Welcome

You have navigated-- some would say successfully, some not—to my little website. Before I began writing this material you're about to read, I spent some time perusing websites of other attorneys, both here in Colorado as well as out-of-state. I read the websites of attorneys for whom I have respect as well as websites of attorneys I had never heard of.

There is a common thread among all these sites. They repeat the same information, over and over and over and over. “Chapter 7 is a liquidation; Chapter13 is a wage earner repayment plan…” It’s as if one attorney, many years ago, wrote a summary of bankruptcy law, and my colleagues have been cribbing it ever since. By rote, everyone repeats the same mantras, again and again.

How helpful is that for the average guy or gal looking for an attorney to help get out of debt? Not much, in my opinion.

Bankruptcy is too complex, too full of nuances to summarize in a page or two on a website. I have studied bankruptcy law for 26 years, and I learn something new--not every day because I've been around too long--but frequently. Let's say, maybe once a month.

Chapter 13, in particular, has more curves and twists and hairpin turns than Berthoud Pass.

Suffice it to say, if you want to figure out, on your own, whether bankruptcy is the right option for you, and you are relying on a website to make that decision, good luck, because you’re going to need it.

Here’s the bottom line as to my office. I teach bankruptcy law to other attorneys. I have for almost fifteen years. My last seminar had 90 attorneys listening to me and my rantings. More than a decade ago I started a free service on the Internet to help Colorado attorneys understand bankruptcy law. Today, that free service has more than 300 attorneys who count on it for information.

I have 25 published opinions. Let me explain that last bit—I have litigated hundreds and hundreds of cases before bankruptcy judges that are still on the bench, some have retired, several have passed away. And in the last 26 years, I have had an average of one case published every year.

No one has 25 published opinions. Except me. And each one, in its own way, was a living hell. Hell!

Why? Because if I think an injustice is being done to my client, if he or she is being cheated by the system, being bullied by a jsutice system that listens to only folks with deep pockets, I keep fighting until I know I have done my best work.

And that’s why I have 25 published opinions.

What motivates me? I don't like bullies, and every bank, every credit union, every collection agency, every taxing authority I have ever dealt with--they're all bullies. When things are going well (payments are current), creditors love debtors. Adore them. Particularly the debtors who make minimum payments for years and years. That's a bank's favorite customer.

But when things take a turn--a job disappears, an illness hits the family--there is no force more emotionally and financially devastating than the wrath that a creditor and its attorney will unleash on the little guy.

And that's why I represent debtors.

As I write this, its March 2011. I am reviewing an opinion issued today in one of my cases in which the bankruptcy court agreed with me that it’s unconstitutional for a court to force a debtor to modify a confirmed Chapter 13 plan. That case took me two years to win. I made no profit on that case.

But it was the right thing to do.

If you’re reading this site wondering whether it makes sense to file a bankruptcy, you will not find the answer—except for this advice. Call my office to set a time to sit down and discuss your situation. I need a list of your debts, your last paycheck stub. Make a list of questions you want to ask. Chances are, we’ll cover your questions anyway when we meet. If you think our office is a good fit, hire us.

I do promise to represent you the best I can.

Best Wishes,
Steve Berken