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.

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.

On the heels of today’s article in the New York Times (“Online Scammers Prey on Jobless“), it seemed appropriate to see what various bankruptcy lawyer blogs have to say on the topic of scams in world of bankruptcy, debt, mortgages and foreclosure.

WISCONSIN

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

• Can I max out my credit cards before I file bankruptcy?

TEXAS

BLT (Bankruptcy Lawyer Topics) is a review 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.

Loan modification (also sometimes referred to as mortgage modification) is a very hot topic these days.  It’s helping a lot of homeowners avoid foreclosure.  Though it’s also fertile ground for scams.  And in in the big picture it may only be putting a dent in the problem.  As the New York Times pointed out yesterday (“Lucrative Fees May Deter Efforts to Alter Loans“), it’s a complicated situation.

If you’re facing foreclosure and considering loan modification, or if you’re just interested in the topic, here are some bankruptcy lawyer blog posts that may be helpful:

California

• Hale Antico, Esq. covers California: New Foreclosure Changes on his Los Angeles Bankruptcy Blog (Los Angeles, CA).

• Howard Nassiri (consisting of Vincent D. Howard and Damian J. Nassiri)  in Anaheim, CA gives good coverage to the loan modification in California with the following posts:

• Howard | Nassiri Supports California Bills That Would Forbid Lawyers and Others From Taking Advance Fees
• and
• Study Finds That Mortgage Lenders Won’t Grant Meaningful Loan Modifications Because They Lose Profit
• Mortgage Loan Modification Scams Continue Their Rise in California
• Federal Trade Commission and State Attorneys General Sue Companies for Loan Modification Fraud
• Lenders Face Lawsuits From Spanish-Speakers Illegally Provided English-Only Loan Documents
• State of California Sues Loan Modification Lawyer for Stealing From More than 2,000 Homeowners
• Mortgage Brokers Responsible for Subprime Loans Find New Work as Loan Modification Consultants
• ‘Paper Avalanche’ Delays and Denies Loan Modifications to Struggling Homeowners
• Lender Bureaucracy Continues to Slow Mortgage Loan Modifications Under Obama Housing Plan

New York

• David S. Hamilton of Dwyer & Associates (New York, NY) writes on the topics of:

• Mortgage Modification – Where to begin?
• Foreclosure or Short Sale in NYC?
• Suing your Lender when Mortgage Modification isn’t an option

(more…)

A reminder that we still are seeking STR.I.P. Financing so that we can continue to publish future strips of Bankruptcy Bill (and preferably with more frequency).  Please contact us to discuss sponsorship.  And thanks to everyone who has purchased some merchandise.

• “Natural Hierarchy”
  
  • Posters – now available for purchase at http://www.zazzle.com/bankruptcy_bill_natural_order_print-228238639883216582
  • Mugs – now available for purchase at http://www.zazzle.com/bankruptcy_bill_scavenger_mug-168259013438206520




• To receive updates for new postings: E-mail bill@bankruptcybill.us with the word “update” in the subject field, or get the RSS feed.

• Here are links to see more of Gideon Kendall’s creative artwork as well as his Sketch Journal and a recent profile of Gideon in the Kensington Brooklyn Blog.

Thanks!

-Bill & Struck

p.s.  Regarding copyright issues, our legal counsel, IP Aileen, says:  “Other bloggers/websites/publications:  You are more than welcome to post Strip #10 on your sites as long as you also include all of the text, links and images in this post, including this paragraph.  If you don’t, then we’ll find you and feed you to a hungry pack of creditors whose case has just been converted to Chapter 7.”