破产的诊所
Volunteer attorneys represent individuals filing personal bankruptcy by providing advice, preparing the petition and related schedules, attending the meeting of creditors, and otherwise handling all aspects of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process. D.C. 酒吧 公益性服务 Center prescreens all clients before they are referred to volunteer attorneys to ensure that potential bankruptcy petitioners are eligible for pro bono services and good candidates for bankruptcy protection.
There were 75 percent more personal bankruptcy filings in the District of Columbia in 2012 than just six years ago. In 2012, 1.2 million households filed personal bankruptcy petitions nationwide, for a five-year cumulative total of 6.5 million petitions, representing about 5.7 percent of all US households. The Washington metropolitan area seems to have a higher-than-average ratio of bankruptcy petitions, a significant portion of which are filed pro se.
破产的诊所 volunteers who are not experienced bankruptcy attorneys must attend one of the clinic’s twice-yearly training sessions. The 培训 feature a discussion on the basic skills used to interview a prospective client, prepare bankruptcy schedules, and represent a debtor through a Chapter 7 proceeding. Additional topics include a summary of the Fair Debt Collection Act summary; case screening and evaluation; automatic stays; completion of schedules; exemptions; discharge provisions; and ethics and conflicts of interest issues. For more information or to register, view the list of upcoming 培训. All volunteers must be members in good standing of the D.C. 酒吧 or the bar of another U.S. 管辖范围内.
Volunteer attorneys have access to mentors, training manuals and other materials available on probono.net/DC/bankruptcy, support of 公益性服务 Center staff, use of bankruptcy preparation software, and client meeting space. The 公益性服务 Center provides malpractice insurance for cases handled through the 破产的诊所.
For more information, please contact Managing Attorney Erik Goodman at (电子邮件保护).
Members of the public with bankruptcy concerns should attend one of the 公益性服务 Center’s 建议 & 咨询诊所.
