Gardner
• Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) iPhone App

Going Concern

• Huron Consulting Beats the Numbers, Cooked Books and a Bunch of Other Shadiness Notwithstanding
• Bank Failures by the Numbers
• Hammer Wants Everyone to Know That the IRS Can’t Touch This

Above The Law

• $40 Million Benchslap for Weil Gotshal (relates to IP and litigation, but anything about Weil Gotshal is bankruptcy relevant from Bankruptcy Bill’s perspective)
• How Well-Endowed Is Bernie Madoff?
• Official New Vault Rankings (Weil Gotshal moves up to #6)
• Morning Docket 08.18.09 (Why has there been no litigation surge in the recession?)
• Non-Sequiturs: 08.17.09 (Link to another legal cartoon site:  Courtoons–Daily Legal Cartoons.  By David Mills)
• Bad News for the Brothers Madoff?
• Morning Docket 08.17.09 (Programmers figure out a way to hack PACER to be able to access public court docs without having to pay for them.)

NYLawyer.com (free registration required)

• Laughing All the Way to the Bankruptcy: NY Firm Passes $100 Million in Fees in Lehman Disaster
• Zombie Firm Loses Bid to Set Aside NY Default Judgment

Law Shucks

• Layoffs in the Vault 25
• This Week in Layoffs – 8/14/09

Did we miss a good recent bankruptcy-related post on another blog?  E-mail bill [at] bankruptcybill [dot] us to let us know.

341 Meeting of Creditors

Here are some blog posts by real bankruptcy lawyers on the topic of the 341 Meeting of Creditors:

Bruce Weiner, Esq. (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)

• What will happen at my 341 meeting of creditors in New York? by

Craig D. Robins, Esq. – Long Island Bankruptcy Blog (Woodbury, NY)

• How Much Should You Say at the Meeting of Creditors in Bankruptcy Court?
• Will Creditors Show Up for My Hearing in Bankruptcy Court?

Law Office of Gregory A. Holbus, Esq. – Wisconsin Bankruptcy Blog (Green Bay, WI)

• What happens if I file?  Do I have to go to Court?

George Haines, Esq. of Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)

• What happens during a Chapter 13 bankruptcy?

*BAPCPA Man would like to offer a special thanks to Eugene S. Melchionne – Connecticut Bankruptcy (Waterbury, CT) for his recent donation to the site.  Eugene, by the way, is currently serving as President of the Bankruptcy Law Network.

*Click here for  Bankruptcy Bill’s state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyers with blogs.

*Click here for previous BAPCPA Man cartoons, or here for all cartoons on the site relating to consumer bankruptcy.

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal.  Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.

BLT (Bankruptcy Lawyer Topics) is a periodic review and comparison of  consumer bankruptcy topics being covered on bankruptcy lawyer blogs.

• Click on BK Lawyer Blogs for a state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyers with their own blogs.
• Have a blog post you think should be included?  Send an e-mail to bill [at] bankruptcybill [dot] us.

This week’s theme is “discharge,” inspired by an interesting post shared by The Law Office of Elliot S. Schlissel titled “Can A Creditor Pursue a Debtor’s Co-Signor After Discharge?“  (Click here to see the whole post with state-by-state listing of bankruptcy lawyer blog posts on the topic of discharge.)

NEVADA

Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)

• Your Bankruptcy Case Is Over … Now What?

NEW YORK

Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. – The Elliot Schlissel New York Law Blog (Lynbrook, NY)

• Can A Creditor Pursue a Debtor’s Co-Signor After Discharge?

Craig D. Robins, Esq. – Long Island Bankruptcy Blog (Woodbury, NY)

• Three Main Reasons Why Creditors Will Not Object to Your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Discharge, Even If They Have Grounds To Do So

David S. Hamilton (Dwyer & Associates) (New York, NY)

• Supreme Court to determine if student loan debt is dischargable in Bankruptcy

OKLAHOMA

Law Office of Daniel C. Nunley, Esq.- Oklahoma Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog (Broken Arrow, OK)

• If I Reaffirm A Debt And Then Change My Mind, Can The Reaffirmation Agreement Be Cancelled?

***More blog entries from different states after the jump.*** (more…)

(Click image to see earlier sketch version on Gideon Kendall’s blog.)

BAPCPA Background

For more background on the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (aka BAPCPA), read Professor Elizabeth Warren’s testimony to Congress (Feb. 10, 2005) and testimony by Professor Todd Zywicki (Feb. 10, 2005).  Also a range of helpful coverage and commentary on the debate, impact and effects of BAPCPA on Creditslips.org along with some of the continued debate between the perspectives of Professor Warren and Professor Zywicki here, here and here.

Bankruptcy Lawyer Blogs on BAPCPA

From the bankruptcy lawyer blog circuit, helpful posts on court interpretations of BAPCPA so far by Jordan E. Bublick, Esq. at South Florida Bankruptcy Law Blog, including a summary of the two schools of thought on BAPCPA by bankruptcy courts.   A post by Craig Robins, Esq. on LongIslandBankruptcyBlog about the evolving criticisms of the new bankruptcy law as of 2006.  Additional commentary on bankruptcy as a social safety net by Bruce Weiner, Esq. of Rosenberg, Musso & Weiner (Brooklyn, NY) on NYBankruptcyNet.  And a reflective look back at the passage of BAPCPA by Dave Krieger, Esq. of Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV).

*Click here for  Bankruptcy Bill’s state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyers with blogs.

*Click here for previous BAPCPA Man cartoons, or here for all cartoons on the site relating to consumer bankruptcy.

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal.  Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.

BAPCPA Man #3 – Enter Subprimulus resulted in increased media exposure, as indicated below.  BAPCPA Man’s secret identity, meanwhile, remains a mystery….

1.  Above The Law – Non-Sequiturs 08.11.09

“For the bankruptcy law groupies among you: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… BAPCPA Man! [BankruptcyBill.us]“

2.  Bankruptcy Newz Digest

BAPCPA Man #3 – Enter Subprimulus was the #2 article* listed in Bankruptcy Newz Digest for Tuesday, August 11, 2009 – http://pinhawk.com/r/oCl(ObZ)bmlA(*o6tVbXk6o1oVo

*It bears mentioning that the #1 article (”Three more banks fail, bringing total to 72, The Deal, August 10, 2009″) is, in fact, dated August 10, meaning that BAPCPA Man should have been the #1 article and making this a fairly clear violation of the absolute priority rule.  (Well, our version of it anyway.)  Further research on the issue is warranted and may result in a “preference” action.

Interested in Advertising/Sponsorship/Syndication?  It’s less costly than pre-bankruptcy credit counseling and easier than a Chapter 7 no-asset case.  Contact bill [at] bankruptcybill [dot] us for more info.

Bankruptcy Billables is an overview of bankruptcy-relevant coverage and discussion from various law blogs.

Above The Law

• Non-Sequiturs 08.11.09 – ” For the bankruptcy law groupies among you: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… BAPCPA Man!”
• Morning Docket 08.11.09 – On potential shenanigans in the Heller Ehrman bankruptcy case.
• Morning Docket 08.10.09 – ABA Journal article on practice areas that are still booming, including debt collection.

NYLawyer.com (free registration required)

• Ouch! BigLaw Firm Settles Malpractice Claim for $20 Million
• NY Partner, Firm Cash In for $15 Million in Madoff Scandal
• NY Partners Switching Firms, NY Associates Making Partner – Kathryn Coleman and Eric Fromme to Hughes Hubbard Reed from Gibson Dunn
• BigLaw Associates On the Move – Associate Gloria Huang goes to Herrick Feinstein from Shearman & Sterling

Law Shucks

• Weil Finally Getting Paid – A summary of Weil Gotshal’s billing in the Lehman bankruptcy case
• Quick Shucks – 8/5/09 – Mentions a big firm bankruptcy associate in Philadelphia who also runs his own restaurant
• Handicapping the Next Layoff
• This Week in Layoffs – 8/7/09

Point of Law

• Chrysler and Sales Free and Clear

Creditslips.org

• The Consumer Financial Protection Agency
• Truth in Lending or Truth in Ownership of Residential Mortgage Notes
• The Problem with Houston
• Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) iPhone App
• How to Count Medical Debt in Bankruptcy
• Bankruptcy Filings Rise in July, Set Off Most of June’s Decline
• Congressional Hearing on Medical Bankruptcies (July 28, 2009)
• 2d Circuit Chysler Opinion
• Exporting Chapter 11
• A Note on Senior Debt
• Fed Conference on Consumer Credit
• Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more
• After Notice and a Hearing — One Out of Two Ain’t Bad?

Going Concern

• Preliminary Analytics | 08.11.09 - CIT’s latest problem
• Review Comments | 08.10.09 – Recession forecast and the latest on the Huron Consulting accounting scandal
• Preliminary Analytics | 08.10.09 – Update on when Madoff victims can expect full payout
• Michael Jackson’s Doctor is a Deadbeat – And a candidate for bankruptcy?
• Colonial Bank Shouldn’t Make Any Late Summer Plans – Accounting irregularities and possible receivership for the mortgage lender
• The FDIC May Have to Seize Itself – Can the FDIC go under?
• More Madoff Justice Expected Today

Did we miss a good recent bankruptcy-related post on another blog?  E-mail bill [at] bankruptcybill [dot] us to let us know.

Mandatory Credit Counseling

• Here’s Bankruptcy Bill’s take on the mandatory credit counseling requirement.
• For a more detailed explanation of  “mandatory credit counseling“ take a look at the Federal Trade Commission’s page.
• For a good perspective on mandatory credit counseling there’s also a Washington Post article from 2005 titled “Mandatory Counseling, A Good Idea (In Theory).”
• For an explanation that helps clarify some of the confusion, try reading “The Many Meanings of ‘Credit Counseling‘” by bankruptcy law firm Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV).
• And for commentary on the actual value of mandatory pre-bankruptcy credit counseling read a 2006 post, “Credit Counseling Requirement of Bankruptcy Code Generally Viewed as a Waste of Time”, on theBKBlog by Jonathan Ginsberg, Esq. (Atlanta, GA).

Subprime Mortgages

• Here’s the Investopedia entry on subprime mortgages.
• Craig Robins, Esq. has an easy-to-follow explanation of subprime mortgages and the subprime mortgage crisis on his LongIslandBankruptcyBlog (“The Sub-Prime Mortgage Meltdown“).
• And here’s a post on shape-shifting subprime lenders and loan modification companies titled “Subprime Loan Modification Companies“ from NYBankruptcyNet by Bruce Weiner, Esq. of Rosenberg Musso & Weiner (Brooklyn, NY).

*Click here for a state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyers with blogs.

*Click here for previous BAPCPA Man cartoons or here for all cartoons on the site relating to consumer bankruptcy.

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal.  Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by Bankruptcy Bill’s very own Gideon Kendall.

One more book to add to Bankruptcy Bill’s Summer Reading List (though it’s fine to read this in the fall or winter as well).

Liquidated:  An Ethnography of Wall Street by Karen Ho

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For this book, Karen Ho, a professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota, actually spent three years working for a Wall Street bank as part of her on-site research, and the investment bankers are referred to as “natives” (in the anthropological parlance).  One of the interesting notions she presents is that the process of using corporate layoffs to improve the share price and bottom line is more correctly viewed as Wall Street exporting its own internal culture–one of insecurity and adaptability–to the rest of corporate America.

Read the Time Magazine interview with Karen Ho here (”An Anthropologist on What’s Wrong with Wall Street“).  The Duke University Press summary here (where you can also purchase the book).  And the American Anthropological Association post about her here.  Below is an interview with Ho from the University of Minnesota’s YouTube channel:

Ladies and gentlemen, debtors and creditors, we are pleased to share the debut single by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts….

“Bankruptcy Lover“

http://bankruptcybill.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/bankruptcylovermp3.mp3

(Click either the link above or the image below to listen.)

Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts groupies can get their…

• Posters here: http://www.zazzle.com/poster_bankruptcy_bill_the_fresh_starts-228608539647711199
• Mugs here: http://www.zazzle.com/mug_bankruptcy_bill_the_fresh_starts-168135713990751518
• Hats here: http://www.zazzle.com/hat_bankruptcy_bill_the_fresh_starts-148439025032658748
  

Click here for the lyrics and explanatory notes as well as a note on copyright and use restrictions. (more…)

We understand completely:  You want something to read at the beach, but darnit, there’s just not enough good bankruptcy literature out there.  (Well, with the exception of bankruptcy haiku.  But those are just so…y’know…short.)  We hear your cries, and that is why we offer….

Bankruptcy Bill’s Summer Reading List

(If you have other good books to add to the list, please feel free to post them in the comments section or e-mail the title to bill [at] bankruptcybill [dot] us.)

Update 8.10.09: Late addition to the list in a new post today: Liquidated – An Ethnography of Wall Street by Karen Ho.

1. Comic Wars:  How Two Tycoons Battled Over the Marvel Comic Empire — And Both Lost by Dan Raviv – Ron Perlman vs. Carl Icahn vs. Ike Perlmutter vs. Avi Arad for control of Marvel Comics via the bankruptcy process, with cameo by Stan Lee.  (Note: This is Bill and Struck’s favorite, for obvious reasons.)

(more…)