In the last two entries, I shared my observations of honesty and dishonesty in the bankruptcy process. It has been an issue that has been crawling under my skin for many months now. And in this last installment of Honesty and Bankruptcy, I explain why that is.
Posts Tagged ‘Bankruptcy Fraud’
I Was Wrong About BAPCPA
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
Five years ago Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act – and at that time, I couldn’t understand what “abuse” Congress was trying to prevent. As a matter of fact, I penned an op-ed in the Boston Globe expressing my hope that Congress would not pass the legislation because, among other things, I thought the “abuse” was really coming from lenders, not consumers. After representing many honest debtors who deserve the relief that our laws afford, and have gotten the relief they deserve, I met someone yesterday who sought from me the unthinkable: they wanted me to help them lie. And even though I know that lenders and credit card companies have caused a huge economic mess in our country, this person is precisely why BAPCPA was enacted.
Social Networking Sites and Bankruptcy: The Intersection is Dead Ahead
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
There are a growing number of social networking sites out there on the world-wide-interwebs that people are latching onto. In fact, both the firm and I have latched onto Facebook (we just lauched our Fan page this week!). So I was intrigued after recently reading that a growing number of domestic relations attorneys were beginning to scour sites like Facebook in an effort to get information on opposing parties. At first, I found it merely interesting as I once practiced domestic relations law. But the subject gnawed on me for several days. Then, earlier this week, I read that collection agencies are trolling sites like Facebook looking for debtors. Then it dawned on me: if collectors are doing it, and divorce attorneys are doing it, there really is nothing stopping any party in any legal case from looking into Facebook or other social networking sites in an effort to gain a legal advantage of any opposing party. And this rings true in the world of bankruptcy.
