Its not the repayment provisions of the bankruptcy reform act that irk me.

Its the little things they've thrown in.

- limitations on refiling cases if you screw up the first time.

- limitations of cram-down provisions we used to have. (you could limit repayment of a car loan to the car's actual value, you could eliminate a second mortgage if the first mortgage was more than the house was worth)

- regulation of debtor's attorneys.

- credit counseling for Chapter 13 filings. Huh? They're repaying anyway.

- having a debtor go to a non-lawyer first before they go to a lawyer - violates state unauthorized practice of law restrictions.

will all be at the filer's expense of course. They're setting up a little cottage industry on the side of their loan-sharking.

The lawyers will also pass on any risk they take representing the client, onto the client.

Also, they can go after anything now. Your house, car, retirement savings, child support, tax refunds...

All that and the real kicker is that by the time the debtor applies for bankruptcy, the credit card companies have realized a profit from them already.

the boot on the neck of debtor's attorneys that particularly pisses me off and disturbs me. Creditors lie and/or make mistakes all the fucking time about debts and debtors, and yet do you see creditors attorneys being held responsible and liable for them? Of course not. This will accomplish the repukes' goal of getting rid of any lawyers who have the gall to use their knowledge and skills to actually help people. Look what they've been trying to do to plaintiff's lawyers with the whole "tort reform" bullshit. And witness their incremental evisceration and defunding of Legal Aid Societies as well.

I know plenty of debtors' attorneys, and I feel so bad for them. They want so much to be able to continue representing debtors, but they just may not be able to. Some can't afford the higher costs of malpractice insurance they'll be forced to pay since they'll be liable for the accuracy of the information debtors give them concerning their financial matters. Others can't abide the Nazi boot on their necks. They know they're desperately needed, but they don't know if they'll be able to continue. Many have built their careers and practices over decades and resent the hell out of the fact that they may see it all go up in smoke just to make the fatcats who always win anyway happy. I can hardly bear to talk to foreclosure/collections attorneys right now, they make me so sick.