September 25th, 2008 by Reed Allmand 
According to an article in the Dallas Morning News U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Droney ruled that a provision restricting the advice lawyers can give bankruptcy clients is unconstitutional because it is too broad, prohibiting attorneys from advising their clients to incur any debt, including debts that are legal and desirable in some cases.
The Judge held that it was unconstitutional to restrict an attorney’s ability to give clients legal advice about whether or not to incur debt. I agree with the Judge, the provision of the 2005 bankruptcy amendments restricting an attorney’s ability to advise clients to incur debt was wrong and needed to be overturned.
I do disagree with Droney on one point. Judge Droney ruled that an individual did not need an attorney to file for bankruptcy. Of course every citizen has the right to represent himself in the matters of law; but encouraging individuals to navigate the new, complex rules governing bankruptcy without the help of counsel can be an injustice in and of itself.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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