Bankruptcy Lawyer Charitable "Pro Bono" Efforts May Dry Up

Posted on August 26, 2005 by Kevin Chern Esq.
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Advocates of lower-income Americans are worried that the new changes in the bankruptcy laws will make it unattractive for lawyers to represent clients in pro-bono or reduced-fee bankruptcy filings.

While it used to take relatively little effort for attorneys to file bankruptcies on a pro-bono basis, the increased time, legal complexity and potential liability will create a huge disincentive to for attorneys to take these cases.

Consequently, many are speculating that low income individuals or families - ostensibly the ones who could benefit from filing for bankruptcy the most - will have to file 'pro se' cases because they can't afford to pay the increased attorney's fees, filing fees and costs. Worse, some "clients in need" may choose not to file at all, digging themselves deeper into debt.

Legal aid groups, who are already inundated with low income debtors, will receive yet more demands, and will have to scramble even more for funding to hire additional staff to help with handle the workload.

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