McLeod Law Offices

Mercedes Rule

A rather interesting decision has come out of the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas at Dallas. The decision is only 4 pages, but in addition to quoting Janis Joplin, it speaks to something that debtors need to hear, that people thinking about bankruptcy need to hear, and that attorneys practicing in bankruptcy court sometimes need to be reminded of.

20/5 Redux: Things I Won’t Do

I’m posting it again with the reminder that I’m in the business of helping people move forward in their lives. Or as I said recently to someone, "I'm a bankruptcy lawyer. I cannot turn water into wine."

20/5 Redux: Thoughts on When to “Walk Away”

This was first posted in March 2008. Little has changed. More than two years later, the housing market is still in the pits, and more folks are opting to simply walk away from real estate they can no longer afford. If you own a condo or are in a homeowners association, the 2005 changes to the Bankruptcy Code force you to take some new issues into consideration.

20/5 Redux: A Table Saw Crosses the Road

I wrote this in May 2007. It's funny how some things still hold true.

Yet Another Reason to Avoid the Rip-Off of Debt Settlement

I was recently retained by a client who – like many people struggling nowadays – tried to tackle their mounting financial problems by going to a debt settlement company. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: debt settlement companies are a rip-off. The proof is in how empty my client’s wallet is now, and where my client is now. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Staying Out of the Valley of Disappointment

Some Massachusetts homeowners have this peculiar belief that a homestead declaration is the legal equivalent of a real Chinese fire wall (i.e., with flames). That it keeps creditors at bay, allowing you to live in bliss in your home until you die or get sick of it and want to move on to a greener patch of grass. That’s not entirely the case.

Debt: The Prices You Pay

Some espouse the belief that if you’re up to your eyeballs in debt, it’s better to eat beans and rice for weeks, months and years until the debt is paid. I won’t mention names. This isn’t about them. While it’s pretty indefensible to live a lifestyle you cannot afford at the expense of creditors, it’s [...]

20/5: New Haven

It was twenty years ago this week that I put down two days of food for Annie & Cissie (my cats), and packed up my sad navy blue Ford Escort for what would be a long and life changing trip to the Elm City. Twenty years ago this week, I sat for the Connecticut bar exam. I took the Connecticut exam because I believed – during a time when the economy was lousy – that I, as a graduate of Western New England College School of Law in Springfield would have a far better chance of landing a job in the Constitution/Nutmeg state than competing with unemployed graduates and recently displaced attorneys in either Boston or New York. I was right. Sort of. That however, is for another day.

Looking Back, Moving Forward: 20/5

I’ve been blogging here for almost five years. I’ve been trying to find a fitting way to mark that anniversary. But this year – 2010, not only is the 5 year anniversary of this blog – and of my venture into on-line writing, education, regurgitating and at times postulating. It’s also the 20 year anniversary of my becoming an attorney. And since blogging is a form of “social media”, and it got me thinking....

Still Think You Can File Bankruptcy Without An Attorney?

Even though I have written and spoken publicly about the perils of representing oneself in bankruptcy, people still do it. I recently came across a case where a lawyer – with a boatload of legal problems – was sanctioned for essentially abandoning his clients during a bankruptcy case. But I’m not writing about that lawyer or what he did that got him into so much hot water with the Bankruptcy Court. Rather, what I write about today is what District of Massachusetts Bankruptcy Judge Melvin Hoffman had to say about the bankruptcy process, and the role of a debtor’s attorney. So if you’re still thinking you can or should go through the bankruptcy process alone, take a few minutes and read this.