New bankruptcy law has law firms scrambling.
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More than two months after the nation’s new bankruptcy law became effective on Oct. 17, Mark S. Tulis, an attorney who also serves as a Bankruptcy trustee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., is still dealing with fallout from the dramatic changes that sent thousands of people rushing to file before the deadline. “There was a huge surge of filings before Oct. 17. Most months I would get 60 new cases a month (as a bankruptcy trustee). In November I had to administer over 150 cases … In December, I’m doing over 500 cases and in January I’m going to do another 160 to 170,” said Tulis of the White Plains law firm Oxman Tulis Kirkpatrick Whyatt & Geiger L.L.P. Roberta Napolitano, an attorney with the Bridgeport firm Weinstein, Weiner, Ignal, Napolitano & Shapiro, can appreciate what Tulis has been experiencing. She serves as a bankruptcy trustee in New Haven County, where she was handled about 30 Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases since Oct. 17, compared with about 80 for the same time in previous years. “The new act was in the works for so long that no one thought it would pass and when it did, people perceived it… |