Stupid Bankruptcy Lawyer Tricks - Vol. 1
Professor Eugene Volokh of The Volokh Conspiracy blog recently wrote here of a particularly noteworthy "stupid lawyer trick" in a case involving a lawyer recently charged with suborning perjury by advising his client to lie under oath in a DUI case. The "stupid trick" part of the lawyer's misconduct involved his documenting his advice to lie in emails to his client, one of which advised:
They won't have anyone there to testify how much you had to drink. You won't be charged with perjury. I've never seen them charge anyone with perjury, and everybody lies in criminal cases, including the cops. If you want to tell the truth, then we'll just plead guilty and you can get your jail time over with.
"Stupid lawyer tricks" are not uncommon in bankruptcy cases either, and Professor Volokh's post prompted me to start a new category called "Stupid Lawyer Tricks" in which I hope to periodically report on some of the "Jackass-type" tricks some bankruptcy lawyers try to get away with from time to time.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CASES FEATURE STUNTS PERFORMED BY PROFESSIONALS OR UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROFESSIONALS. THE BANKRUPTCY BLOG MUST INSIST THAT NO ONE ATTEMPT TO RECREATE ANY STUNT OR ACTIVITY REPORTED, OTHER THAN IN A SUPERVISED CLASSROOM SETTING.
This opening segment (vol. 1) of "Stupid Bankruptcy Lawyer Tricks" reports on some tricks found in the following recent cases, each of which is discussed below:
In re Sadorus, 2005 WL 3429467 (Bankr. C.D. Ill., 12/8/05) (advising a client to lie in order to get his bankruptcy case dismissed and thereby avoid having to disclose the existence of a bank account the lawyer had wrongly advised would be exempt)
In re Kollel Mateh Efraim, LLC, 2005 WL 3439684 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y., 12/15/05) (entering into a settlement on the record, but first not telling the client and then evading the client's attempts to find out what happened)
I.G. Petroleum, L.L.C., v. Fenasci (In re West Delta Oil Co.), 2005 WL 3220291 (5th Cir, 12/1/05) (lawyer retained as special counsel joins with a possible suitor for the debtor's assets, sends threatening letters to other potential bidders, and never discloses its conflict to the court)
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Posted By Steve Jakubowski In Stupid Lawyer Tricks
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