***************

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

Holding a J.D. and an International Affairs M.A. from Marquette University, Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) is an attorney licensed in Wisconsin and New York.  Fearing the legal profession’s future, he has begun documenting the law school tuition bubble at his own blog, The Law School Tuition Bubble, where you can read his latest post, “The Link Kontroversy—Law Schools’ Evening Programs Imperiled, ‘Gainful Employment’ Rules Stalled, & Boy Have I Got a Job for You!”

Credit Slips

• The Notary Fraud Condonation Act of 2010
• Lehman in Jakarta — Venue, Choice of Law, and International Bankruptcy
• Bankruptcy Filings Follow Their Usual Summer Sideways Move
• Lehman in Jakarta
• Ransom Argument–Not Very Edifying
• Wondering How Lenders Are Making Up for Missing Credit Card Fees? Check Your Home Escrow.
• Foreclosure Relief Could Help Economy and End Chaos Faced By Borrowers
• NCBJ Endowment Is Solicting Research Grant Proposals
• Measures of TARP
• The 79.9% APR Credit Card
• What Is the Government Interest in Bankruptcy Cases?
• Time Flies
• Wrongful Foreclosures and Clouded Title
• Initial Thoughts on AIG
• The Shadow Consumer Bankruptcy System

WSJ Bankruptcy Beat

• Lazard’s Kurtz: Executives Quicker to Call Restructuring Advisers
• Toni Braxton Files for Bankruptcy Again
• Jeb Bush Warns of Greece-Like Crisis for Municipalities
• A Tree Grows in Bankruptcy Court
• Crime Dramas Boost ION Media’s Post-Bankruptcy Ratings
• Hecker Trustee Seeks to Question Mercedes Dealers
• Salahi’s Polo Company Enters Bankruptcy
• Restructuring Pros Mark Bankruptcy Reform’s 5th Birthday
• Beach Club Privileges Keep Attorneys from Sea Island Case
• Bankruptcy Lawyer Shares Name with Facebook Founder
• Oriental Trading Faces Candy Claim
• Two Petters Companies Plead Guilty to Fraud Charges
• Tepper Emerges from ‘Billionaire Closet’
• Trustee Seeks to Question Casino About Bergstein Gambling
• Mo Money Mo Restructurings
• Turnaround Pros: Tough Times Call for New Managers
• Airbus Questions Parts Orders from Grounded Mexicana
• The Daily Docket: Takefuji Files for Bankruptcy
• Price Reduced on Former Blixseth Estate
• Judge Approves CBGB’s Guitar Hero Agreement

NYLawyer.com (free registration required)

• Dreier Ex-Wife’s Bid for Support Ruled Issue for Bankruptcy Court
• Cadwalader Declines to Testify Before Congress’ TARP Oversight Panel

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

**********

***************

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

Holding a J.D. and an International Affairs M.A. from Marquette University, Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) is an attorney licensed in Wisconsin and New York.  He speaks Japanese and focuses on comparative and international law, as well as international business.

Law Shucks

• 6 Things You Didn’t Know About the Bankruptcy Lawyers of the Decade

Point of Law

• Group: Bankrupt Chemical Maker Owes another $9 Billion

WSJ Bankruptcy Beat

• Rothstein’s Business Partner Files For Chapter 7
• Denny Hecker Held Responsible For $400 Million
• Petters Sentenced To 50 Years Behind Bars
• Chapter 11 Can Be Fun, Hot
• Dykstra Strikes Out In Bid To End Bankruptcy Case
• Gemstone Shopping Channel Enters Chapter 11
• Arby’s Franchisee Serves Up Chapter 11 Filing
• The Daily Docket: Rock & Republic Files For Bankruptcy
• Harrisburg, PA, May Miss Debt Payment
• Maker of Collapsed Cowboys’ Dome Seeks Creditor Protection
• For Mortgage Industry, It’s Win Some, Lose Some

Above the Law

• Career Center: Practice Area Survey and Results

Credit Slips

• The Rhetoric of “Ending” Too Big To Fail
• Experian and FreeCreditReport.com Sink to a New Low
• The Congressional Research Service Says No Real Effect from BAPCPA
• Repo Madness
• The Business of Document Production
• March Bankruptcy Filings Are Up But Not “Spiking”
• The Fed as Distressed Investor
• The Need for More Bankruptcy Knowledge on the Circuit Courts
• Redemption (of the 722 variety) for Struggling Homeowners

Going Concern

• SEC Might Bring Civil Charges Against Ernst & Young Soon, Maybe
• After Constant Lehman/Ernst & Young Press Coverage, the PCAOB Is Ready to Get Serious About Audit Committee Communication

**********

We’re pleased to share that Bankruptcy Man vs. Mortgantua – Part 6 recently appeared in the March 2010 issue of Maxinars Newsletter.

Note:  This site is best viewed using a Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser.  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.

*In case you missed it, here are the previous BAPCPA Man vs Mortgantua cartoons:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

*For additional information on mortgage cramdown, foreclosure and related mortgage and bankruptcy issues, have a look at the following blog posts:

Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)

• No Mortgage Cramdown Help from Congress for Las Vegas Homeowners
• Haines & Krieger Las Vegas Foreclosure Round-up 12.4.09

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

• No Mortgage Cramdown Bill for Christmas
• Brooklyn Judge gives New York homeowners a fighting chance against foreclosure

Special thanks to the following bankruptcy attorneys for their help with the technical aspects of the cartoon:

• Christine Wilton, Esq. – Los Angeles Bankrkuptcy Law Monitor (Los Angeles, CA)
• Law Office of Gregory A. Holbus, Esq. – Wisconsin Bankruptcy Blog (Green Bay, WI)

************************

*WE DO CUSTOMIZED CARTOONS… Click here for more info.*

*Get your BAPCPA Man and Mortgantua T-shirts, Mugs, Cards and More!*

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com or http://www.gideonkendall.com/blog.  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.

It’s time to vote for your favorite song submitted for…

Bankruptcy Bill’s Bankruptcy Song Contest!
(Click here for rules and prizes.)

THE BANKRUPTCY SONG ENTRIES (click here to see lyrics):

1.  “AMEND IT MY WAY” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California)

2.  CABARET” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California) (Click song title or scroll down the page to see lyrics.)

3.  “DON’T CRY FOR ME HOUSEHOLD FINANCE” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California) 

4.  “DEBTS IN WRONG PLACES” by Judge Alan S. Trust (United States Bankruptcy Judge, Eastern District of New York)

5.  “‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE FILING” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))

6.  “PHARAOH OBAMA – LET THE DEBTORS GO” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))

7.  “THE BANKRUPTCY ABUSE SONG” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))

8.  “DEBT-FREE GIRL” by Craig Robins, Esq. (Woodbury, NY)

9.  “BANKRUPTCY WIFE’S LAMENT” by Arlene Robins (Woodbury, NY)

************************

VOTING PROCESS

HOW DO I VOTE? E-mail bill [@] bankruptcybill [.] us with your choice for favorite song.  Feel free to include your second and third choices as well for which points will be awarded. (Update:  The email address has been corrected to “.us” instead of “.com”.  If you sent your vote to “.com,” then it was not received.  We’re very sorry for any inconvenience.)

JUDGING CRITERIA: You’re voting based on the lyrics, not the tune.  But you know what you like, so go with your gut.

VOTING DEADLINE: December 31, 2009 by 12:00 p.m.

************************

THANKS! Bankruptcy Bill would like to thank the below-listed parties for their support of the first-ever (to our knowledge) Bankruptcy Song Contest and for collectively making a donation to the National Consumer Law Center in the amount of $25 for each song submitted:

• Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
• George Haines & David Krieger (Haines & Krieger) (Las Vegas, NV)
• Russell A. Demott – Charleston Bankruptcy Blog (Charleston, SC)
• Nancy Rapoport (nancyrapoport.blogspot.com), the Gordon Silver Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV)

Click image to hear "Bankruptcy Lover" by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts, the original country song about corporate bankruptcy!

And now without further ado, here are the songs submitted….

(more…)

Note:  This site is best viewed using a Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser.  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.

*In case you missed it, here are the previous BAPCPA Man vs Mortgantua cartoons:  Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

*For additional information on mortgage cramdown, foreclosure and related mortgage and bankruptcy issues, have a look at the following blog posts:

Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)

• Fear of possible mortgage “cramdown” legislation overblown?
• Will the “Cramdown Bill” Pass the Senate?
• Possible mortgage and foreclosure help from the federal government?

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

• Foreclosure increase + jobless recovery = Trouble
• New York foreclosures likely to continue as ARMs begin to re-set over next 4 years

Special thanks to the following bankruptcy attorneys for their help with the technical aspects of the cartoon:

• Christine Wilton, Esq. – Los Angeles Bankrkuptcy Law Monitor (Los Angeles, CA)
• Law Office of Gregory A. Holbus, Esq. – Wisconsin Bankruptcy Blog (Green Bay, WI)

************************

Get your BAPCPA Man and Mortgantua T-shirts, Mugs, Cards and More!

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com or http://gideonkendall.com/blog.  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.

Now you can get your very own CUSTOMIZED e-Book of BAPCPA Man cartoons!

• Book specs:  20 pages–PDF–11″ width x 8.5″ height; 15 BAPCPA Man cartoons + cover and back page image.
• Each book customized to include your name/firm name + contact information.
• Option to include bio(s), photograph(s) and other graphics.
• Print out as many copies as you want for your clients, yourself or anyone else, and/or…
• Put them on a CD to give to clients, and/or…
• Include a link on your website for a downloadable PDF copy, and/or…
• Use them as slides in a presentation, and/or…
• Come up with other creative uses to impress your clients and friends!  (See Terms & Limits of use below.)

How it works:

1. Send e-mail to bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us to place your order.
2. Include relevant information in your email (e.g., your name or law firm name, contact info, headshot or link to headshot, etc.)
3. Make payment to us via PayPal (by clicking here).  (Or e-mail us for a snail mail address to send a check.)
4. After receiving payment, we will e-mail you your customized copy of the BAPCPA Man e-Book Vol. 1.

Read on to see some sample pages and for pricing information, customization options and more… (more…)

Note:  This site is best viewed using a Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser.  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.

Special thanks to the following bankruptcy attorneys for their help with the technical aspects of the cartoon:

• Christine Wilton, Esq. – Los Angeles Bankrkuptcy Law Monitor (Los Angeles, CA)
• Law Office of Gregory A. Holbus, Esq. – Wisconsin Bankruptcy Blog (Green Bay, WI)

For additional information on foreclosure and mortgage issues as they relate to bankruptcy, have a look at the following blog posts:

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

• Loan modification scams and U.S. Foreclosure Relief

Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)

• Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
• Video: Channel 8 News report on Raul Cadenas foreclosure mediation case
• Las Vegas Foreclosure Round-up

************************

Get your BAPCPA Man and Mortgantua T-shirts, Mugs, Cards and More!

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com or http://www.gideonkendall.com/blog.  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.

Note:  This site is best viewed using a Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser.  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.

Like this cartoon?  Want a customized version for your blog or to use as a greeting card?  We’ll be doing a Christmas/Chanukah holiday cartoon as well.  So get in touch now to place your order if you’d like a customized holiday cartoon image to share with your clients.

E-mail: bill  @  bankruptcybill  .  us

(We’re just getting started with all the creative potential and possibilities.  So stay tuned for more or feel free to contact us to discuss your own ideas.)

In the meanwhile, have a look below at the customized Thanksgiving cartoons we did for the bankruptcy law firms of Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV) and Allmand & Lee (Dallas, TX).

************************

************************

************************

Get your BAPCPA Man and Mortgantua T-shirts, Mugs, Cards and More!

*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com or http://gideonkendall.com/blog.  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.

Bankruptcy Bill

and the following blog-loving bankruptcy lawyers:

• Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
• George Haines & David Krieger (Haines & Krieger) (Las Vegas, NV)
• Russell A. DeMott – Charleston Bankruptcy Blog (Charleston, SC)
• Nancy Rapoport (nancyrapoport.blogspot.com), the Gordon Silver Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV)

are pleased and excited to announce the first-ever…..

Bankruptcy Song Contest!

1.  FIRST PRIZE: Announcement of the winning entry in a BAPCPA Man cartoon (which will include a cartoon drawing of the winner as one of the characters), plus a signed print of the cartoon.

2.  SECOND PRIZE: A BAPCPA Man t-shirt (or other item from our fabulous catalog of BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill merchandise on Zazzle)

PLUS…

3.  DONATION:  Bankruptcy Bill and each of the above-listed sponsors will collectively make a donation to the National Consumer Law Center in the amount of $25 for each song submitted in this contest.*

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 5:30 pm EST

How the contest works:

1. E-mail your song(s) to bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us.  (Up to 5 submissions allowed per person or group.)  Submissions are just lyrics, by the way.  Do not send music.  (That’ll come later.)
2. Include: (1) Your name(s), (2) your law firm name (if applicable and desired), (3) city & state, (4) a short 1 or 2 sentence bio about yourself, and (5) any links or contact info.  (All of this info will appear with your song submission when it’s posted.)
3. After the deadline, all entries will be posted on the Bankruptcy Bill site and readers will be invited to vote.
4. The winning entry will be announced in a BAPCPA Man cartoon strip, and the winner will be a included as a cartoon character in the strip.
5. Stay tuned for a future contest/project where we invite people to submit recordings of the songs.

Comments:  Contest is open to anyone and everyone. Songs must be original, i.e., written by the person(s) submitting.  However, it doesn’t have to be new.  It’s fine if you already wrote it 3 years ago while sitting through a deathly boring CLE presentation.  Songs can be about anything and in any style, as long as they tie in to bankruptcy somehow. You’re more than welcome to indicate if the lyrics are intended for a particular tune or style of music, though it’s not necessary.

Intellectual Property: By sending us your submission, you’re of course giving us permission to post the song lyrics on the Bankruptcy Bill site.  But don’t worry.  Other than that, you keep all the intellectual property rights in the song.

*Contest Modifications: Since this is the first time we’ve tried something like this, we reserve the right to modify the rules or adapt appropriately using logic and common sense if there’s something we overlooked or that needs to be addressed.  Also, if we receive some unexpectedly large number of submissions, we’re not going to bankrupt the sponsors/donors or overly tax their coffers.  We’ll just cap it at some appropriate amount, probably work a reference into cartoon somewhere and just go with that groovy BAPCPA flow.

Why are we doing this? Because it’s fun and educational.  The goal is to draw on the latent creativity out there in the bankruptcy world, come up with some good (or at least half-decent) songs, build on the liturgy of bankruptcy pop culture and have a good time with all of this along the way.

Questions? E-mail bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us

Inspiration: Have a listen to Bankruptcy Lover, the original country song about corporate bankruptcy.  Click here for the lyrics.  (For the record, Bankruptcy Lover is not eligible for this contest.)

Additional Inspiration (11.15.09): Check out this post by bankruptcy lawyer Craig Robins on his Long Island Bankruptcy Blog which includes an already existing bankruptcy song by Michael Silverstein of Bloomberg Financial Press on his website www.wallstreetpoet.com.