On today's Georgia Bankruptcy Podcast episode, I want to help injury lawyers avoid a million-dollar catastrophe. What if your client fails to disclose their bankruptcy case and the court later takes away their settlement? It's happening across Georgia, but with one simple online check, you can verify the status and prevent disaster. I'll explain the exact steps to take, ensuring your fees and case are protected. With stress impairing even ethical clients, proactive checks are vital today.
I'm sharing my best advice exclusively for GA attorneys - tune in to pick up easy tips that safeguard your practice.
Transcripts
Jeff Kelly: [:
This person was in a bankruptcy case the entire time and they failed to disclose it as an asset. Is it possible that you might lose the case, that there might not be any reward under the principle of judicial estoppel? Yeah, it's possible and there's such a simple way to avoid that kind of catastrophe.
All you have to do is go to the PACER website, Typing your client's social security number, and find out is this person in bankruptcy, because if they are, you better make sure that any claim that you're representing this client on is listed in the bankruptcy case as an asset.
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Jeff Kelly: Hello, this is Jeff Kelly and in this video I want to explain why I think every single personal injury attorney in the state of Georgia really needs to tune in and watch this video. Can you imagine taking a case and you're gonna win millions of dollars. In fact, let's say you get a jury award for a million dollars and then you find out.
udicial estoppel? Yeah, it's [:
All you have to do is go to the PACER website, Typing your client's social security number, and find out is this person in bankruptcy, because if they are, you better make sure that any claim that you're representing this client on is listed in the bankruptcy case as an asset. If it's not listed as an asset, could be a big problem.
al injury attorneys are just [:
Who cares about the court? And they settle the case without getting approval from the bankruptcy court, without getting their representation of the debtor approved by the bankruptcy court. Big mistake. Very big mistake, because what could ultimately happen in that situation? You could get ordered to disgorge all of your attorney's fees that you made on this case because you never had approval from the bankruptcy court.
Don't step in that mess. It's so easily avoidable. Now, I get it. I talked to a friend of mine the other day who's a personal injury attorney, and he's like, Jeff, look, I trust my clients. You know, I've got a good relationship with them. They're always gonna tell me the truth. Oh, come on.
hen people get under stress, [:
So it is highly conceivable that a very good person, a very good trustworthy person, could have a personal injury lawsuit that's dragging on through the years, and then they get into a little financial trouble. All of a sudden the stress just hits the fan and they forget to tell their personal injury attorney.
They might forget to tell their bankruptcy attorney about the underlying claim. We try to ask it like three or four different times, three or four different ways. We do it at the initial consultation. We do it at the consultation that we're gonna, you know, sign the actual petition. I mean, we really try to beat it into our clients.
icky part is when you file a [:
They forget to tell their bankruptcy attorney, Hey, guess what? We need to update my petition. I have a claim. They forget to tell their personal injury attorney.
Narrator: Like what you hear so far, make sure you never miss a show by clicking the subscribe button. Now, this podcast is made possible by listeners like you. Thank you for your support. If you're intrigued by the world of bankruptcy and want a comprehensive guide to help you get out of debt, head on over to kelly can help.
lping people get out of debt [:
Jeff Kelly: All you have to do is get on Pacer, type in the social security number, and boom, you'll know within a few seconds whether or not this person is in an active bankruptcy case.
It's just not that hard. And honestly, if you've got, you know, a good case, it's dragging on through the years. I think it's probably wise to get on PACER at least once a year, spend the 10 seconds that it might take you type in their social security number and just make sure this person is not in an active bankruptcy case.
ves. Good by me, no problem. [:
ruptcy judge to disgorge all [:
So easy to avoid this. If you've got any questions, don't hesitate to gimme a call. If you're a personal injury attorney and you got a question about a hot mess or whatever, you know, I'll, I'll be happy to take a few minutes to talk to you. Just let my staff know that you are an attorney and I'll do my best to give you advice if you're an attorney in the state of Georgia.
Thank you so much. Thanks for tuning in. Have a great day.
Narrator: Thanks for joining us this week on the Bankruptcy Podcast. Make sure to visit our website, kellybankruptcy. com, where you can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Spotify, or via RSS. So you'll never miss a show. While you're at it, if you found value in this show, we'd appreciate a rating on iTunes. Or, if you'd simply tell a friend about the show, that would help us out too.
