The LAW & LAWYERS Blog

The U.S. unemployment rate has just hit a 14-year high after the economy lost another 240,000 in October. Businesses have resorted to slashing jobs after consumers have slowed down swiping their credit cards and forking over cash.

The rate is now at 6.5 percent, the highest percentage since 1994. Many financial analysts expect the unemployment rate will reach 8 percent by the same time next year. In total, the United States has lost 1.2 million jobs since January of this year. Half of those job losses have happened in the last three months.

If you’ve lost your job or having a hard time paying bills, filing bankruptcy may be a debt-relief option for you. Consider talking to a bankruptcy lawyer today. Total Lawyers has a wide network of bankruptcy attorneys ready to listen to you.

Yesterday, disbarred Florida lawyer Graham Kligerman was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in a fake mortgage foreclosure rescue scheme.

The 34-year-old lawyer is accused of being the closing agent on 57 fraudulent real estate transactions. Banks were deceived into making millions in loans. Worse, homeowners facing foreclosure, who turned to Kligerman to save their homes, actually lost their homes.

Kligerman, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit bank, wire and mail fraud, was also ordered to pay $6.5 million in restitution payments to all the loan processors, homeowners, banks and homebuyers who were cheated by his con.

His defense lawyers argued that his deceptive behavior stemmed from mental illness and the desperation of a failing law practice—not greed. The said that Kligerman only kept $150,000 of the diverted equity and gave the rest to his law clients.

“This court is seeing too many of these types of cases,” the presiding judge said. “There are victims out here who have lost their homes. You should be down on your knees begging for these people to forgive you and do something tangible to make up for what has happened to them. They’re hurting and you’re living comfortably—What’s wrong with that picture?”

Kligerman was disbarred in 2005 after he fabricated court documents, faked a judge’s signature and diverted money to a client from one of his personal trust accounts while pretending it was a payment from defendants.

“I live with regret every day,” Kligerman told a reporter. “To anybody who was hurt, and I know there were many of them, I apologize.”

Mortgage foreclosures are at an all-time high. If you are nearing or facing mortgage foreclosure, be careful who you turn to for help. Like Kligerman, there are many predatory people out there looking to cheat homeowners who are desperate to save their homes.

Consider talking with a bankruptcy lawyer. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan has helped thousands of Americans save their homes from foreclosure and get set up on a realistic repayment plan to better manage their debt.

With the economy in such turmoil, times are tough for everybody—even lawyers. Layoffs at law offices are rare but becoming somewhat of a trend as income dwindles.

A Chicago law firm laid off 24 defense lawyers out of its 680 staff and another firm let go of 21 defense attorneys out of their stock of 650, according to a Chicago Tribune story.

But don’t worry—if you’re looking for a lawyer, we have an extensive network and nobody’s going anywhere!

Total Lawyers can help you if you’re looking for a:

• Bankruptcy Lawyer
• Criminal Defense Lawyer
• Personal Injury Lawyer
• DUI Lawyer
• Divorce Lawyer
• Family Law Lawyer
• Estate Layer
• Lemon Law Lawyer

I’m not sure I’ve ever linked to a site that billed itself as a “tabloid” before, but some things have to be seen to be believed, and Above the Law was good enough to post a copy of the court transcript in which an attorney from a 70-year-old law firm with more than 1000 attorneys in multiple countries apparently told the judge “with respect”, that she was a few fries short of a happy meal.

She responded with a show-cause order requiring the attorney to appear and show cause why he shouldn’t be suspended from practice before her court.  That hearing is scheduled for June 25; we’ll keep you posted.

If you’re a consumer bankruptcy lawyer or a consumer who has filed for bankruptcy protection in the past year and a half…or a counselor for a credit counseling agency…it will probably come as no surprise to you that a recent GAO study raised some questions about the usefulness of the pre-bankruptcy filing credit counseling requirement.

It isn’t that credit counseling can’t be useful, but that the requirement that someone planning to file for bankruptcy protection complete a credit counseling briefing doesn’t kick in until that person sets out to file bankruptcy.  By that time, circumstances are usually dire, and credit counseling agencies have indicated that most people who come to them at that point have no realistic options outside the bankruptcy process.

Don’t look for any changes in the near future, though; the report only recommended tracking outcomes for those completing credit counseling in anticipation of bankruptcy.  The study found that the post-filing, pre-discharge debtor education course was helpful.

Four and a half months after the end of 2006, the Administrative Office of the Courts has released bankruptcy filing statistics for the fourth quarter of 2006 and, thus, for the first full calendar year since the dramatic changes to the bankruptcy code in 2005.

To no one’s surprise, filings have decreased.  However, what may be more telling is the rate at which filings have INCREASED since almost immediately after the law change took effect.   First quarter filings in 2006–the first full quarter after the law change took effect–reached only 116,771.  However, one year later, first quarter filings reached 186,788.