Stuffy? Hardly! Alameda bankruptcy attorney James Pixton has spent a lot of time in the various Bay Area courts over the past twelve or so years of practice and the one thing he’s noticed is that the happiest lawyers seem to be bankruptcy attorneys. James speculates that it has something to do with outcomes. “If you think about it,” he says, “bankruptcy is pretty much the only area of the law where people are so much better off at the end than they were at the beginning. You owe tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars that you can’t pay; you file for bankruptcy; it all goes away.” He continues, “People feel so much genuine relief and they express tremendous appreciation for the help their bankruptcy attorney gives them. It’s very rewarding.”
Bankruptcy seems to attract a particular type of attorney. “From what I’ve seen,” James says, “Some of the friendliest and most compassionate lawyers I’ve met and interacted with are bankruptcy lawyers. Even the lawyers on who represent the banks and other creditors are generally good and pleasant people. They certainly fight for their clients’ rights and goals, but they do it in a very civil way.” According to James, good manners seems to be a hallmark of those who practice in the bankruptcy arena.
One of the greatest aspects of the bankruptcy bar is its collaborative nature. James noticed right from the beginning that bankruptcy lawyers help each other out. “This willingness to work together certainly benefits the clients,” he says. “If I run into a conflict, I can call one of my bankruptcy attorney friends and he can pinch hit for me at a hearing–but only if the clients are OK with it. It usually works out best for them because it keeps their case moving along.” James says he also helps other attorneys when he can.
The local bankruptcy bar is big on improving the quality of practice. Led by peninsula bankruptcy attorney Cathy Moran, the San Francisco Bay Area bankruptcy bar is developing many online resources for new and experienced practitioners alike. “It’s pretty great to have a sounding board on the internet,” reports James. “Every once in a while, I run across an issue with one of my clients that’s unfamiliar and that completely stumps me. I can post the question in one of the bankruptcy attorney forums and within a few hours, I end up with one, two or sometime half a dozens ideas or responses from other attorneys. We help each other, and that in turn helps our clients.
