Recent Articles

Act Fast on Bankruptcy

T. Scott Belden
December 18, 2008 23:51

Everyone probably remembers that in 2005 bankruptcy laws were changed to make it more difficult to file bankruptcy and wipe out consumer debt. With a rising economy and increasing home equity, it was believed it was too easy to rack up debt and then get rid of it in a bankruptcy proceeding,...

Economic Downturn (Recession?) Subject of ABA Journal Survey

Terrence T. Egland
November 18, 2008 18:59

Greetings from the trenches.  As the economy has slowed down, business has picked up for those of us in the insolvency world.  Just like many of you, this has kept me busy and unable to attend to the blog as I wish.  But I came out of my hole to let you know about a survey being...

Nearly One Million Bankruptcy Cases Filed in Last 12 Months

Terrence T. Egland
August 28, 2008 19:44

According to data released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and discussed in the Los Angeles Times, nearly one million bankruptcy cases were filed between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008--a total of 967,831 cases.  That represents a 28.9% increase over the preceding 12 month...

May decline in home prices worst ever

Terrence T. Egland
July 29, 2008 21:51

Making headlines today is the release of the Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.  According to this index, there was a nationwide decline of 15.8% in home values in May when compared to the same time last year.  In Los Angeles, as noted by the Los Angeles Times, the...

Bits, Bytes, and Potential Pitfalls: E-Discovery Continued

Terrence T. Egland
July 07, 2008 22:47

I am back! As most bankruptcy practitioners already know, the volume of work has increased. This has lead to an ever increasing scarcity of free-time to devote to the blog. Important topics, however, need to be discussed so I soldier on. In that vein, today is part two of my...

Vallejo Becomes Largest City in California to File Chapter 9

Terrence T. Egland
May 27, 2008 21:25

It's now official:  Vallejo is now the largest city in California to file for Chapter 9 protection.  Long believed to be in the works, the bay area city filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Sacramento last Friday.  As described in the San Francisco Chronicle,This Bay Area...

The Subprime Spread

Terrence T. Egland
April 22, 2008 17:51

As the subprime crisis deepens and grows and the potential for recession increases, the effects are seeping into other industries as consumers are tightening their belts in order to afford food and gas.  Michael Barbaro of the New York Times discussed the effects on retailers in a recent...

E-Filing is Serious Business

Terrence T. Egland
April 21, 2008 16:56

Failure, or in this case refusal, to file bankruptcy cases electronically can jeopardize your bar card.  The Kansas Supreme Court has suspended an attorney for, in part, refusing to e-file bankruptcy cases for three clients:The Kansas Supreme Court held that the lawyer, Stephen D. Harris,...

Bankruptcy Lawyers in Demand

Terrence T. Egland
April 11, 2008 19:06

As if the increase in filings under all chapter of the bankruptcy code and the heavy workload we are all experiencing weren't enough evidence of the demand for competent bankruptcy counsel, a new survey conducted by a recruiting firm and discussed in the ABA Journal confirms that fact:A new survey...

Bits, Bytes, and Potential Pitfalls: What All Lawyers Need to Know about Electronically Stored Information

Terrence T. Egland
April 11, 2008 17:24

After a hectic few weeks of actual law practice, I am back in the blog saddle once again. This time I want to discuss an issue that, although not strictly speaking a bankruptcy issue, significantly impacts the practice of all bankruptcy professionals: electronic discovery. I will...