Interested in practicing in the Bankruptcy area? Here’s what you have to look forward to. Stated most generally, bankruptcy lawyers work within the context of persons and entities seeking protection under the Bankruptcy Code.

 

·        Debtor-creditor distinction: On the debtor side, bankruptcy lawyers counsel their clients if and when to file for bankruptcy and under which bankruptcy chapter; they work with clients either to wind up and liquidate the clients’ affairs or to restructure debts and to formulate a plan of reorganization. On the creditor side, lawyers try to protect the interests of clients whose rights are challenged and perhaps changed within the context of bankruptcy.

 

·        Business-consumer distinction: Much of consumer bankruptcy practice is routine and high volume and thus susceptible to automation and streamlined workflow. Preparation of the bankruptcy petition and schedules is mechanized, and the follow-up tasks and court papers tend to be highly derivative of prior work. In other words, there aren’t many surprises and the need for legal research is often kept to a minimum. On the business side, novel or more obscure legal issues arise much more frequently and are typically researched by junior associates. Senior lawyers typically spend a lot of time negotiating, counseling and litigating disputes that are part of or arise out of the bankruptcy.

 

Typical tasks include:

 

·        Interviewing and investigating the client, and assembling data needed for preparation of petition and schedules;

·        Preparing and filing the consumer or business petition;

·        Preparing and filing proofs of claim; filing administrative claims and determining validity of claims;

·        Enforcing the automatic stay (debtor) or seeking to have the stay modified or lifted (creditor);

·        Drafting and filing the Chapter 11 (business) or Chapter 13 (consumer) plan. In the case of large chapter 11 cases, this can be a highly complex and sophisticated undertaking and may involve intense negotiations;

·        Representing and counseling the creditors’ committee in a chapter 11 case;

·        Preparing pleadings to be used in adversary proceedings.

 

Junior associates might deal with clients on a daily basis and participate in motion practice, financial restructurings, bankruptcy litigation, and transactional matters involving bankruptcy, insolvency, debtors’ rights, and creditors’ rights.