Here’s this week’s Bankruptcy Quiz, with an emphasis on consumer Chapter 7 issues.
Last Friday, we had our Annual Dinner for the W. Homer Drake, Jr. Georgia Bankruptcy American Inn of Court here in Macon at Capricorn Studios, which is probably most famous for The Allman Brothers Band (whose members were Macon natives), but if you follow bankruptcy, was the first Chapter 11 bankruptcy debtor in the Middle District of Georgia under the 1978 Bankruptcy Act. It was such a great idea by Inn Counselor Jenny Walker and her Executive Committee to choose such a cool dinner site!
Fittingly, Gus Small, a commercial bankruptcy legend in Georgia, spoke first, and told some great stories about the eight years or so, starting in the late 70s, when he was not only a bankruptcy attorney, but also Greg Allman’s personal attorney (after representing the Allman Brothers in Capricorn’s bankruptcy case). I was fortunate enough to sit at Gus’s table and hear more crazy stories about the Band and Greg (and Cher).
And then, after being introduced by our Inn President, Bankruptcy Judge Austin Carter, Prof. Ishaq Kundawala spoke. Prof. Kundawala is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and has the Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute and W. Homer Drake Jr. Endowed Chair in Bankruptcy Law at Mercer Law.
He has been in the news lately because of the Consumer Bankruptcy Clinic that he started at Mercer Law and we were happy to hear him tell us all about it. The goal of the Clinic is to help consumer debtors in Middle Georgia who need Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief file their cases when they otherwise can’t afford it. The students in the Clinic, which is setup as a Spring externship at the Law School, act under the supervision of practicing attorneys. This year, those supervising attorneys were my friends Rob Matson and Alex Sanders. If I’m remembering correctly, the Clinic facilitated eight Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, with Georgia Legal Services helping with client intake given the high demand for the Clinic’s assistance.
Professor Kundawala summarized it best when he was quoted in this article:
This is a serious access to justice issue with many people in our community . . . Oftentimes people find themselves in situations not of their own making — such as unexpected medical expenses, death of a family member or other circumstances — that prevent them from fulfilling their financial obligations. Our goal is to get our community members the help they desperately need. We want to bridge the gap that exists between people, lawyers and the justice system.
–Prof. Ishaq Kundawala
So in honor of this great Clinic and the eight cases that it helped file last Spring, here is an 8 question bankruptcy quiz that emphasizes consumer Chapter 7 issues. I tried to come up with real life questions that Prof. Kundawala’s students might face in the Clinic. And because Prof. Kundawala is a good friend of the blog and our biggest fan of the weekly quizzes, I’m making this week’s quiz open book. I promise I’m not trying to make these difficult!
Click the image to take the quiz. Have a nice weekend!
Click here for prior quizzes.
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