CreditSlips

New Law on Exemption Surcharging

03/05/14

Get it?

Anyway, Law v. Siegel is now out, with a 9-0 opinion that shouldn't surprise anyone.  It finally gave Justice Scalia a chance to write a strongly textualist bankruptcy opinion for the Court, getting him out of the gulag of concurrences and dissents.  It helped, of course, that he cited myriad other ways to punish debtors than surcharing exemptions.  He wouldn't want to be accused of going soft.

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Some reflections on the "big club behind the door"

03/04/14

Autonomous administrative agencies are anathema to certain sorts of lawmakers, e.g., those who think that we are always better off with less regulation.  Recent legislation – H.R.

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Brooklyn Goes Global

03/04/14

Just a quickie: I'm attending a conference at Brooklyn Law School this Friday on Choice of Law in Cross Border Bankruptcy Cases, organized by my long-time co-author, and friend of the blog, Ted Janger.

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Off with their heads!

03/03/14

Hey, Everyone!  Great to be back on CreditSlips.  

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Welcome Back to Susan Block-Lieb

03/03/14

Credit Slips is pleased to welcome back Professor Susan Block-Lieb of Fordham University. A long-time "friend of the blog" -- as Stephen Colbert might put it -- Susan has blogged with us in the past with Professor Ted Janger. This time, we have Susan for a solo appearance. She will offer her insights on topics such as the CFPB and homeowner protection. Welcome back!

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Discharge, Yes...But, How Much?

03/03/14

In this post I will explain the extent of the discharge given to insolvent individuals under the new Spanish insolvency law. Different problems arise from the way it has been introduced, ranging from its extent to the differences depending on the nature of the debtor. As in other provisions, looking at the newly introduced discharge one receives the impression of some sloppiness in the amendment or, worse, window dressing.

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The Politics of Financial Regulation and the Regulation of Financial Politics

03/02/14

I have an new article, The Politics of Financial Regulation and the Regulation of Financial Politics, forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review. The article is a multi-book review essay that serves as a launching pad for a discussion about the role of politics in financial regulation. The basic point is that the real issue in financial regulation is one of neutralizing or harnessing politics.

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Debt Collection Complaints and Regulation: Last Chance to Comment on ANPR

02/28/14

Today is your last chance to comment on the CFPB's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Regulation F, regarding debt collection.  I had the pleasure of working with Pat McCoy on a joint comment to the ANPR.

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Attorneys' Advice on Representing Religious Organizations in Chapter 11

02/28/14

As part of my study of religious organizations' Chapter 11 cases, I interviewed attorneys who represented a variety of churches and other faith-based institutions in their reorganization cases. Some of my findings are presented in this new paper. In short, the interviews confirm my previous conclusion based on an analysis of documents filed in religious organizations' Chapter 11 cases: reorganization oftentimes can be beneficial for these debtors.

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Why Do Community Banks Carry Water for the Megabanks?

02/27/14

A phenomenon that has puzzled me for the last several years is why community banks consistently carry water for the megabanks on regulatory reform issues.  I'm hoping that readers might be able to shine some light on this issue.

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