How to Make Bankruptcy Law Interesting!
I continued my first temporary duty as a legal secretary. I didn't think much about it. All I knew was that the short-term company paid me $8 an hour to work in a law office versus $5 an hour working in a "non law" workplace. Over the next 20 years I continued to look at functioning in the area as only a means to make additional money -- nothing more. Because I never was employed as a paralegal, that was. I simply bounced around from law firm to law firm, utilizing the legal area as a means to make extra money. To me, the customer was nothing greater than a file folder with a bunch of papers inside; so naturally, the field of law didn't fascinate me, whether or not it were ExpressBKHelp.com law, business, legal, real estate, etc. But in 1999 I was employed by an attorney to be his Office Manager. Two times after I began working with this lawyer, his paralegal abruptly quit and he was left needing to fill the place instantaneously. He called me in to his office and asked me if I needed to be a para legal. I said, "Okay -- what do I do?" Knowing I was genuine and also the sort of person that customers would open and be comfortable around, this attorney took me "under his wing" and taught me everything he knew concerning the part of Read Post law. In reality, his father, who started his practice in the 40s had trained him the same manner. I listened to every word the guy said and soaked up everything like a sponge. One thing I remember this bankruptcy lawyer telling me was a story his dad passed down to him which exemplifies the "magic" of bankruptcy. It went like this: "The very second a bankruptcy petition is file-stamped by the tribunal, a "magical" thing happens. A kind of umbrella comes down and entirely covers the private property of the debtor. No mortgage broker, no creditor of any type, no bill collector, including the Sheriff can reach any personal property of the debtor. Such a protection is immediately invoked, merely by file-stamping a typed document, called a bankruptcy petition." This might not sound like such a "huge deal" to some of you with deeprooted unfavorable feelings toward the area of bankruptcy legislation, but it illustrates a significant point. Regardless of what job we're doing, we frequently don't stop to feel what effect our actions cause to 100's or 1,000's of people. Only imagine when a bankruptcy petition is filed, the lives that are effected. Every single lender is affected along with the life span of the debt or filing for bankruptcy protection. In fact, not only is the debt or effected, but his /her household, his or her parents and other close relatives who know concerning this event. Every lawyer that is individual and every single paralegal, plays an important part in altering people's private lives irrespective of the type of law we have been involved in. Because it demands an extensive array of distinct areas of law, but bankruptcy legislation is a field that is interesting. For instance, if a couple is divorced, one spouse might be spending child or spousal assistance, thereby affecting the income of the debtor filing bankruptcy. Therefore, a fundamental knowledge of divorce law is needed to organize a bankruptcy petition. A little knowledge about tax law also is needed when coping with debtors, because many of them may owe state, federal or local taxes, which has to be listed as an unsecured concern debt. Corporate law is needed when planning legal regulation and a Chapter 11 petition comes into play when the debtor has been detained and owes money for outstanding fines. Additionally, bankruptcy law got two sides to it -- debtor and lender. I prefer debtor law since I get to truly work with real consumers, whereby creditor law is basically filling out program types like a Motion for Relief From Stay and there's not any "actual" contact with clients. However, in debtor law, I wants help and get to aid the common consumer, the man or gal who is down and out. It makes my day-to understand I prepared a wage garnishment notice to stop him/her from garnishing our customer's wages, who is barely existing on $150 per week. Nothing feels better to me than contacting the electric company to get her 3 children's lights and a customer back on for them to cook an evening meal. It is also a delight in my experience to have a client return to the office, place their arms around me and inform me how grateful they're that them and their neighbors are no longer harassing. Dealing with buyers supplies me with the capacity to exercise my abilities that are emotional and I in turn learn a terrific deal about individuals generally. Opps! Did we find another discipline in the bankruptcy legislation? Because we must use psychology in coping with customers, the medical knowledge base is a cross into bankruptcy law over discipline additionally. Picture that? Is it possible to start to find out by the bankruptcy area of law being fascinating what I mean? Why then do most folks create a negative face and say "ewe" when I mention the word "bankruptcy"? It's because filing for bankruptcy continues to be considered to be declaring the client was a failure. He or she failed to properly plan financially and/or they kept purchasing everything on charge cards and as a result of their bad judgment, they may be now in the financial position where they must file bankruptcy. And as a result of this general negative opinion, people that understand nothing about bankruptcy legislation will continue to say "ewe" till they are trained with the positive side. I tell clients in my own consumption interviews that it may be accurate that they made some terrible judgments on the money that they spent, but that was "then" and this is "now". I tell them-they should not be unhappy that America has a bankruptcy law. Many countries don't. Besides, the excusing of debts has existed since the time of Moses (5,000 years.) The law provided every 7 years, for a span, where all debts were excused and also the slate wiped clean. The lawmakers understood that keeping folks under heavy debt eternally would just cause their complete economy to fall. Their economy grew because people had more cash to put-back into it is increase by excusing debts every 7 years. Second, I explain to clients that many large corporations file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. This really is a method where a company pays back the debts, but does therefore at phrases it might afford. The business continues to to operate although a statement must file with all the court showing how much revenue the enterprise received and also the expenses incurred during that period and is maybe not closed down. With no Chapter 11, numerous workers would lose their careers and businesses would close. The market could be seriously effected and eventually fall. That means you can certainly see how significant bankruptcy that is important is to our everyday lives. When the bankruptcy law didn't exist, every one of us would be effected. So next time somebody mentions the phrase "bankruptcy," don't be so quick to to make a negative view. Think of it as an area of law that keeps us functioning as a growing economy and holds our lives. Give the credit it deserves and you will discover it to be an amazing field of legislation to bankruptcy law.