Due process is a fundamental right, reiterated in the foundational documents of the U.S. [2] All lawyers are taught and tested on the requirements of due process, both in a procedural and substantive context.
Ethics And Professional Compensation Committee
Committees
On April 17, 2023, the Fifth Circuit issued a decision that demonstrated considerable deference to the bankruptcy court’s determination that a senior lender affiliated with the debtor remained a “good faith purchaser” when submitting a credit bid to purchase the debtor’s real property. [2]
AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT clearly have the potential to become useful tools in a lawyer’s toolbox. Of course, lawyers using AI chatbots, like lawyers using any other tools, must be mindful of their ethical obligations, including not only the duty to verify the accuracy of the results of legal research, but also the duty to maintain client confidentiality.
Thomas (“Tom”) Girardi, a former plaintiff’s attorney in Los Angeles, California, and the founder of the law firm Girardi & Keese (d/b/a Girardi Keese), was once known as the inspiration behind the film “Erin Brockovich” and for his high-profile representation of the families of victims of the Lion Air crash in 2018.
Lateral movement among law firm partners and associates has boomed. In 2020, the number of associates moving firms was up 149% and the number of partners moving was up almost 43%. [1] In 2021, the number of lawyers switching firms was up 111% over 2020.
From its inception, the National Ethics Task Force [1] was charged with answering the question of whether there is a need for national ethics rules, standards and general practice guidance in the bankruptcy context.
The Ethics and Professional Compensation Committee had an active 2021, and we are excited to carry that energy into 2022.
Bankruptcy courts have not always favored post-petition retainers to debtor’s counsel. [1] But does the Bankruptcy Code prohibit them? That is exactly the question Judge David D. Cleary answered in In re Golden Fleece Beverages Inc., in which he held that the Code indeed supports post-petition retainers.
On January 14, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit in In the Matter of Sharon Sylvester (Sylvester vs Chaffe McCall LLP) held that a trustee’s attorney is entitled to compensation under Bankruptcy Code § 330(a) “only for services requiring legal expertise that a trustee would not generally be expected to perform without an attorney’s assistance.”
In a recent decision from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada, three proofs of claim filed on behalf of LVNV Funding, LLC — a creditor assignee in the chapter 13 bankruptcy case commenced by Antonia Andrade-Garcia — were disallowed because the statute of limitations on the underlying claims had long ago expired.
Mr. Adam D. Herring
Co-Chair
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP
Atlanta, GA
(404) 322-6143
Co-Chair
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP
Atlanta, GA
(404) 322-6143
Ms. Leanne McKnight Prendergast
Co-Chair
Pierson Ferdinand LLP
Jacksonville, FL
(904) 479-6612
Co-Chair
Pierson Ferdinand LLP
Jacksonville, FL
(904) 479-6612
Ms. Angela M. Scott
Membership Relations Director
Douglas W. Neway, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee
Jacksonville, FL
(904) 358-6465
Membership Relations Director
Douglas W. Neway, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee
Jacksonville, FL
(904) 358-6465
Alex S. Chang
Newsletter Editor
Parsons Behle & Latimer
Salt Lake City, UT
(801) 536-6788
Newsletter Editor
Parsons Behle & Latimer
Salt Lake City, UT
(801) 536-6788
Ms. B. Summer Chandler
Special Projects Leader
Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Baton Rouge, LA
(404) 307-2754
Special Projects Leader
Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Baton Rouge, LA
(404) 307-2754