Bankruptcy Article of the Week
Bankruptcy Judge Salary Increase Proposed
Bankruptcy judges currently earn $151,984, a figure that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recently pointed out has them earning less than many court clerks and deputies across the country. In inflation-adjusted dollars, today's bankruptcy judge is making about 25% less than his counterpart forty years ago.
Now, a bill sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) would make up for stagnant judicial salaries in recent years by implementing a 50% increase. For bankruptcy judges, whose salaries are fixed at 92% of a federal district judge's compensation, this would mean a new annual salary of $227,976-still about $12,000 less than they'd be making if judicial salaries had kept pace with the private sector in recent years.
On July 30, the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) came out strongly in favor of the bill, pointing out that bankruptcy judges handle some of the most complex cases in the federal court system, and that the ability to draw qualified people to the federal bench was threatened by the eroding pay. On a similar note, the bill's sponsor stated that "The quality of the Judiciary is threatened if judges' salaries are inadequate to attract and retain our best legal minds." There are currently about a dozen unfilled bankruptcy judgeships across the country.
However, critics of the bill point out that the proposed salary level isn't likely to be any more attractive to private-practice attorneys who may already be earning hundreds of thousands of dollars more, and the measure has drawn objections from those who don't want to see judicial salaries disconnected from Congressional pay.
Interested in viewing this bill in its entirety? The full text of the bill is available here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.1638
For updates on the status of the judicial pay legislation and other issues affecting bankruptcy practice, visit The Bankruptcy Lawyers Blog.
Looking for a Great Excuse to Get Away to New Orleans?
How does The 2007 Justice for All Ball sound? The Pro Bono Project is hosting the New Orleans gala at Gallier Hall on Friday, October 5th from 8 p.m. until midnight.
The ball represents The Pro Bono Project's latest effort to provide free legal services to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The event figures to be a blast as the finest food, art and entertainment in the area will be on display.
Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Justice for All Ball website or by calling (504) 581-4043. If interested in attending, you better act quickly as this year's ball is shaping up to the biggest yet in the history of the event.
And if you are unable to attend the ball, you can still help out. Contributions for this event and the Pro Bono Project are encouraged. Learn how you can help at the aforementioned website or by emailing probono@probono-no.org.
Having visited New Orleans for the NACBA convention last year, this great city still needs our attention. Thanks to the efforts of the hardworking and dedicated individuals at The Pro Bono Project, we shall not forget about the legal needs of Katrina and Rita victims!
Did You Know...
you can share your client's Credit Counseling, Debtor Education and Due Diligence documents with different Trustees in your area?
After entering the 'Account' section of your SFT attorney profile, you'll find a complete list of the Trustees registered in your state and local district under the 'Manage Trustees' icon. Once you add the Trustees to your preferred list, you can begin to share your client's documents.
Simply access any of the profiles in your 'Clients' section, open the 'Document Center' and click on the 'Edit' button to share any available documents with that Trustee.
Got questions? Call (800) 435-9138. We're more than glad to help you out!
Kevin's Corner
Practice Management Tip of the Week:
"If you don't exercise that sense of urgency in following up with consumers who want to talk to an attorney, you're going to lose them.
"Often, the consumer looking for bankruptcy information has a sense of urgency of his own--he's just received a telephone call from a creditor or spent some time working through his bills, and he knows he needs help. If he doesn't find that help right away, he'll move on to the next website or pull out the yellow pages and keep looking. Or, just as likely, his sense of urgency will pass and he won't be nearly so motivated to schedule an appointment by the time you make contact.
"When you make contact with a consumer, you put an end to the search and make your prospective client feel he's already taken positive action."
- Kevin Chern
President, Start Fresh Today
Still Adjusting to BAPCPA?
BAPCPA complicated our practices, and nearly two years later, we're still dealing with the additional hurdles for us and for our clients. The BAPCPA requirements aren't going to go away-at least, not in the immediate future-but Start Fresh Today can help smooth the transition by providing all of the resources you need to comply with the new demands, purchase due diligence products, and guide your clients to approved sources for credit counseling and debtor education.
Visit our SFT Resources Section for the comprehensive bankruptcy information you need post-BAPCPA. From containing a complete listing of bankruptcy court forms to providing a trustees database and even a BAPCPA Blog, the SFT Resources Section is an ideal destination to stay on top of the Bankruptcy Reform Act. Come see for yourself!
Request More Client Inserts!
Since last week's SFT bankruptcy newsletter, we've had such an incredibly high demand for the client intake folder inserts that we had to call up our printer and order more copies!
Need more client inserts? You can request more credit counseling and debtor education inserts for your client intake folders by giving us a call at (800) 435-9138. You can also send us an email at info@startfreshtoday.com, and we'll get the inserts out to you free of charge. Once again, all we ask is that you include your new inserts in your client intake folders.
The Numbers Game
Approximately 93.25% of our clients have described the topics covered in the UST Approved Debtor Education Course and UST Approved Agency Credit Counseling Briefing as being relevant to their lives.