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.

• Click on BK Lawyer Blogs for a state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyers with their own blogs.
• Have a blog or know a good blog post you think should be included? Or a suggestion for a future BLT theme?  Send an e-mail to BLT [at] bankruptcybill [dot] us with the link.
• 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.

GENERAL or NON-STATE SPECIFIC

American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) Bankruptcy Blog Exchange

• HAMP Mortgage Modification and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
• HAMP Notes

Beat The Press (Dean Baker, Center for Economic Policy Research)

• Money for Failed Modifications Goes to Banks, Not Homeowners

CreditSlips.org

• Redemption (of the 722 variety) for Struggling Homeowners
• Today’s Consumers Prefer Chapter 7 Bankruptcy 3 to 1

Consumer Law & Policy Blog

• Mortgage Crisis Update: Treasury Tinkers with Failed HAMP Program, Delinquencies and Foreclosures Stubbornly Refuse to Go Away
• Latest HAMP Report: Treasury Program a Failure

***SEE MORE BLOG POSTS FROM BANKRUPTCY LAWYERS AROUND THE U.S.***

NEVADA

Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)

• New Federal Guidelines Hope to Increase Home Modifications
• Mortgage Refinancing Can Be Full Of Surprises
• Happy Holidays from Mortgage Lenders
• Foreclosure mediation update: Non-Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Programs Struggling

Black & LoBello Law Blog (Las Vegas, NV)

• Government Helps Make Loan Modifications Permanent
• Federal Programs for Homeowners

NEW JERSEY

Stark & Stark – Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Blog (Lawrenceville, NJ)

• HAFA – Will Short Sales Be the Trick to Stop the Foreclosure Flood?

NEW YORK

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

• Can I keep my home if I file for bankruptcy in New York?
• Foreclosure mediation and other new ways to encourage loan modification
• Loan Modification: Are You Eligible?

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

• Seeking HAMP (Home Affordable Mortgage Program) in Bankruptcy—Eight Things to Know
• WARNING: HAMP Can Drive Homeowners to Bankruptcy
• Bankruptcy Issues Involving HAMP (Home Affordable Mortgage Program)—Part One

OKLAHOMA

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

• Elizabeth Warren Says Obama’s Foreclosure Aid Program (HAMP) Is A Failure

OREGON

Baxter & Baxter, LLP – About Bankruptcy in Portland, OR (Portland, OR)

• NACBA: NACBA Member Irwin Trauss Testifies at House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Loan Modification Programs

Kent Anderson Law – Oregon Debt Relief Weblawg and Debt Law Network (Eugene, OR)

• Mortgage Modification: No Real Relief Yet

TEXAS

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

• Why HAMP Is Failing To Stop The Foreclosure Crisis
• HAMP Foreclosure Prevention Changes Coming Soon
• Treasury Department Admits Foreclosure Prevention Program Not As Successful As Hoped
• Dallas-Forth Foreclosures Continue To Rise
• Foreclosures Set Another Record For Dallas-Fort Worth
• ¡MORE!

WASHINGTON

Spencer Anderson Buhr PLLC – Seattle Bankruptcy Blog (Seattle, WA)

• Flaws plague foreclosure relief program

ALABAMA

Watts Law Group, P.C. and M. Stan Herring, P.C. – Alabama Consumer Law Blog (Birmingham, AL)

• Do You Want Bogus Defenses Or Do You Want Real Defenses To Foreclosure In Alabama
• Lenders Distract Homeowners With Modifications To Foreclose Quickly

ARKANSAS

Bankruptcy Savant – Arkansas Bankruptcy News and Info (useful site but can’t tell who writes it)

• The Mortgage Modification Lie
• HAMP = Homeowners and Taxpayers Duped?

CALIFORNIA

Northern California

Sagaria Law, PC – California Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog (San Jose, Freemon, Monterrey, Redwood City, Salinas, Sacramento, CA); also by Scott Sagaria – American Bankruptcy Association (ABA) Journal California Bankruptcy Blog

• Summary of Some of the Requirements of Home Affordable Modification or “HAMP”
• Is HAMP Falling Short?

Southern California

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

• Obama 2^nd Mortgage Plan Still Not Launched After 9 Months

Howard Nassiri (Vincent D. Howard, Esq. and Damian J. Nassiri, Esq.) – California Bankruptcy Attorney Blog (Anaheim, CA)

• Changes to Federal Loan Modification Program Encourage Principal Reductions
• Treasury Department Considers Adding Appeal Period to HAMP
• New Federal Data Shows Sharp Increase in Permanent Loan Modifications
• New York State Loan Modification Program Called Ineffective Because It’s Voluntary
• A Look at Why One Lender Has Succeeded in HAMP While Others Have Failed
• ¡MORE!

FLORIDA

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

• Making Home Affordable Program Updates
• Proposed Changes to HAMP
• Keeping Your Florida Roof Over Your Head – HAMP and Chapter 13
• Another Mortgage Modification Proposal
• December Treasury-HUD Report on the HAMP
• ¡MORE!

INDIANA

Mark S. Zuckerberg, Esq. (Indianapolis, IN)

• Indianapolis Bankruptcy Lawyer Update on Mortgage Modification
• Mortgage Modification Sessions May Be Missing Important Player

KANSAS

Mark Neis & Jill Michaux – Kansas Bankruptcy Law Information – (Topeka, KS)

• Foreclosure Truth: Few Getting Help

MASSACHUSETTS

Bill McLeod (McLeod Law Offices) – McLeod Law Blog (Boston, MA)

• Some ‘Provocative’ Questions about ‘Extend and Pretend’
• That Servicemembers Notice & Your Loan Mod Request
• Saving the Home: Thinking Beyond “Delay and Pray”
• State of the Union Decompression: The Whole Mortgage Modification Thing
• The State of Our Union

Goldstein & Clegg, LLC – Bankruptcy & Loan Modifications (Lynnfield, MA); also ABA Journal Massachusetts Bankruptcy Blog by Michael Goldstein

• How the HAMP loan modifications effect your credit score
• Press Release on the HAMP Program

Nicolas F. Ortiz, Esq. – Massachusetts Bankruptcy and Consumer Law (Boston, MA)

• List of HAMP Mortgage Servicers
• Home Affordable Modification Program: Introduction

MICHIGAN

Kurt O’Keefe, Esq. – Bankruptcy Blog (G.P. Woods, MI)

• HAMP Failing To Stem Foreclosures
• How Is The Government Mortgage Modification Program Working?
• HAMP and Bankruptcy

**********

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.

• Part 1 of her appearance:  http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=224261&title=elizabeth-warren-pt.-1

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Elizabeth Warren Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

• Part 2 of her appearance:  http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=224262&title=elizabeth-warren-pt.-2