Bankruptcy is a Different World

Bankruptcy law is indeed a different world. It is not a "subset" of another branch of law; it is its own world. Bankruptcy has its own laws, its own courts, its own judges, its own customs and its own rules of procedure. Lawyers must either live in that world or live elsewhere - bankruptcy is not the place for enterprising young lawyers to dabble. What occurs in the bankruptcy court is normally irreversible - whether the lawyer or the client understands it or not.

Half truths, exaggerations and fabrications in other courts may be ignored or warrant an admonishment. In bankruptcy court they are felonies and they are prosecuted.

Bankruptcy court is the only place where it is possible to wipe away all debt without a tax consequence.

Bankruptcy court is the only place that holds the power to stop the IRS and declare perfectly valid taxes to be non-collectible.

Bankruptcy court is the only place where one can go to have instant relief and bankruptcy is structured so as to extend that relief uninterrupted from the moment of filing through the closing of the case.

Clients who go to conventional lawyers often expect to see things happen. Perhaps it is a wrong that needs to be righted or a lawsuit to be defended or filed; they expect judges and juries and courtrooms and arguments and debates. Clients expect to see their lawyer go into action. But this is not the case with bankruptcy lawyers representing debtors. If a client hires a bankruptcy lawyer to file a bankruptcy for him and absolutely nothing happens to the client, the lawyer has done his job.

That is what we do for debtors. We protect them.

Charles Chesnutt