U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Shelley Chapman opined on Wednesday that for the need of greater transparency, the now defunct Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy LLP should conduct its winding up under Chapter 7 proceedings in the court, according to The Wall Street Journal. The judge’s opinion came in response of an involuntary Chapter 7 proceeding petition moved in March by a group of creditors each owed more than $1 million. The group is led by online document service Legal Zoom.
According to the same article, while filing their petition to conduct the dissolution of Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy in court, the petitioners had claimed “the total lack of disclosure and transparency” in the manner in which the law firm had been shut down. The court agreed, and Judge Chapman commented, “information more than anything else is needed here,” according to the same source.
Mark Frenkel, the attorney for Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy submitted that an independent trustee appointed by the court would hardly be more useful than the trustee, Robert Handler, who has been appointed by Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy to wind down the law firm.
However, the court interviewed Mr. Handler over the phone and he said he had been paid only $25, 000 for the job. Judge Chapman said the amount was hardly sufficient to even get the case started. She said a court-appointed trustee may not be as expensive, but will have greater obligations and accountability.
Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy was formed in 2012 by a tie-up between national consumer firm Jacoby & Meyers LLC and Chicago bankruptcy practice lawyer Thomas Macey. In March, the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission recommended suspension of the law licenses of Mr. Macey and his law partner Jeffrey Aleman in connection with an earlier operation where they claimed to help connect clients with debt-collection services. Other earlier operations of the duo are under investigation and both are currently facing charges of ethical misconduct from the attorney discipline commission in Illinois.
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Original article source:
Wall Street Journal, Judge Wants Chapter 7 for Jacoby & Meyers Bankruptcy