Are there any Chapter 11 forums out there, OR profile case volume data?

[Mik3]

I'm facing a sting potential for a ch. 13 & a chapter 11 filing, but the whole thing is predicated on my ability to migrate through a chapter 11 achieving something resembling my goals. With each attorney I meet with I cannot seem to find one thats a good fit. Either they want 50K with a no offer of a % chance, seemingly have no ethics, or are to big for my case. All the while I cannot get straight answers from questions that should be routine from a firm that has a good deal of ch. 11 experience.

I expect more then a shoulder shrug from a professional I'm about to pay 50K.


On the profile case volume; What I'm seeking here is if there are records that show the number of BK cases filed per year by attorney.


Thank You
Mike

[justbroke]

For Chapter 11s, you should expect to pay $40K or more. They are a lot more complex and handling Committee Meetings, holding votes, and negotiating (potentially) with your largest creditors, can be frustrating. The reason nothing is guaranteed is the former. No one knows if your largest creditors will vote in favor of your Plan of Reorganization. You must have a plan which satisfies them in some way.

I was lucky to have avoided the Chapter 11 route. I did end up in a Chapter 13, but somehow ended up converting and discharging over $1.1MM (which was over the Chapter 13 limit).

And yes, some firms will be too big for your case. There are different Chapter 11 firms/attorneys for different sized clients. Some of these Chapter 11 firms/attorneys handle cases for entities/clients like American Airlines or, minimally, a large corporation with over $100MM a year in annual sales. You would need to find a firm/attorney that actually does small to mid-size entities; it may not be easy, as you are finding.

I don't know how you would find out how many cases are filed by a specific attorney. If you have deep pockets, you could always use PACER to see in which cases a particular attorney may appear. If you are bored, have nothing else to do, you could just drop in at the U.S. District Court and use their "free" PACER terminal(s). (Some State run law libraries also have free PACER terminals and free Lexis/Nexis terminals.)

(Des may be able to point you to another site that may have more posts regarding Chapter 11s.)

Good luck in your search.

[despritfreya]

(Des may be able to point you to another site that may have more posts regarding Chapter 11s.)

Unfortunately, not.

Your PACER suggestion is the only one I can think of, and, as you stated, running the "Query" at the court is free. Mik could take several names with him to the bk court and sit at a computer to investigate each one.

Des.

[Mik3]

Thank you, I just want sure if there was something out there I was missing. I'm signed up on PACER, and I can see how that could be costly. I have called the court appointed trustee for the ch. 13 referrals, and that has been decent in providing what I sense are good attorneys. Here on our state judicial web site there are only a few ch.7 trustees, and a single ch.13 trustee. Is the Ch. 11 trustee only assigned through the federal courts?

Would you have any reservation about using an attorney who is appointed as a ch. 7 trustee for either of the aforementioned chapters?


On another note; is there any conflict in utilizing the same attorney for both, 13 and 11?

Thank You
Mike

[justbroke]

In smaller Chapter 11 cases, there is no Trustee. The debtor-in-possession holds the creditor's meeting and does much of the Trustee's work. Whether a Trustee is required is, at least as far as I can remember, determined by the court but could be forced upon the debtor (vote by committee or some other motion to appoint a Trustee in the case). You would start your case Trustee-free as a DIP, but then mess up and the creditors ask that one is appointed.

There would be no conflict that I could see with an attorney handling both a Chapter 13 and a Chapter 11. In my opinion, some Chapter 7 Trustees could make good Chapter 7, 11, 12, and Chapter 13 debtor attorneys if, and only if, that Trustee has actually had experience with those types of cases. (Bear in mind that, and as you know, Chapter 7 Trustees are simply appointed attorneys used to liquidate the bankruptcy estate. These Chapter 7 Trustees are practicing attorneys and they should know at least how to do liquidation (Chapter 7) cases for debtors -- the other side of the fence.)

(Unless you live in an unusually large District (which hasn't been subdivided into Divisions), there will only be one Chapter 13 Trustee.)

I won't pretend to know enough about your business (organization) or your personal financial situation, but I wonder why you would want to reorganize the business if it's failing?

[despritfreya]

Mik,

The Chapter 11 Trustee is YOU as the principal of the company. The phrase is "debtor-in-possession". You are cloaked with all of the duties and responsibilities of a trustee. This is one reason why 11s cost so much more. The Court will remove the debtor-in-possession from the role of a trustee if the DIP breaches its/his/her fiduciary duties.

As to the conflict. . . since your entity is solely owned by you there is typically no problem with one attny handling both cases. We do it without issue but we always review the conflict issue. If we think there could be one we send one of the cases to some other attny we have "confidence" in and visa-versa.

Des.

[Mik3]

Thank you both for the clarification.

Mike