CreditSlips

Academics for Sale

10/28/13

Whatever force academics have in public debate comes not from a claim that we are somehow smarter than others but because we can claim the persuasive force of having opinions that have not been purchased by others. Over the years, I have watched the line between legal academic and paid advocate slowly erode--a trend that is perhaps not uncoincidental with the downward drift of the influence of legal academics in public debate.

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Tabb on Bankruptcy

10/23/13

West Publishing will soon release the third edition of Tabb's Law of Bankruptcy authored by my colleague, Charles Tabb. This treatise is moving over to West from Foundation Press. The expected release date is November 14. In my opinion, Charles has produced the best one-volume treatise in bankruptcy.

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Bankruptcy and Rent Control

10/21/13

Totally out of my area of expertise, but I wanted to draw Slips readers' attention to a case discussed in this morning's NY Times, being handled by former guest blogger Ronald Mann, among others.

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New State Exemption Survey

10/15/13

Federal bankruptcy law defers to the states on a critical issue: what is the basic minimum income and property that debtors need not surrender to creditors.  Four states protect 100% of workers' wages, while 21 states allow creditors to garnish debtors' wages down to 50% of the poverty level for a family of 4, according to a new report from the National Consumer Law Center.   Similarly only 9 states protect a used car of  average value from seizure, and

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Most Politically Tone-Deaf Statement of the Year?

10/08/13

I'm quite sure China's plea to “ensure the safety of the Chinese investments” will bring certain members of of the House to their senses. 

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Hello, kettle? This is the pot. We should talk.

10/07/13

From the October 7 Financial Times, there's this opinion piece by Elliott's Jay Newman. The gist of it is that, for more than a decade, Elliott has been uber-reasonable in trying to negotiate with Argentina, but that the country has simply refused to discuss how much more it is willing to pay...

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Furlough Raises Moral Questions

10/07/13

Snaking up a mountain road toward our favorite trailhead yesterday, Stewart and I realized we’d face some moral dilemmas when we arrived. Assuming we could get into the National Forest at all, would we pay the fee, even though no one would fine us if we didn’t? Yes, we concluded. Fair is fair. Would we use the restrooms even though we knew they were not being cleaned?  As we left civilization, the answer to this one became increasingly “yes.” Would we throw our breakfast burrito wrappers in the bear-proof garbage cans? You bet.

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