A Day in the Life of a Bankruptcy Attorney

A Day in the Life: Third-Year Associate, New York

7:15 a.m. My alarm buzzes, and I hit snooze (a couple of times).

7:25 a.m. I have an internal debate (the same one I have a couple of times a week) - what I really want to do is roll over and go back to sleep for another hour, but what I really should do is go to the gym instead. Hmmm... tough choice. I tell myself that if I go to the gym today, I won't have to go tomorrow! That's something to look forward to. Plus, something has to be done to counter the effects of all the bratwurst I ate during last week's vacation in Germany. Gym wins out, and I drag myself out of bed.
 

7:40 a.m. I arrive at the gym. Although it is a five-minute walk from the firm's offices, I rarely see anyone from the firm in the morning. The gym I go to is located on Wall Street, so it is full of lawyers, bankers and traders. Today's workout is a half hour of cardio, followed by some weights. This is when I can get my dose of MTV and VH1. I can't wait until it gets warmer so I can go rollerblading on the promenade instead of being stuck inside.

8:35 a.m. I leave the gym and on my way home pass hordes of people streaming to their jobs on Wall St. I'm glad I have a job that doesn't require me to be in the office at my desk by 8:30 or 9:00 a.m.

9:20 a.m. I arrive at the firm (I live about a seven-minute walk away). On my way into my office, I pick up some breakfast in the cafeteria.

9:25 a.m. I turn on my computer and eat breakfast while reviewing e-mails from the night before. I also catch up on the New York legal gossip by surfing the legal web sites, and catch up on the news by scanning The New York Times and CNN online.

9:40 a.m. I scan the Daily Bankruptcy News and Daily Bankruptcy Review for articles relevant to the cases I'm working on, as well as general articles of interest. The Daily Bankruptcy News has a "weird news" column that is pretty hilarious.

10:00 a.m. My firm represents an energy company that has filed for Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Among other things, I am currently drafting a motion seeking authorization for the debtor to enter into an agreement that extends a previous agreement the debtors entered into pre-petition. A large part of my time is devoted to this debtor's case, and the majority of today's work is in connection with this case.

The motion would not be too difficult to draft, except that the underlying transaction that led up to this agreement was quite complex, and no one can give me a blow-by-blow account of the transaction and its background, as all the due diligence that was performed was not looking at this specific issue. The motion requires that I write a background of the events leading up to the agreement to put the agreement in context, so I have to review and interpret several interconnecting agreements and financial documents to figure out what exactly happened in this transaction. After reviewing these documents for several days, I finally finish my review.

I complete a timeline of the underlying transaction I had been drafting earlier in the week and stop by the senior associate's office (I had arranged a meeting time yesterday evening) to discuss it, as well as the general terms of the motion. I return to my office and call the client to discuss the transaction summary to be included in the "background" section of the motion. We determine that the summary needs to include reference to another document. I call the paralegal and ask her to send it to me.

12:00 p.m. I think it is a holdover from my childhood when I ate lunch in school everyday at noon, but I can never hold out for the usual New York City 1:00 p.m. lunchtime. Luckily, I have some friends in the firm whose stomachs are also early birds and I instant message them with the not-so-subtle hint: "I'M STARVING!" We agree to meet in the cafeteria in five minutes. I have stopped eating lunch at my desk because I inevitably splash soup or salad dressing on my documents. Plus, as a general quality of life issue, I prefer to meet with friends, since it only takes an additional 15 minutes or so to eat with them, rather than hole up in my office. We talk about what we're working on, and our plans for the weekend.

12:45 p.m. Back in the office, I continue to draft the motion seeking authorization for the debtor to enter into the agreement extending a previous agreement the debtors entered into pre-petition. All motions in bankruptcy require three documents: (a) the notice of motion, (b) the motion, and (c) a proposed order granting the relief sought.

2:15 p.m. In addition to drafting various motions in this Chapter 11 debtor's case, I am one of two associates assigned to handle requests to modify the automatic stay in the case to allow state court litigation actions, usually personal injury cases, to continue to final judgment and/or settlement. Not exactly the most glamorous subject matter, but each request presents an interesting twist, and it is a good opportunity to develop my negotiation skills. These cases require some juggling, since I will generally have at least three or four automatic stay modification motions on my plate at any given moment, all with different hearing dates and objection deadlines.

I call an adversary who has filed an automatic stay motion in connection with a personal injury action my adversary wants to continue; the hearing on the motion is in a week and a half. We start to negotiate the terms of a stipulation and order agreeing to the continuance. I have previously spoken with our client regarding the terms of the insurance policy providing coverage on the date the purported injury took place, and I explain the terms of the insurance policy to the adversary.

In many cases, I end up dealing with an adversary, such as a personal injury attorney, who is unfamiliar with bankruptcy law and I have to explain how the automatic stay works. This adversary is particularly difficult, and does not want to agree to the form of stipulation and order that has already been approved by the Bankruptcy Court. I explain to him that he is not giving up any of his rights to collect should he receive a judgment against the debtor, but if he wants to even get to the judgment stage, he has to agree to these terms of the stipulation and order, and that the debtors require certain assurances to ensure the property of the estate will not be affected.

We continue to discuss language from which he could get some comfort. We tentatively agree to certain concepts, and I turn to the draft stipulation and order to incorporate the terms we had just discussed. I call up a colleague who used to oversee the automatic stay issues in this case to discuss the terms of the stipulation.

2:40 p.m. I receive a call from a client we represented in his company's acquisition of assets from a bankrupt debtor during the better part of last year. We still have one outstanding issue with the debtors. The client and I discuss several options in approaching the debtor and settle on one. I call debtors' counsel and leave a message for the partner representing the debtors.

3:00 p.m. Back to our energy company debtor. I receive a call from our local counsel, seeking advice regarding another of the many pending automatic stay motions. Local counsel needs to inform the state court that the personal injury action is stayed due to the bankruptcy proceedings, but does not know how to "prove" this. Apparently, some state courts, unfamiliar with federal bankruptcy proceedings, request some sort of documentation that the automatic stay is in place. We discuss several options, since there is no such document in place, and decide that local counsel will submit the debtor's bankruptcy court docket and the parent company's bankruptcy petition and I will attend a state court hearing regarding the stay via a phone to answer any questions the judge may have concerning the automatic stay. I pull up the docket and send it to local counsel.

3:30 p.m. I walk up to a partner's office for her final review and signature on two documents: a previously negotiated stipulation and order resolving an automatic stay motion and a motion seeking authorization for the debtor to enter into a settlement agreement resolving a litigation action. We discuss the hearing next week at which I will be presenting this stipulation and motion. I also give a brief update on the status of another motion I have been supervising a first-year attorney on. All of these papers are in connection with our energy company debtor.

3:50 p.m. I send the just-signed stipulation and order and the motion seeking authorization for the debtors to enter into a settlement agreement to the paralegal for filing.

4:00 p.m. A paralegal assigned to the energy company debtor case drops off the document I had requested earlier in the day. I review the document and revise the summary of the transaction in my motion to authorize an agreement extending a previous agreement to include this document.

4:30 p.m. The senior associate and I meet with the partner to discuss my background summary, as well as the terms of the motion.

4:45 p.m. I return to my office and gather documents I need to send to the adversary in my pro bono case, a litigation action relating to September 11th. I also receive an e-mail from a partner reminding me that I will be making a co-presentation at next week's monthly bankruptcy group luncheon about my experience with the automatic stay, what parties are covered by the automatic stay, and its effect on property of the estate. Sometimes I think that these firm presentations are harder than arguing in court - associates and partners are always very inquisitive about the fine nuances of the subject matter or offer their own interesting, mind-boggling twists.

5:15 p.m. A first-year associate calls me to discuss the terms of a motion authorizing the debtors to enter into a settlement agreement. I have agreed to supervise him on this motion. I had reviewed the draft last night, and we discuss my comments.

6:00 p.m. Now I switch to a different case. The firm represents a creditor in a major bankruptcy case. The firm had submitted a motion a week and a half ago. Today was the debtor's objection date, and, as expected, their objection is served by fax right at the last minute. I receive the fax and start to analyze their arguments. I had already begun drafting a reply to the debtor's objection in anticipation of their arguments, and begin to integrate their arguments into my response.

7:15 p.m. I call up some of my friends for dinner in the cafeteria. I don't usually order in unless there is absolutely nothing in the cafeteria I want or I have a craving for sushi. Hmmm... the dinner options arc a tepid piece of pizza, soup and salad, or the "blue plate special" of fried catfish and okra. I opt for the soup and salad.

8:00 p.m. I continue to draft the response to the debtor's objection.

8:35 p.m. Oops! I forgot that my rent was due yesterday. I pay my bill electronically, hoping it gets there in time to avoid the late fee, and return to the response to the debtor's objection. We have to get it on file within the next couple of days to ensure that the debtors cannot argue they did not have notice of the reply.

11:00 p.m. I'm tired; I decide to finish the response tomorrow and send it to the senior associate for comments in the afternoon. I head home. It is a bit difficult to plan out my schedule as a junior associate, because you'll often be pulled into an assignment or a project at the last minute with little or no warning, with a tight deadline looming.
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A Day in the Life: Sixth-Year Associate, St. Louis

6:30 a.m. I head to the gym for my morning workout. Today, a half hour on the treadmill (the weather in St. Louis is still nasty enough to keep me from running outside). Between family and work, if I don't get to the gym in the morning, I don't get there at all.

8:00 a.m. I grab a quick breakfast with my two daughters before I head out. We discuss my older daughter's piano lesson later that morning and our recent trip to Disney World. I grab my briefcase and drive to the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of Illinois in East St. Louis for a hearing.

8:30 a.m. I arrive at the bankruptcy court. My firm represents a secured lender providing a multimillion-dollar credit facility to a manufacturing company that recently Hied for Chapter 11. The bankruptcy partner from my firm is already at the courthouse. He and I discuss the matters the Chapter 11 debtor will be presenting at the hearing, namely its request to the bankruptcy judge for final authorization to enter into the DIP credit facility with our client (the bankruptcy court previously authorized the debtor to enter into the facility on an interim basis). Attorneys for the debtor, creditors' committee and United States Trustee show up, and we all enter the courtroom.

9:00 a.m. The hearing begins. Our case is not the only matter scheduled for the 9:00 docket, so the bankruptcy judge hears several matters before getting to us. No one filed an objection to the Chapter 11 debtor's request to enter into the DIP facility, so after a brief presentation by debtor's counsel, the bankruptcy judge gives final approval to the facility. After the conclusion of the hearing, the attorneys involved in this case meet in the hallway, and we discuss several other issues related to the proceedings.

9:45 a.m. I check my voicemail on the drive to the office. I call an attorney and discuss an order entered by the bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of Missouri in my hometown, St. Louis, in a case in which we represent the Chapter 11 debtor.

10:00 a.m. At the office, I review several faxes and check my e-mail. I have already received several e-mail messages related to the bankruptcy hearing I just attended. A junior associate stops by to review her draft of a motion for judgment on the pleadings in a bankruptcy case in which we represent the Chapter 11 debtors in the Western District of Missouri. We are planning to file this motion early next week. The attorney gives me her draft of the motion, and I begin marking it up to incorporate my comments and revisions.

10:15 a.m. I take a telephone call from a client in Mexico regarding a proof of claim we have been asked to file in a bankruptcy case pending in the District of Delaware. We discuss a few issues related to the proof of claim and I tell the client we will file the claim later this week.

10:30 a.m. I meet with a junior attorney assisting me with the registration of a Missouri judgment in California. We recently handled a jury trial for one of our bank clients for whom we received a favorable judgment. The bank would now like us to register this Missouri judgment in California, which will allow it to be filed as a judgment lien against real estate owned by the defendant in California. My colleague updates me on the status of this registration and the efforts of an attorney in our California office who is assisting us with this matter.

10:45 a.m. A partner calls to ask me to join him for a meeting in his office. Once I'm in his office, we discuss a bankruptcy hearing coming up at the end of the month in the Northern District of Illinois bankruptcy court in Chicago. He asks me to cover the hearing. The hearing involves a Chapter 11 debtor's request to reject several leases involving one of our clients. Our deadline to file a response to the debtor's request is the end of the week, so I need to get up to speed on the issues right away. I get copies of the relevant documents and pleadings and plan to review them later today. I also make a note that, because I am not admitted to practice in the bankruptcy court for the Northern District of Illinois, I must prepare and file an application to appear in this case pro hac vice.

12:30 p.m. It looks like its going to be a busy afternoon, so I grab lunch in the lawyers' dining room at my firm. Rather than eat in the dining room and talk shop with the other attorneys, I ask the dining room attendants to bag my lunch so I can eat it at my desk (the hearing in the bankruptcy court this morning has put me a little behind on the day's work).

1:00 p.m. I retrieve and complete an application to appear pro hac vice in the Northern District of Illinois. I ask my secretary to prepare a check for the application fee and forward the application to an attorney in our Chicago office for filing.

1:15 p.m. I take a phone call from an attorney representing a creditor in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case pending in the Eastern District of Missouri in which we represent the debtor. The attorney wants to know about the status of the case.

1:30 p.m. My firm represents a bank client that has asked us to commence foreclosure proceedings against a commercial property located in Illinois. For the past couple of weeks I have been working with another attorney to prepare the foreclosure complaint and related pleadings necessary to commence the foreclosure action. I review each of the pleadings for the final time and make some minor revisions. I also ask my secretary to prepare a check for the filing fee for the foreclosure complaint and start making the appropriate number of copies of the pleadings that will be filed. Finally, I call my contact person at our client to update him as to the status of this matter.

2:30 p.m. I have been asked to assist a partner in the New York office with a presentation to be given at an upcoming firm retreat in Florida. I review the materials the partner has forwarded to me and begin making notes about additional topics that might be of interest for the presentation.

3:00 p.m. I get a call from a bank client regarding the status of a bankruptcy case pending in the District of Maryland. The bank is acting as the indenture trustee for a group of bondholders owed money by the Chapter 11 debtor. I call the debtor's attorney and we discuss the status of the case. I pass along this information to the bank.

3:15 p.m. I spend much of the remainder of the afternoon reviewing documents and drafting the response to the lease rejection motion I was just assigned this morning. As this response must be filed by the end of the week, I try to get a lot done this afternoon.

6:00 p.m. I make a couple of calls to friends from law school who are currently practicing in Chicago and make arrangements to go out to lunch with them when I am in town for the lease rejection hearing later this month. I don't have anything pressing I need to work on tonight from home, so I turn off my computer and head out the door.

A Day In the Life: Seventh-Year Associate, Los Angeles

6:00 a.m. My alarm goes off. I wake up to National Public Radio and the lead story is that mighty United Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The economy has been bad since the dot-com bubble burst, but since September 11th, major companies have been failing and subsequently filing bankruptcy.

6:15 a.m. I roll around in bed waiting for the talking heads to discuss this latest large-scale bankruptcy filing. Naturally, none of the commentators are bankruptcy practitioners and each opines on plan of reorganization issues which will not be relevant for another 6 to 7 months. It is sad that bankruptcy terms of art such as "first day motions," "liquidating plan," and "equity subordination" have now entered the everyday language.

7:30 a.m. As I drive to California State Superior Court, Los Angeles Central District, I begin to reassess my feelings about how the economy is heading downwards and how bankruptcy has increasingly become another predictable business tool. I actually begin feeling excited about how I will work on these major cases and how I can market myself to new clients desperately looking for bankruptcy counsel. These thoughts will make any unemployed or underemployed person want to strangle me, but now is the time for bankruptcy practitioners to shine.

9:45 a.m. My 8:30 a.m. breach of contract matter gets called by the state court judge. What am I doing in state court? Other than appearing on several moving violations, I have never seen the inside of a state court courtroom. There are a lot of differences between state court and bankruptcy court. The state court judge has considered many different sorts of legal issues, from personal injury, employment law issues, to unfair business practice issues. Also, the volume of state court cases in an average day is maybe four times that of a typical bankruptcy court calendar. Lastly, the state court courtroom feels more "lived in," if that is at all possible. I quickly begin to understand how spoiled I have become in federal courts, with their expensive furnishings and snobby ways.

My appearance in state court is necessary because my client, an auctioneer in a Chapter 11 case, has been sued by the landlord of the site of a bankruptcy court-authorized auction of a debtor's inventory. Once the state court judge is made aware that the bankruptcy case is still open and pending, she immediately appears to be alarmed. The simple word "bankruptcy" causes the state court judge to look for ways of not having to make any sort of decision, so as not to affect the bankruptcy case. At this point, I am forced to become a bankruptcy professor and walk the state court judge through the routine operational proceedings that are part of all business bankruptcy cases.

Of course, the state court judge is concerned she may be violating the debtor's discharge if she makes any rulings. I inform her that liquidating corporations are not entitled to a discharge like consumer debtors are, so there's no problem. Notwithstanding my attempts to persuade the state court to rule upon my client's summary judgment motion against the landlord, the state court orders me to first obtain an order from the bankruptcy court allowing the state court to proceed.

11:00 a.m. I begin my drive back to my office in Century City and evaluate how I did before the state court. It becomes clear to me that in many ways the bankruptcy practice is specialized practice which leads non-bankruptcy practitioners to avoid it outright. I have similar feelings for tax, patent and family law, just to name a few. I will not even venture to give an opinion regarding those areas of law.

11:35 a.m. My cell phone rings. It is my law school classmate who is now a successful complex plaintiff's personal injury lawyer in Orange County. She has a bankruptcy question and says, "You are the only bankruptcy expert that I know." I tell her that I cannot be much of an expert since I could not explain simple bankruptcy concepts to the state court judge earlier.

A defendant that her client sued filed a Chapter 7 case. Her client is looking to collect from the insurance proceeds of that defendant and not directly from the defendant. I tell her that her client had to first seek relief from the automatic stay of the defendant's bankruptcy case before proceeding with a claim against the defendant's insurer. She's very thankful.

12 p.m. I get to my office and reply to several e-mails and return two calls. My mail needs sorting, but I decide to have lunch at Vista Cafe, an Italian place in Century City with a colleague from my firm. We discuss each other's cases and talk about our plans for the weekend.

1:30 p.m. I start drafting a motion to sell a commercial building in Palm Springs on behalf of a Chapter 7 trustee, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances. Such "363 Sales," as they are known (as they are governed by Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code), are commonplace in bankruptcy because the debtor's property may be sold with liens and encumbrances attaching to the proceeds of the sale, therefore protecting the creditors who have those liens and encumbrances. Accordingly, a secured creditor's particular issues need not be resolved before a debtor's assets are sold. Instead, the property is sold to the willing buyer so that the value of the property is maximized for the creditor body.

4:00 p.m. I review several pleadings for a Chapter 11 creditors' committee we represent in a technology reorganization case. Since the creditors' committee has a right to be heard on all matters and operates as a "watch dog" during a Chapter 11 case, which is without a formal trustee, I must make recommendations to the committee members so they can decide what action, if any, needs to be taken. Naturally, since the committee members are usually trade creditors, each step of the reorganization process must be explained to them.

6:00 p.m. I review my calendar and prepare for the bankruptcy court hearings I must attend the next morning. With that, I leave my office for the evening.
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