In Re Castorena’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 27 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[W]hen accepting an engagement to represent a debtor in relation to a bankruptcy proceeding, an attorney must be prepared to assist that debtor through the normal, ordinary, and fundamental aspects of the process. These include the proper filing of all required schedules, statements and disclosures; preparation and filing of necessary amendments to the same; attendance at the § 341 meeting; turnover of assets to the trustee, and cooperation with the trustee; compliance with the tax turnover and other orders of the Court; performance of the duties imposed by § 521(1), (3) and (4); counseling in regard to § 521(2) and the reaffirmation, redemption, surrender or retention of consumer goods securing obligations to creditors, and assisting the debtor in accomplishing those aims; and responding to issues that arise in the basic milieu of the bankruptcy case, such as violations of stay and stay relief requests, objections to exemptions and avoidance of liens impairing exemptions, and the like.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. In Re Egwim

2. “In order to make an informed decision, the client must understand what might be faced in the bankruptcy, and the risks associated with representing himself in handling those contingencies. Many lawyers find themselves surprised by what can arise in an otherwise “simple” bankruptcy case. The reported decisions of this and other bankruptcy courts make it clear that, even in garden variety consumer chapter 7 cases, counsel for debtors and those who might be characterized as their adversaries (creditors, or occasionally the trustee) sometimes have distinctly polar views of what is permissible and what is not. The ability to adequately explain the lay of the bankruptcy landscape, including all its variations, contingencies and permutations, in order to obtain a truly informed consent is suspect.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Dignity Health v. Seare (In re Seare)

3. “It is difficult to describe every such service, much less predict each variation from the norm, which might arise in a given case. Indeed, this is a large part of the reason why truly informed consent limiting future services would be so difficult to establish. The summary above is, therefore, not intended to be and cannot be read to be exclusive. Rather, it is illustrative of key issues which arise with sufficient regularity and which are common to all consumer bankruptcies so as to be part and parcel of the engagement. What else might be found to fall within or without must await specific facts and specific cases. But the closer to the heart of the matter — the debtors’ desire to obtain bankruptcy relief and the process necessary to do so — the less likely exclusion is appropriate.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. In Re Egwim