Bankruptcy

One of Every Nine Bankruptcy Cases Is Filed Without a Lawyer

By Bob Lawless

A few weeks ago, I pulled a national random sample of chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases filed by individuals during July and August of 2010. I kept track of how many were filed by pro se debtors, that is people who were not represented by an attorney as indicated by the docket sheet. The figure was 11.3% or a little more than one out of every nine cases (n = 672). Interestingly, the pro se rate was higher in chapter 13 (13.8%) than it was in chapter 7 (10.1%), but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.167).

The fact that one of every nine debtors files bankruptcy without an attorney will probably strike some people as high, but keep in mind this is just a national average. From talking with court clerks and bankruptcy judges, I understand some jurisdictions may have a pro se rate as high as 30%. Pro se debtors can impose extra costs on the bankruptcy system as they try to navigate the maze of forms and proceedings. Also, with a very complex law like the Bankruptcy Code that was only made more complex in 2005, it is likely that unrepresented debtors are not achieving as good results in bankruptcy as those who are able to afford attorneys.

Full post as published by Credit Slips on September 08, 2010 (boomark / email).