No CLE

This panel will discuss recent ethics opinions and modern issues facing consumer practitioners.

Panel discussion of issues affecting your consumer clients: consequences of assumption and rejection of executory contracts; Chapter 13 update; the incapacitated client; undisclosed assets; proofs of claim and FDCPA; TCPA; revisions to Bankruptcy Rules; advising your clients on post-discharge liabilities; report on the ABI Consumer Commission’s Chapter 7 Committee.

The practice of consumer bankruptcy law is an ever-changing landscape, with new issues arising every day! This panel will explore some of the most recent exciting and evolving decisions including discharge of student loans, the challenges when personal property is repossessed pre-petition, pawn loans and the automatic stay, and consumer class actions in bankruptcies.

This panel will help sort through the following questions: What is needed to prove your facts? How do you find experts on the cheap? Is a deposition necessary? How many witnesses do I really need? How do I minimize the cost of discovery in a small case without jeopardizing my clients’ interests?

This panel will help you sort through the following questions: How do you avoid missing deadlines in a fast-paced practice? How do you avoid ethical issues when advising clients and preparing witnesses? What are the requirements for and limitations on fee agreements? How do you deal with incomplete or factually inaccurate statements by your client?

This panel will help sort through the following questions: What districts are adopting the model chapter 13 plan? What changes are being made to current form plans to conform to the requirements of the model form? How will the shortened deadline for filing proofs of claim affect chapter 13 administration? How will the new rules promulgated by the CFPB affect mortgage lenders and consumers?

Members of the commission will provide an update on recent public meetings, relevant topics and the commission reporting process.

This panel will address hot topics in the consumer bankruptcy world, including analysis of the UpRight decision and the ongoing evolution of fee arrangements.

This panel will review and debate issues regarding the new official form for chapter 13 plans, including how courts are tinkering with Rule 3015.1 — and why courts think they have the ability to do so.