People in need of bankruptcy often find it difficult to get the money together to pay a bankruptcy lawyer. The President of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys said, referring to the "new" 2005 bankruptcy laws, "We've imposed enormous costs on the system which, among other things, have been a real barrier to people filing for bankruptcy because it's so expensive". The Wall Street Journal reported that higher attorney fees are due to the heavier load of legal work that is necessary to meet the law’s requirements, creating a large hurdle for financially strapped people.

What's going on here? Is this just plain unfair? Were the 2005 bankruptcy laws simply a huge mistake? (more…)