Wolves at Last Resort's Door

Moving to New Office

2009-06-18T21:05:00.003-05:00

Somewhere around July 10th I will be moving my office down the street west about three blocks. The new address will be 10709 Wayzata Blvd. #205, Minnetonka, MN 55305.

Every commercial building for miles around my present office has had "for rent" signs up for some time. A couple of months ago I decided to look around a bit, and I started to feel like a kid in candy store. It didn't take long to figure out that I could get more than twice as much space for about half as much money. The new office space will have a soaring vaulted ceiling in a pyramid-shaped building, with a patio door that opens into a grassy back yard. It's all one level and is fully accessible to the handicapped. There's already one elderly couple who have made their appointment to come see me after the move to avoid the steps at my old location.

I have been very happy at the old office, having been there for almost 13 years. In general I hate change, and I will admit to having an emotional attachment to the old place. I feel in my bones, however, that now is the time to make a change. The new place will have the space I need and will be quite a bit more efficient, particulary after I get it set up the way I want it. It's close enough that I would hope to stay in touch with old friends at the old location; and I have already learned that another old friend has an office right down the hall at the new place.

My phone numbers and email address will stay the same. The fax number is changing to 952-525-7924.

Payday Max and Credit Protection Depot

2009-05-14T17:45:00.002-05:00

I have just had a very bad experience with the above two outfits, which I believe may actually be two of many names that they hide behind. Several web pages that I found say that they are also known as "My Cash Now."

My client had a loan from them, but it was all on line; and the client never had a physical address. I found an address after a bit of searching and used that as the address in the bankruptcy petition, but the notice from the bankruptcy court was sent back - meaning that either it was a bad address or the mail was refused.

I have spent the past hour on the phone with them. They do answer their phone. But all individuals there refuse to provide the address - except for one who put me through to a recording which said something almost too fast to write down. I think I got that address, but I'm not sure because there was no way to get the recording to play again. It was an address in British Columbia, Canada.

In my humble opinion, based on my experience with them today, I cannot characterize them as anything other than devious.

Mortgage Modification Amendment Defeated in Senate

2009-05-01T17:21:00.004-05:00

I just received an email from NACBA - National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Lawyers. They say that the mortgage modification in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy amendment which NACBA was trying to get passed was defeated today in the Senate. The amendment in question was to be part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act.

I think that means it's totally dead for this session of Congress. Had it passed, I was going to have to find a class or seminar to attend to learn what all the bill contained as finally passed. NACBA has it's convention in Chicago at the end of this month, and I would have had to be sure that I got there. As it is, I can probably wait till next year without missing anything essential.

Recession Sing Along

2009-04-25T14:21:00.005-05:00

While you are waiting to come down with the swine flu, you might want to have a good laugh. The funniest thing I've seen in a long time is a recession sing along at the Newsday web site. Click the following for a direct link to the animated video.

Maybe you have to be old enough to remember the West Side Story movie from the 1960s to fully appreciate this thing. I don't see how the mortgage broker singing "I Feel Greedy" could quite have the full intended impact unless the viewer is familiar with the original "I Feel Pretty" from the movie.

A sales tax for filing bankruptcy? Some change!

2009-04-01T17:31:00.012-05:00

It seems that the leadership of our Minnesota state legislature is considering slapping a sales tax on legal services. If they have to do that, I would suggest that there be an exception for legal services connected with bankruptcy filings. I just sent the following email to Minnesota State Representatives Kelliher, Sertich, Lenczewski and Benson; and to State Senator Bonoff:

I am a lawyer who does bankruptcy work. Many people who contact me cannot afford to file a bankruptcy the way it is. Adding a sales tax to my fee would make that much worse.

A sales tax for filing a bankruptcy. Some change that would be.

So much for bankruptcy law change.

2009-03-27T12:16:00.006-05:00

An email I received today from the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Lawyers (NACBA) says that Senate Bill S. 61 is stalled. It might never get to the floor for a vote. This is the bill that passed the House about a month ago, and which would have provided bankruptcy judges with authority to rewrite mortgages.

Bankruptcy judges were going to be allowed to reduce balances, lower interest rates and extend terms of mortgages. Only a very narrow group of people would have qualified for this benefit, but it still would have been - as we native Minnesotans say -a pretty big deal.

If it had passed it was my plan to attend a three day convention - basically three days of classes on bankruptcy law - which is scheduled by NACBA in Chicago for the end of May. I would have expected that there would have been plenty of classes and materials explaining the proposed changes, if they had passed. Now I think I'll skip it for this year. I did go last year, and without those changes it would be a lot of the same material.

In a way it's a relief. Learning a lot of new stuff would have been a bit of work. I must say, however, that I am disappointed to see all the hoopla and fanfare followed by nothing but a big thud.

Warning about Debt Management Scams

2009-03-17T10:13:00.005-05:00

I'm looking this morning at the March 15th tip of the day from Kim Komando. It's a rather long article entitled Beware of debt management offers. She describes three different types of programs which one will find when running a Google search: 1) Debt negotiation, 2) debt consolidation, and 3) debt elimination. Personally I would like to add one more type: 4)debt management.

The third one - debt elimination - is always a scam. These are people who are trying to sell information that they claim is secret that you can use to make your debt just go away entirely. If anybody tells you they have that sort of a program, which sometimes is in the form of a magic form you can fill out and then send to the creditors, run away as fast as you can. There is no such program.

Debt negotiation or debt consolidation programs may or may not be legitimate. The Komando article suggests that you should make sure that any agency you use is licensed by your state and also accredited by one of two organizations, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. I would also suggest that you make sure they are on the approved Department of Justice list for counseling programs acceptable for the pre-filing and post-filing credit counseling required by the bankruptcy statute. You can find a link to the Department of Justice list of approved bankruptcy counseling agencies on my web page at http://www.mn-bankruptcy.com/chapter7.html. At that page click on "Credit Counseling Requirement."

My two favorite local places to go for real counseling are Lutheran Social Services and Family Means. Both have offices fairly close to my office. Both are non-profit. Both do debt management, my Item 4 on the above list. Debt management might involve negotiation, but not necessarily. They are not trying to make money out of your desperate situation. They are tying to figure out how to get you on a payment plan that will actually work. And if that is a hopeless idea for you, they will tell you and suggest that you talk to someone like me.

My Dentist, My Accountant and Me.

2009-03-13T09:50:00.007-05:00

This week I have gone to see both my dentist and my accountant. I like both of these guys, but going to see them tends to be a painful experience. I need both of these guys, but I wish I didn't.

I suspect that the way I feel about seeing my dentist and my accountant may provide some insight into how people feel when they need to come see me for legal advice or representation. I am fairly certain that very few of my clients are glad about being my client - in fact none are glad about it. While I am certainly glad to see them, seeing me or having anything to do with me must certainly be difficult. If my clients had a choice, I'm sure they'd rather be somewhere else.

I mentioned these thoughts to one of my clients, who stated as follows : "I'm glad to have the company, but I'd rather have a different topic." Credit to him for putting it profoundly and succinctly.

I'll share one more fact. Between the dentist and the accountant, I'd rather go see the dentist.

Again with the short sale thing!

2009-02-10T11:46:00.003-06:00

Question received today from LawGuru:

"I sold my house in an short sale and now the bank wants me to repay the $60,000 shortfall. Should I file bankruptcy? ..."

This person must not have seen my remarks on Youtube concerning this subject: The Trouble with Short Sales.

Come on Vacation, leave on Probation

2009-02-06T11:34:00.003-06:00

I had to post this. I just heard from one of my lawyer buddies that the above is the slogan of the prosecutors for Aitkin County. Apparently is stems from a propensity for certain individuals to get arrested while ice fishing or snowmobiling in that county.

I have seen similar situations where individuals from out of state get arrested in the Twin Cities for DWI while here on business or for a wedding or funeral. I can't explain why, but for some reason in my experience this seems to happen a lot in Eden Prarie. Typically after returning home they find me through my Minnesota DWI web site and retain my services.

Credit Card Industry Profits Increased

2009-02-02T10:31:00.006-06:00

I find myself looking at a 32 page report, complete with colorful graphs and charts, written by a gentleman by the name of Michael Simkovic. Mr. Simkovic was a fellow in law and economics at Harvard Law School between 2006 and 2007. He published this report last July. His subject is the effect of the 2005 "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act." Many of us call that BAPCPA (pronounced "bapceepa").

The report begins by reminding us that supporters had claimed that ultimately this law would benefit consumers, because it would lower the cost of credit card debt. The data shows, however, that while credit card company losses decreased, and the card companies had record profits, costs to consumers actually increased. "In other words," says Mr. Simkovic, "the 2005 bankruptcy reform profited credit card companies at consumers' expense."

No big surprise there. But thanks to Mr. Simkovic for laying out the details and proving it beyond a reasonable doubt. This seems to be very consistent with a series of articles published in the Star Tribune last October which stated, among other things, that BAPCPA has been one of the contributors to our current economic meltdown.

Regime change without gunfire.

2009-01-18T20:49:00.004-06:00

Before I was licensed to practice law, I was licensed to teach history. Like everyone else in this country, I have been watching the attention being given to the ritual unfolding in Washington, D.C. A lot of attention is being given to various details of the event. Underlying it all, however, is a tradition that I haven't seen anybody say anything about; and this tradition is something that we should give ourselves much more credit for than we do.

The tradition I'm talking about is that every four years, or at the least every eight, we have a peaceful regime change in Washington. It's been going on for over 230 years. The old president steps down and a new guy takes over, without troops having to be called in, without an assassination, without brown shirts taking over the TV and radio stations, without a civil war. I believe if a study were to be done of the subject, going back say three hundred years, and covering the entire globe, it would be found that in the vast majority of places during the vast majority of the time, regimes don't change without somebody getting killed or something being blown up.

So lets all enjoy the party, and let's all be very proud. Notwithstanding all the imperfections, nobody else and nowhere else has anybody come this close to getting it right.

Sorry, my web pages were down for a while today ...

2009-01-14T16:10:00.003-06:00

Godaddy is the server that hosts my web pages. I don't know what their problem was, but for several hours today all my web pages were down and not accessible. Whatever the problem was, it's fixed now and everything is back up.

If you were tying to view one of my web pages and could not, it wasn't something wrong with your computer. It was the company that hosts my sites. My apologies for the inconvenience.

The thing I noticed that sort of surprises me is how much I missed the pages myself. They contain all sorts of charts, tables and reference materials that I use regularly. One of the reasons I have for posting all the material that I have up on my various pages is so that I can find it myself when I need it.

Restless nights

2009-01-12T21:22:00.006-06:00

Friday night this past weekend and again on Saturday night, between 12:30 am and about 3:30 am, I was awakened by calls from individuals who had been arrested for DWI and who were in the custody of police. Before being required to take a breath, blood or urine test, a suspect has a right to speak with a lawyer by telephone. In both cases, the arrested person had called someone else who looked up my DWI web site and then passed my cell number back to the person under arrest.

Often when I receive these calls I find that the person on the other end of the phone is seriously considering refusing to take the test that is being offered. This is a serious mistake, since a test refusal is a separate crime in itself. Besides being a crime, the test refusal carries with it a one year revocation of one's driving license. So far I have always recommended that the person take the test. It is hard for me to imagine a situation when I would not recommend that.

When I receive one of these calls, I try to find out as much information about the arrest as I can. Sometimes this can involve staying on the phone with the "suspect" for as long as half an hour or so. The result is that often I know things about what went on that the police report may not include and that the potential client may not remember.

Usually after receiving one of these calls I can't sleep for about an hour, maybe longer. I'll admit that having this two nights in a row was a tad hard on me. If this seems a little disjointed, that's probably why.

Excused!

2009-01-03T10:22:00.003-06:00

Friday morning - yesterday - I was instructed to report to the jury room at the Hennepin County Government Center for jury duty. After listening to a little talk about how things worked, twenty of us were run through security and led up to judge McGunnigle's courtroom. As soon as I walked in I knew I would not be there very long. At the tables in the front of the courtroom sat two lawyers I knew, Rolph Sponheim for the prosecution and Marsh Halberg for the defense. These were both people I know, particularly Mr. Sponheim. Judge McGunnigle explained that the Defendant had been charged with a DWI. He didn't say whether it was a misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor or felony. I could tell that it was no misdemeanor, however, since they were obviously looking to set up a jury of twelve, and with a misdemeanor you only get a jury of six.

I was seated as Juror No. 3. The judge started asking questions to the prospective jurors as a group. One question was whether any of us had an experience which would influence our ability to be objective in this type of case - driving while intoxicated. Several hands went up, including mine. One person was employed in the "beverage industry." One person has a brother who had been arrested for DWI. Another had relatives who were injured in an accident by a drunk driver. I disclosed that I had defended hundreds of this type of case, and it would be hard to say that this would not influence my decision.

The judge went into a little lecture about how experiences of this sort should be set aside and compartmentalized, and he asked if we could do that. All of those who had raised our hands, including me, said that we thought we could. One of the next questions was whether we knew any of the witnesses, whose names were read off for us, and did we know the Defendant or any of the lawyers. Again, I raised my hand. The judge asked me to explain. I said that I knew Mr. Halberg, not well but I did know him. Besides that, the younger lawyer he had brought along to assist him looked familiar, I had surely seen him around, although I did not know him by name. When it came to Mr. Sponheim, I said I thought I knew him well. I had innumerable cases in which he had been the prosecutor. Then Judge McGunnigle asked if knowing these people would keep me from being able to make a decision based only on the evidence which was to be presented. I said that I believed I have a working relationship with Mr. Sponheim, and that I thought that should disqualify me.

At this point the judge called the lawyers up to the bench for a little conference. A moment later I was excused from that case, but I was to report back to the jury room. Back at the jury room the clerk there said that since I had been on call all week, that I would be excused entirely from any further jury duty. My duty was completed. Must say I was a bit surprised but also relieved. I had another feeling, however, which surprised me. During the short time that I had been up in the courtroom, I had started getting interested in the case. I think I would have enjoyed being on that jury. I would have enjoyed watching those lawyers do their stuff, and I would have liked to see how it all came out.

The thought of going downtown to watch the trial just to see what happens next has occurred to me. They are open to the public, and a trial like that ought to take a couple of days at the least. I already feel behind in my work as a result of the distraction from this episode, however, and I know I don't really have the time to go watch that trial. I should just count myself lucky to have this experience behind me.

I'll be in the office Monday morning - no jury duty so far.

2008-12-28T19:34:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow, Monday December 29, 2008, is supposed to be the first day of my jury duty with Hennepin County. I just checked with the phone line, and they will not be needing me - at least not tomorrow morning. So for those of you who have had an appointment with me in the morning, I'll be planning on being there.

The next time I have to check to see if they want me will be 12:15 pm tomorrow afternoon. I am supposed to call in and see if they need me for Monday afternoon. This annoying process will continue for the next two weeks or so. This has meant that I have had to be careful to not be scheduling any court appearances for any of my own cases with my own clients over the next two weeks. Over the past three months or so, I have been making an effort to schedule hearings on all of my cases before Christmas, so that I would have an open schedule now. This made for a dramatically busy December. With that rush over, it seems a bit quiet now; except that I am on call to run downtown and report as a juror to hear a trial.

I'll be reporting more as this unfolds.

"Enhanced"

2008-12-27T14:28:00.005-06:00

The electronic sign over I-394 just a half mile here from my office says "Enhanced DWI Enforcement Thru Jan 1." I don't think they're kidding.

"Enhanced" according to the old hard-bound dictionary on my desk means "to make greater" or to raise, intensify or heighten. It seems to be a term that is used a lot in connection with DWI. For example, if you have a second offense within ten years, that second offense is "enhanced" because of the first. Please remember that taxi cabs are really cheap compared to the cost of being arrested.

As I think I have mentioned earlier, I am noticing that the fact that one is considering or working on filing a bankruptcy seems to enhance to possibility of either being arrested for DWI or being injured in a serious accident. If you should happen to have bankruptcy on your mind, please keep a proper perspective. Focus on what you are doing, when you are doing it. It's only money. You have more reason now than ever to properly care for yourself - including making sure that whatever you consume is in moderation.

The Case for Santa Claus

2008-12-24T09:54:00.007-06:00

Twas the day before Christmas, and my phone has finally quit the constant ringing. Yesterday was another story. Even that close to the holiday, there were lots of interruptions. To all who may be reading this, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah. I am going to make an effort for at least the next 48 hours to enjoy these holidays. It's not that easy after all the sad stories I have been hearing. It is nonetheless my intent to do so.

I think that I still have somewhere within me a little bit of the wonder that was there when I was a small child surrounded by all the holiday hoopla and regalia, expecting a visit from Santa Claus. It's not that I still believe in Santa Claus; but except for the scene in Miracle on 34th Street, he's never been accorded his right to a trial by jury. Even in that movie if I recall correctly, the judge dismissed the charges without letting the jury make a decision. It seems to me that Santa Claus should be accorded the presumption of existence until proven to not exist beyond a reasonable doubt. I don't really believe, but I have to admit that he has not ever been proven to not exist beyond a reasonable doubt. That's a tough standard, and it has not been met. In fact, any student of logic will tell you that it is impossible to prove a negative. Thus it is a safe bet that Santa's nonexistence can never and will never be proven - at least not with evidence that's admissible in court.

I just checked the NORAD web site, where there is a special page for tracking Santa. In fact at the moment I am writing this NORAD says they have Santa on radar over Dhaka, Bangladesh. Looks real to me, or at least I can't prove it's not.

Summoned for jury duty

2008-12-09T16:52:00.007-06:00

I have received a summons to show up for jury duty on December 29th -- downtown at the Hennepin County Government Center. The people who run the program tell me that I can arrange to check in by telephone to see if they need me. This apparently, however, can only be done after I at least show up in person on the first day.

Not long ago I commented to one of the court clerks that I supposed that the week of New Years Eve and New Years Day would be a slow week for jury trials. She laughed at me and said the opposite was the case. Apparently that week is loaded up with jury trials by people who didn't want to have the trial Christmas week.

When I first received the summons I called in and got a hold of one of the supervisors. I had lots of excuses, not the least of which was that I have served as a referee in the Hennepin County settlement and arbitration programs. I have worn a black robe, sat at the big desk in front of the courtroom and have been called "your honor." "So what"' was the response. They have required retired district court judges to serve. There is an exception for judges who are actually on duty as judges, but that of course would not apply to me.

I anticipate having more to say on this topic as the situation unfolds.

Why you don't want to get a second Minnesota DWI

2008-12-04T17:13:00.004-06:00

It's dark and it's cold in Minnesota and the holidays are upon us. This means my phone is about to ring, and on the other end of the line will be someone who just got arrested for the second time in ten years for driving while impaired (DWI).

The consequences of a second alcohol related driving offense are quite harsh, and it seems to me that they come as quite a surprise to many. The punishments for a first offense are quite light by comparison, particularly if your lawyer did a good job. Sometimes that's one of the things I worry about when I have gotten a particularly good outcome for a client: that my client won't realize how serious this could have been, and will therefore be more likely to offend again.

The first offense is usually a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail or both, unless there was some aggravating factor. The most common aggravating factors are having a breath test reading of over .20 or having a minor child in the car, and having such a factor could result in even a first offense being a gross misdemeanor. The second offense in ten years, however, is always at least a gross misdemeanor - punishable by $3,000 or a year in jail or both. If you continue to accumulate alcohol-related driving offenses, the fourth one in a ten year period can be a felony - and could involve a trip to Stillwater State Prison. The legalese for this process is "enhancement." Each offense enhances the next.

Along with increased criminal penalties, the time one goes without being able to drive keeps getting extended for longer periods with each offense. After a third offense drivers are often classified as "inimical to public safety," which is like becoming a second class citizen who will not be allowed to drive for several years if ever again.

You'd think the foregoing would be enough, but it's not necessarily the worst of it. For many the most embarrassing thing for a second time offender is that he or she is issued special license plates -- called "whisky plates" because they often start with the letters "WX." It usually seems that lots of fellow employees in the employee parking lot know what that means, particularly if the person who has the special plates happens to be the boss.

Perhaps the worst thing is what happens to the car the offender is driving when it's a second offense with one of those aggravating factors - such as testing above .20. In that event the police seize that vehicle. Forever in most cases. There are some limited circumstances under which the car can be recovered by the owner; but most of the time that car is gone and stays gone. If the car belongs to the driver's wife, mother, husband, girlfriend, aunt, uncle or employer, the state does not care. Unless the owner can show that the driver did not have permission to drive that vehicle, it usually makes no difference that it belongs to someone else.

For those who wish to try to get the vehicle back, the seizure has to be challenged with a petition filed in district court; and the time allowed for doing so is very short. Winning such challenges is not easy.

In other words, if you happen to already have a first DWI offense on your record, you absolutely must not let that happen again.

National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Act

2008-10-29T10:37:00.002-05:00

One of the things Congress did before going home was pass the "National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act." I haven't heard if the President has signed it, but it seems to me he must. This law would exempt certain members of the armed forces from the means test if a bankruptcy petition is filed within 540 days after they complete active duty. I would hope that the same rule would apply WHILE they are on active duty.

I'm glad to see this law being passed. However, I doubt it has much real effect because almost all of these folks would qualify for bankruptcy anyway.

Don't Panic!

2008-09-28T21:35:00.008-05:00

Just a word or two of warning. I am seeing lots of people who are in a panic. They are in the process of losing their homes or jobs or both. The daily news offers little or no comfort. All the "bailout" talk doesn't include any concrete help for individuals that I can see. This state of mind increases the probability of being in a serious accident or incident. Or such is my personal observation.

I mentioned this in passing while meeting with clients recently. The next time they came in they greeted me as "Nostradamus" - comparing me to the Sixteenth Century prophet or wizard. The type of thing I was talking about had happened to one of them. Sorry about being vague as to exactly what happened, but I need to not break confidentiality. I expressed the hope that it had not been the power of suggestion - the result of an idea that had been planted by me. They were sure it was not.

I bring this up here because I really want to say that I believe we all need to keep the events of the past year or two in perspective. The Romans had a saying - THIS TOO SHALL PASS. It's a universal truth, and I'm convinced that it certainly applies to our present economic climate. Panic and anxiety always just makes any problem worse. The harder and more difficult times are, the more important it is to take care or yourself. One of my favorite slogans - prominent in a lot of the self-help literature - is abbreviated as "HALT" - don't let yourself get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. A good concept to keep in mind when going through a bankruptcy or any other crisis.

On several of my web pages I talk about how easy it is go get ahold of me. I wrote most of that a couple of years ago. It has become untrue over the past few months, for which I apologize. Between the clients and the creditors of clients, my voice mail box often fills up. My goal has always been to return my calls within 24 hours. I have of late been unable to be that prompt. If you need me and don't get me right away, keep trying please. I am around and I do want to talk with you; it's just that things are really busy right now. I would say that it's more busy than it was in 2005 right before the new bankruptcy law went into effect.

Correction: I'll be back in the office on Thursday September 18th!

2008-09-14T21:40:00.007-05:00

How embarrassing!

It has come to my attention that the message on my answering machine at my office says that I will be out of town until "Thursday September 19th." Obviously that is wrong, because Thursday is the 18th and the 19th is Friday.

It should say that I will be back on "Thursday September 18th." I'm at Grand Marais for a few days, and I would change that message from here if I could - but it's not that kind of machine. I can't change the message without being there.

So just please be advised that I intend to be in the office again starting on Thursday the 18th of September. I suppose I'll try to call everyone who is on my schedule that day to make sure they are not confused by the message. The names and phone numbers should be here with me on my Palm Pilot.

The fact that I made that error tends to support the proposition that I really needed a couple of days off.

It was a chilly and misty day today at Grand Marais. Not good for outdoor activities. I spent several hours with my wife sipping premium coffee at the Java Moose, and reading an edition of Carl Sandburg's biography of Abraham Lincoln. I've been working on that book off and on for years. It's slow going, very intense and detail filled. I'm still only about half way through.

This evening the sky began to clear and we were able to watch the full moon rise over the harbor, while having dinner at the Angry Trout. It was very beautiful. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and sunny. For tonight we are snug and comfortable in our little pop-up camper.

September 10th and 11th

2008-09-11T20:28:00.002-05:00

I'm working late here in the office this September 11th evening. It was a funky day, seven years after the big attack on our country. I was wall to wall all day with appointments, and the phone rang constantly. I finally gave up on the phone. I just could not keep up. I don't think that's ever happened before. Strangely, only about one caller in ten actually leaves a message. I have managed to call most of them back, but I really wonder about the others. If it was important enough to call in the first place, then why no message?

I have to share this with you all. While September 11th is a sad anniversary, so is September 10th. On that day in 1897 a taxi driver in London, England, became the first person in the world ever to be arrested for drunk driving -- after slamming his vehicle into a building.

If I at all can I would like to get to the north shore for a peek at some fall colors. I might run away and try it this weekend. I'm up to date with most of my work. I can't keep up with the calls in any event, and staying home would not fix that. These are the most desperate times I have seen in my lifetime; but I'll be able to help more people if I take care of myself. I keep telling my kids: when the plane loses pressure and the oxygen masks come down, put the mask on yourself first. Then put the mask on your children or others who are in your care. The person who is first to pass out is no longer able to help others.

Consumer Bankruptcy Up 48% in July

2008-08-30T14:19:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I bookmarked an article posted on Twin Cities Daily Planet which indicated that bankrupty filings in Minnesota are up almost 30% for May and June of 2008 as compared to May and June of 2007. I thought it has seemed to be pretty busy around here, but I still thought the percentage was surprisingly high. Had someone told me in January of 2006, right after the "reform" legislation had gone into effect that this was going to happen, I don't think I would have believed it. The standard wisdom at that time was that bankruptcy lawyers might be about out of business. In fact, many lawyers quit practicing bankruptcy law at that time. The new law was called BAPCPA (Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act). In my opinion, the only abuse that was going on was that perpetrated by the credit industry, and the only protection provided was for them and not consumers.

Earlier this week I received a copy of Consumer Bankruptcy News, one of those old fashioned publications that is still printed on paper. In the lower right corner of page 7 was an item stating that nation-wide bankruptcy filings were up 48% in July 2008 as compared to July 2007. There were 94,124 consumer filings in July and 82,770 in June this year. That would be as if everybody in Bloomington, Minnesota and in Duluth Minnesota combined had filed for bankruptcy in June or July. If that keeps up, I would assume that for August it would be as if everybody in Rochester, Minnesota had filed for bankruptcy.

If you should feel a need to come see me to talk bankruptcy, there's sure no reason to feel alone.