Rachel Feintzeig in a Wall Street Journal blog announced that the American Bar Association filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on Tuesday. (An amicus curiae brief, a legal Latin phrase meaning “a friend of the court”, brings to the Court relevant matter not already brought to its attention.) The brief is intended to challenge the constitutionality of a change made to the Bankruptcy Code by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. I refer to this issue in an earlier blog where I explain that the matter being challenged is the barring of attorneys from advising clients to increase their debt if considering filing for bankruptcy. The Milavetz lawsuit of 2007, contesting this issue, has made its way to the country’s highest court.
The American Bar Association decided to submit some cautionary thoughts to the Supreme Court before they review the case in the fall. They counseled that classifying attorneys as “debt relief agencies” would undermine rules protecting attorney-client privilege. To quote the ABA: “The BAPCPA is an express attempt to regulate attorneys in ways that are in direct conflict with existing state laws and ethical rules, and with the attorney’s role of advisor and advocate.”
It will be interesting to see if the Supreme Court Justices heed their warning.
Kevin D. Heupel, Colorado bankruptcy lawyer
phone: 303-955-7570
website: http://COBankruptcyHelp.com
email: help@cobankruptcyhelp.com
form : free personal bankruptcy consultation form
