Bankruptcy

My practice concentrates on representing people and small businesses in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy cases.

• Chapter 13
• Chapter 7
• Credit Disputes
• Debt Relief
• Garnishments
• Business Bankruptcy
• Creditor Harassment
• Personal Bankruptcy
• Foreclosures

MA, Nov 1997
Bar Number: 638534

I am admitted to practice before Massachusetts and Maine State and Federal Courts.

National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys; National Association of Consumer Advocates.

I attend seminars in bankruptcy law sponsored by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education and by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys to keep current on Bankruptcy law generally as well as local practice.

In the consumer bankruptcy practice, I strive to ensure that my clients are never exposed to a contested court hearing. A successful case is an uneventful case where I can reduce my clients' stress by anticipating, dealing with and resolving legal issues before they get to a hearing. Therefore, it is a rare instance where a client of mine has to worry about going to court. When necessary, however, I have litigated issues such as a recent case where a former business partner of my client tried to get the debt owed to him declared as non-dischargeable. In such cases, I draw on the trial experience that I acquired doing criminal defense and child protective cases, and the resources available to me through online legal research and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, to aggressively defend my client's rights. In this most recent case, that meant soundly defeating all of the claims raised.

1

Massachusetts and Maine

I began practicing law as a sole practitioner in Massachusetts in 1997 after having practiced in Maine for over ten years. My emphasis, both in Maine and Massachusetts, has always been on helping low and middle income people with debt problems, matters involving children and the disabled.

I am a sole practitioner concentrating in consumer bankruptcy and child protective matters.

I began my legal career at Hoglund & Pearce, a small Portland, Maine firm that concentrated in commercial, real estate and bankruptcy law. Shortly thereafter, in 1989, I opened a practice of my own in Bath, Maine, concentrating on personal bankruptcy cases, criminal defense and child protective work. In 1997, I accepted a position as General Counsel for Franciscan Hospital for Children, maintaining a private law practice as well. I still perform legal work for this hospital, which includes a wide variety of regulatory matters, as part of an overall practice that emphasizes consumer bankruptcy, employment law and child protective matters.

One of the activities that I enjoy is running a Debt Relief/Bankruptcy Clinic for Neighborhood Legal Services in Lynn, Massachusetts, which I have been doing since 2000. In 2001 Neighborhood Legal Services recognized me as "Pro-Bono Attorney of the Year" for my work in designing and running this program.

(978) 312-1077

Office hours by appointment, including night and weekend availability.

No

Lynn, MA
616 Washington St.
Lynn, MA 01901
(978) 740-0770

I charge $800 for a Chapter 7 case and charge between $2,500 and $3,000 for a Chapter 13 case, much of the fee payable through the Chapter 13 plan. These flat rates do not include representation in contested matters outside of the scope of the main bankruptcy case, such as non-dischargeability actions or other adversary proceedings.

$150 per hour when flat rates do not apply.

Yes. I offer a free 45-minute initial consultation.

This is dependent on the case.