Bankruptcy 101: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About Bankruptcy

In this economy, most attorneys — no matter what their practice area — have established relationships with clients who are now either in financial difficulty, or are affected by someone else’s financial difficulties. Divorce attorneys, personal injury attorneys, real estate attorneys, employment law attorneys, and construction law attorneys are just a few of the types of lawyers who frequently call my law partner, Rick Mitchell, and me for some guidance on how to answer their clients’ questions.

The volume of calls I’ve received convinced me to say “yes” when the Mecklenburg Bar Association asked me to teach Bankruptcy 101 on February 19, 2010 from 1:00-2:30pm.

Course details

This seminar will give non-bankruptcy lawyers an idea of what bankruptcy can and cannot do for their clients, and when a referral to a bankruptcy attorney is appropriate. It will also give lawyers a flavor for bankruptcy practice, in the event that they are thinking about expanding into this recession-proof area of the law.

Beginning with an overview of Chapter 7, 11, and 13 bankruptcy laws and procedure, we will also cover who may be a debtor; involuntary petitions; the role of the trustee; what constitutes property of the bankruptcy estate; bankruptcy claims and priorities; the trustee’s avoidance powers; discharge; and ethical issues unique to bankruptcy cases.

For details on this and other classes, visit the Bar’s website.