Alabama State Bar

As a lawyer who defends healthcare providers that continued to care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, I take a different view from my opposing counsel who published an article in the September edition of The Alabama Lawyer.[i] See David Wirtes, Jr., Joseph D. Steadman, Aaron N. Maples, & Joseph D. Wirtes, Are There Constitutional Issues with Alabama’s Gubernatorial and Legislative Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic?, 83 Ala. Law. 311 (Sept. 2022) (the “September Article”).

ABAP is a statewide project created to help debtors who need a chapter 7 bankruptcy but can’t afford the attorney’s fees to file. All five volunteer lawyer programs in the state participate, enabling ABAP to serve each of Alabama’s 67 counties.

That dreaded word – “bankruptcy!” No other area of practice quite strikes fear into the minds of state court practitioners and newbie attorneys than bankruptcy.

Because bankruptcy can intervene into many other areas of the law, every lawyer, even ones who never practice in the bankruptcy courts, should be aware of the general provisions outlined in this article so that they and their clients can avoid violating the automatic stay.