Our firm represents commercial banks, savings and loan associations, businesses, merchants, professionals and other creditors in bankruptcy matters.  In protecting our clients’ rights and to maximize any potential recovery from the bankruptcy estate, our firm becomes involved in stay litigation, lien avoidance proceedings, preferential transfer litigation and non dischargeability cases.  Proceedings are initiated to lift or vacate the stay that is automatically imposed upon the filing a bankruptcy proceeding in several areas.  Creditors in many instances are permitted to recover the property that had been pledged by the debtor as security for an outstanding obligation or unpaid debt.  The Bankruptcy stay can be lifted to permit a creditor to proceed against a co-obligor of a Chapter 13 debtor when the underlying debt is a consumer credit obligation and the plan confirmed by the Court does not propose to pay the creditor all of the monies due it.  Additionally, creditors can seek the lifting of the stay to allow it to exercise its right of setoff against property in possession of the creditor at the time of the filing of the petition.

We also protect the interest of our clients in defending against proceedings commenced by the debtor seeking to avoid a lien which the creditor may have.  Frequently, these proceedings seek to avoid the lien created by the docketing of a judgment which this firm may already have recovered on behalf of the client.  We defend the interests of our client in litigation commenced by the Trustee or the debtor seeking to recover property that may appear to be a preferential transfer, which when made, benefited the creditor.  Non-dischargeability proceedings are commenced to permit a debt to survive a bankruptcy proceeding when the appropriate circumstances warrant, and reaffirmation agreements are prepared and filed with the Bankruptcy Court to allow a creditor to obtain payments both during and after a bankruptcy discharge, sometimes resulting in the survivability and enforceability of a debt after a discharge is granted.

This firm will attend 341 Meetings at the request of our clients to protect their interests, review petitions, prepare and file proofs of claim to maximize any potential recovery in an asset Chapter 7 case, Chapter 13 or Chapter 11 and often assist the Trustee in locating and assembling assets for the estate for potential liquidation and distribution to claimants.