I’m starting to believe that business is actually slowing down. Gives me time to catch up on the fee apps and ding all the clients who have forgotten to pay us.
In our office, we have gone back to using the old time chapter 11 Disclosure Statement pleading that everyone used for about 20 years until someone came up with the brainstorm of preprinted forms. The forms are too hard to follow, especially when there are 3 or 4 different “approved” versions and different judges have different views of each. I believe Roksana and Judge Zurzolo and his staff, i.e., Jeff Cozad, have been working on a new one. My old boss used to say, “Right idea, wrong execution.” I don’t mind trying the forms again but for now, the old pleading worked just fine.
I just did a google search for bankruptcy attorneys. Looked up the first three websites (slow Saturday). All have very nice websites, all are reasonably well known attorneys. None of the three had the “We are a debt relief agency” language required by Section 528(a)(4). So I checked our website – thank goodness it’s there!
I have getting barraged with MCLE programs about the new forms that go into effect on December 1. I assume that our forms program will be updated and use the new forms plus I don’t get involved in filing out the forms. But it makes me wonder about the pro pers trying to file their own cases. If bankruptcy lawyers need MCLE programs to learn how to do these right, what about the poor guy on the street? We will find out. I believe the biggest impetus to creating the new forms was to make them more user friendly for the non-lawyers.
Supreme Court trivia for the week: The Supreme Court budget for the year is $88 million, actually down 1% from the prior year. That means that the 74 cases they resolved last year cost about $1.2 million each. I’m not complaining or being sarcastic. I love the Supremes.