Bankruptcy Mastery https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/ Becoming a better bankruptcy lawyer Thu, 05 Nov 2026 22:43:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/favicon-150x150.png Bankruptcy Mastery https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/ 32 32 The Hardest-Won Bankruptcy Attorney Skill https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/the-hardest-won-bankruptcy-attorney-skill/ https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/the-hardest-won-bankruptcy-attorney-skill/#respond Wed, 28 Oct 2026 22:18:34 +0000 https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/?p=8010 The critical bankruptcy attorney skill I added to my tool box came late in my bankruptcy career. It wasn’t plotting the course of a case, manipulating the means test, or success in the courtroom. It was much simpler: the willingness to answer a client question: “I don’t know but I’ll find out“. Clients come to […]

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]]> https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/the-hardest-won-bankruptcy-attorney-skill/feed/ 0 What’s to be done at the 341 meeting https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/whats-to-be-done-at-the-341-meeting/ Thu, 22 Oct 2026 19:58:05 +0000 https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/?p=8143 How do you effectively represent a client at the 341 meeting? It’s simple: prepare the trustee and your client for the meeting, then do your best imitation of a “potted plant.” at the hearing. Well prepared, you have little to do but make your appearance, listen closely to the q and a, and thank the […]

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]]> Maximizing the Initial Client Interview https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/maximizing-the-initial-client-interview/ https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/maximizing-the-initial-client-interview/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/?p=564 The first meeting with a bankruptcy prospect is the best and hardest work I do. It’s probably the most important as well.  I use it to figure out what the issues in the case are, what the client’s goals are, and to convey what I will need from the client to produce a successful outcome. […]

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]]> https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/maximizing-the-initial-client-interview/feed/ 9 How To Get More Than Your Share Of The Bankruptcy Business https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/grow-bankruptcy-practice/ Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:38:00 +0000 https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/?p=8094 I have a theory about growing your bankruptcy practice: as long as you take on only the most straightforward cases, growing your practice becomes more a matter of marketing than lawyering. You and every bankruptcy lawyer around you are competing for the same cases: the simple, the certain, the routine cases with fees tightly packed […]

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]]> How QuickBooks Nearly Scuttled A Bankruptcy Case https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/maybe-you-already-knew/ https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/maybe-you-already-knew/#comments Sat, 18 Jul 2026 17:56:22 +0000 https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/?p=2543 I learned something new last week and it took the ***!#### means test to teach it to me. The case involved a couple where the non filing wife ran an interior decorating business.  The income and expense information we were presented with showed “lots” of money flowing through the business. Subtract the given business expenses […]

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]]> https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/maybe-you-already-knew/feed/ 4 What are you waiting for? The bankruptcy filing timeline https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/bankruptcy-timelines/ Wed, 24 Jun 2026 14:23:00 +0000 https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/?p=7950 What bankruptcy timelines really matter? The internet is awash with debtors reporting that their attorney has told them they have to wait to file. They’ve reportedly been told to wait 90 days or 6 months, or ?? from some event to avoid something, they’re never quite sure what. In the layman’s understanding, 90 days is […]

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]]> Why listening is a bankruptcy lawyer’s superpower https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/listening-lawyer-skill/ Sat, 06 Jun 2026 17:11:12 +0000 https://www.bankruptcymastery.com/?p=7528 The initial meeting with a prospective bankruptcy client is the most important work I do as a bankruptcy lawyer. It’s also the hardest. The results of that meeting lay the groundwork for the entirety of the case. The challenge is establishing rapport with an utter stranger, who’s in distress, and persuading them to spill all […]

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