Written by Craig D. Robins, Esq.

Significant Changes in 2003. During the past year, there have been a significant number of changes in the way consumer bankruptcy practitioners practice. This article will highlight some of the changes that have come about over the past year. These include possible bankruptcy reform, the new “initiative” of the Office of the United States Trustee to aggressively audit and investigate cases, the computerization of the bankruptcy court, and new forms and filing fees.

Legislative Status. Congress has vigorously tried to overhaul the Bankruptcy Code for each of the last five years. This reform movement has been fueled by banking and credit card industries who have pumped tens of millions of dollars into lobbying efforts. However, as a result of political squabbles and power shifts, changing administrations, shifting Congressional priorities towards national security issues after September 11th, and bankruptcy law amendments tied to volatile abortion issues, Congress has been most unsuccessful in getting bankruptcy reform signed into law.

Enactment is still possible this year. In the Spring of 2003, the House quickly passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003. This was the seventh time in recent years that the House passed an omnibus bankruptcy reform measure. Some Senators have announced their determination to focus on the bill before the end of this year’s session, although as of November 25, 2003, the House filed the 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, apparently without the Bankruptcy Reform Act. If Congress adjourns for the end of the year without enacting the new legislation, informed sources expect to see the reform bill come back immediately in 2004.

When and if the Bankruptcy Code is overhauled, it will drastically change consumer bankruptcy law and practice. These changes will be addressed in a future article.

The New, Paperless Bankruptcy Court. Bankruptcy courts around the country have been moving rapidly to implement procedures for electronic filing and computerization of all records. Prior to last year, all bankruptcy attorneys were accustomed to filing their petitions by personally delivering them to the court clerk’s office. However, in January 2003, the Court began pushing attorneys to file their petitions electronically through Electronic Case Filing (“E.C.F.”) over the internet.

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