Free Help Toward a Fresh Start on Debt

Clinic to Assist Residents Who Want to File for Bankruptcy Without a Lawyer

With the economy in crisis, personal bankruptcies are up nationwide, and so is the number of Maryland residents filing for bankruptcy without the help of a lawyer.

In the complicated world of bankruptcy law, going it alone is not easy. So next month, U.S. Bankruptcy Court officials in Maryland will open a weekly clinic in the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, offering free 30-minute legal consultations for people who are considering filing bankruptcy or already have.

The free clinic will be the second opened as part of the court's Debtor Assistance Project, which is aimed at helping overwhelmed debtors who are considering seeking court protection but have not hired a lawyer. Officials opened a similar clinic at the federal courthouse in Baltimore in March.

The opening date of the Greenbelt program has not been set, but once it is running, bankruptcy lawyers who have volunteered to participate will be on hand every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"Sometimes, debtors don't know where to turn," said Duncan W. Keir, chief judge of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Maryland.

Many end up in court only to have their cases dismissed because their filings are incomplete, incorrect or both, Keir said.

With the new clinics, the bankruptcy court hopes to offer enough guidance to help people decide whether they should file and, if so, whether they are likely to need an attorney and what they will need to do.

The Baltimore clinic has helped dozens of people sort out their options, said Jessica Vollmer, a court official and coordinator of the clinic initiative. Debtors can seek an appointment at either clinic, but bankruptcy cases must be filed in the proper court. The one in Greenbelt handles those from the Southern Maryland counties of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's, the Western Maryland counties of Allegany, Garrett and Washington, and Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Many personal bankruptcies are prompted by the threat of foreclosure, and Prince George's and Montgomery, Maryland's most populous jurisdictions, have led the state in foreclosure actions. Filing for bankruptcy automatically suspends efforts to seize a home.

Since the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act in 2005, a lawyer has become almost a necessity in filing for bankruptcy, judges and lawyers said. The changes in the federal bankruptcy law were intended to discourage frivolous filings, but the new hurdles have also made it harder for people with a bona fide need for bankruptcy protection, the judges and lawyers said.

As the legal work has become more complicated, the cost of handling such cases has risen, and many lawyers who had limited experience in bankruptcies stopped doing them, bankruptcy lawyers said. As a result, debtors have struggled to find affordable lawyers, and more have been appearing in bankruptcy court representing themselves.

"It's a significant problem," Keir said. "It's a burden on the clerk's office and a burden on the court, including the judges, because judges have to stay neutral, which is very difficult when one side has able counsel and one side does not."

In addition to the clinics, the court is trying to help debtors with a new program for bankruptcy lawyers who are willing to accept lower or deferred fees.

Jeff Nessom, an Owings Mills lawyer who has worked on bankruptcy cases for 26 years and volunteers at the Baltimore clinic, said the consultations at the courthouse are quite different from those he has with clients.

"We have a half-hour with these people to really very quickly identify issues, help with something significant and send them on their way," he said.

Nevertheless, people leave with a clearer sense of what's ahead and what they need to do, Nessom said.

"A lot of times," he said, "the advice is, 'Go get a lawyer.' "