Consumer Bankruptcy Committee

ABI Committee News

Volume 5, Number 5 / November 2007

In This Issue:

Case Management Issues from Beginning to Discharge
ABI’s 19th Annual Winter Leadership Conference: Committee Educational Session
Secured Claims in Chapters 7 And 13
Litigating the Presumption of Abuse under Section 707
Writers Needed for Consumer Committee E-newsletter

Case Management Issues From Beginning to Discharge

by: BRIAN JOEL SMALL
Thav, Gross, Steinway & Bennett, P.C. ; Bingham Farms, MI

by: CARALYCE M. LASSNER
Thav, Gross, Steinway & Bennett, P.C. ; Bingham Farms, MI

When Congress passed and the President signed BAPCPA into law, the world turned upside down, inside out, and backwards for anyone practicing consumer bankruptcy law. Fortunately the world is beginning to turn itself “right side out” again. The key to being “right side out” is proper case management from beginning to end. The text and cases presented in these materials are but a minor look at what needs to be done when practicing in the consumer arena and are not meant to be a dispositive thesis on how to avoid committing malpractice, these materials are meant to only be a starting point.

Case Management starts from the very minute you meet with a client and continues until the case is concluded. Case Management involves managing the client, your staff, the bankruptcy documents, and all other aspects of “administering” the case on behalf of the client.

Read the full article.

ABI’s 19th Annual Winter Leadership Conference: Committee Educational Session

Bankruptcy Taxation/Consumer Bankruptcy (joint committee session)

The committee will meet for a joint session with the Bankruptcy Taxation committee on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 9:30 to 11:00am to discuss Tax Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy.

Panel members: Ken C. Weil (Seattle), Henry E. Hildebrand (Lassiter, Tidwell, Davis, Keller & Hogan PLLC; Nashville, Tenn.)
Willis Douglas (U.S. DOJ, C.D. Calif.).

Secured Claims In Chapters 7 And 13

KEEPING THE CAR IN CHAPTER 7 11 U.S.C. §524—REAFFIRMATION AGREEMENTS

Click below to review the thorough materials of great practical use on this hot consumer issue, as prepared by the below speakers for their panel on the topic at the upcoming ABI Detroit Consumer Program, November 12, 2007 at the Detroit Marriott Troy.

Moderator: Krispen S. Carroll (Chapter 13 Trustee).
Panel Members: Charles J. Schneider (Charles J. Schneider, P.C.), Kim Rattet (Trott & Trott PC), Michael Hogan (Kilpatrick & Associates PC).

Open the materials.

Litigating The Presumption Of Abuse Under Section 707

Post-BAPCPA Case Law § 707(b)(2).

Click below to review some of the well-organized and informative materials prepared by an esteemed a panel, as listed below, on this topic for the upcoming Detroit Consumer Program. The paper addresses the many court decisions regarding Section 707(b) since the implementation of BAPCPA.

Panel members: Karen E. Evangelista (Karen E. Evangelista, PC; Auburn Hills, Mich.), Samuel G. Firebaugh (Firebaugh & Andrews, PLLC; Westland, Mich.) Jill Gies (U.S. Trustee; E.D. Michigan; Detroit), Hon. Phillip J. Shefferly (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Michigan; Detroit), Hon. Eugene R. Wedoff (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois; Chicago).