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Full-Text Articles in Law
Challenges And Opportunities For New Lawyers, David Nersessian, Maureen A. O'Rourke
Challenges And Opportunities For New Lawyers, David Nersessian, Maureen A. O'Rourke
Faculty Scholarship
These are challenging times to be a lawyer. They may even be transformational times. Recent upheavals in financial, industrial and real estate markets have many lawyers (and clients) not only cutting back, but also fundamentally re-thinking their business models and the ways in which legal services are provided. Until very recently, hardly a day passed without news of law firm layoffs, deferred start dates, or canceled summer programs. In-house lawyers face substantial budget cuts at the very time their departments must navigate a broader range of legal and organizational challenges. And many government and public interest employers are dealing with …
A Tale Of Two Debtors: Bankruptcy Disparities By Race, Rory Van Loo
A Tale Of Two Debtors: Bankruptcy Disparities By Race, Rory Van Loo
Faculty Scholarship
This article offers the first quantitative evidence on race and bankruptcy. Minority debtors fare worse overall in bankruptcy — blacks are 40% and Hispanics 43% less likely than whites to receive a discharge in Chapter 13 after controlling for variables such as education, income, and employment. While the data do not allow for causal inference, Chapter 13 trustees were twice as likely to have made a motion to dismiss even against black debtors who ultimately completed their multi-year bankruptcy plans than against similar white debtors. The paper also indicates that a lack of attorney representation by minority debtors may make …