Email from Tamar Terzian
Your 2019-2020 Executive Board:
Tamar Terzian, President
Hon. Scott Clarkson, Program Moderator
Lucy Mavyan, President Elect
Nancy Zamora, Vice President
Stella Havkin, Secretary
Jeff Hagen, Treasurer
A message from our President: Read more…
The picture is Jim King at a cdcbaa program. Gone four and a half years now. We still miss him. Happy Birthday Jim. You can read his oral history here. My favorite part is when he was telling about being in a group that got sworn in at the Supreme Court and meeting briefly with Justice Alito afterwards.
“I told [Alito] the story about having read all of his decisions and having had – my friend having seen his comment during the Marrama argument and then finally seeing his dissent. And I told him, ‘I gotta tell you, from a consumer bankruptcy attorney standpoint, you got it, you really understood it. You got the issue, you understood it, and I think you got it right. And I want to thank you.’”
“And he said to me, this little shit from Glendale, California, ‘Oh my gosh, counsel, you made my day.’ Well, I’ll tell you, that ran a chill up and down my spine, brought tears to my eyes. For a Supreme Court justice to say that to me, pretty good.”
You can find the annual report for this great organization here. You can’t help but notice my picture on page 5.
Henry’s comments at the cdcbaa Calvin Ashland dinner were stirring and meaningful. I recorded his comments which he looked at and approved.
Comments by Henry Sommer
upon receiving CDCBAA Attorney of the Year Award
Recorded by M. Jonathan Hayes
November 15, 2018
Ken Klee: [00:00:31] And for the record, let me read the plaque. “CDCBAA, Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association, Henry J. Sommer, Attorney of the Year 2018, Calvin K. Ashland Award, an annual award presented to those individuals who exemplify in the course of their profession, compassion, understanding, and concern for the individual consumer.” Each recipient has upheld these values that were found in the heart and in the courtroom of the Honorable Calvin K. Ashland. This award alternates between judges, trustees, and attorneys, each of equal importance in our bankruptcy system of justice.
Henry Sommer: [00:01:13] Thank you. (applause) Thank you, Ken, for that very generous introduction. And thank you to the CDCBAA for honoring me with this award. I can see from the distinguished past recipients, of which Ken was the first, what an honor it is. Read more…
The State Bar is seeking public comment on options under consideration as part of its statutorily mandated malpractice insurance study. The deadline to submit public comment is November 5, 2018. Currently, malpractice insurance is not required for attorneys licensed in California. However, attorneys without this insurance are required to disclose this fact to clients for whom legal representation will exceed four hours.
The State Bar is currently seeking public comment on the following options regarding malpractice insurance for attorneys licensed in California:
Additional details, including how to submit public comment, can be found here.
A recent article from Jillian Berman about a pending student loan class action in Texas. This will have consequences for consumer debtors. To read the MarketWatch article, follow the link here.
Email from Scott Bovitz,
Mike O’Halloran and I are the sponsors of a lighthearted contest at each California Bankruptcy Forum. Bankruptcy judges tell us that we should write shorter briefs and motions. In 2018, we are challenging CBF attendees to write a bankruptcy brief or story — in exactly nine words. See, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_worn (“…While lunching with friends at a restaurant … Hemingway bets the table ten dollars each that he can craft an entire story in six words. After the pot is assembled, Hemingway writes “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” on a napkin, passes this around the table, and collects his winnings.”) We think that bankruptcy professionals will need three more words than Ernest Hemingway.
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) 2017 report on the state of the credit card market is here. Lots of charts and info. The cynic in me wonders how much was spent by the government preparing this report. The CFPB annual budget is $630 million. Its budget report discusses four goals:
1. Prevent financial harm to consumers while promoting good practices that benefit them ($286 million) Read more…
Dear Faculty, Students, and Alums,
The University of West Los Angeles School of Law is pleased to announce it will host the 2018 Roger J. Traynor California Appellate Moot Court Competition on April 14-15, 2018 at the LAX campus of the law school.
Moot court is an extracurricular activity at most established law schools in which law students, competing as teams, take part in simulated appellate court proceedings. Students draft written briefs and present oral argument to a panel of judges in a format that follows rules and procedures that apply to actual appellate litigation. Read more…
In the Court News for November and December Judge Neil Bason has an excellent article pointing out some of the bigger changes in the new rules that we all need to be aware of.
The tips are:
1. Signatures – Get Original “Wet Ink” Signatures, File a Scanned PDF Copy, and Keep Them In Your Files
2. Proofs Of Claim – File Them Early And Often
3. Objections to Claims – Serve Them Correctly
4. Chapter 13 – § 341(a) Meetings and Confirmation Hearings
5. Chapter 13 – New Plan – Only For Cases Filed 12/1/17 or Later
6. Chapter 13 – New Plan – Up-Front Disclosures re: Liens (and Other Nonstandard Provisions)
7. Chapter 13 – New Plan – Secured and Priority Claims (Classes 1-4)
8. Chapter 13 – New Plan – “Pot,” “Percent,” and “Residual” Plans, and Possibly More Than
9. Chapter 13 – New Plan – Surrendered Collateral (Class 6) and Executory Contracts/Unexpired Leases
10. Valuing collateral and/or avoiding liens (§§ 506, 522(f))
