Hamid Jabbar is dedicated to representing hardworking individuals obtain fresh starts through the bankruptcy process. Hamid began his bankruptcy practice in the corporate world litigating complex adversary proceedings in conjunction with corporate Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 filings. Beginning in 2009, recognizing the need for quality bankruptcy representation in the consumer arena, Hamid began representing individuals in consumer Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 proceedings.
Filing Bankruptcy When You Work for a Bank
What do you do if you need to file bankruptcy but you work for Bank of America or Chase, Wells Fargo, or any bank for that matter? Even worse, what if you owe your employer money? This question comes up rather often. I have represented a number of bank employees, everyone from tellers to loan officers. These employees are worried about adverse employment actions being taken against them based on filing a bankruptcy. It is also not so uncommon for me to represent employees of the major credit card companies–e.g. American Express,...
read moreHow can I pay for a bankruptcy when I am broke?
This is quite possibly the most frequently asked questions I hear. After all, if you cannot pay your debts and need to file a bankruptcy, where are you supposed to find the $1k-$2k it will cost to pay your bankruptcy attorney? Here are some things to consider with regard to paying for bankruptcy. If you have no money at all, no job, and no property that you could sell to pay your attorney’s fees, you may not need a bankruptcy. A bankruptcy eliminates debts and protects you from creditors. In some situations people literally have nothing...
read moreLoan Modification & Bankruptcy
Homeowners seeking to modify their loans under the HAMP program may encounter issues with the loan modification when they file for Bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. In the early days of the HAMP program I used to caution people who were still in their trial modification term to wait until it was over before filing a Chapter 7. The reason was that lenders would routinely cancel the trial modifications due to bankruptcy filings. Over the past two years as the HAMP program has evolved such actions have become more rare. Although I still...
read moreBank of America May Not Have Standing to Conduct Arizona Foreclosure
In early June, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Appellate Panel issued several decisions in similar cases dealing with the issue of whether lender has standing to prosecute a motion to lift the automatic bankruptcy stay. One of these cases, Sardana v. Bank of America, N.A., contains some interesting insights into the way Bank of America assigned notes and retained servicing rights. Sardana involved a Chapter 13 debtor who fell behind on her mortgage payments during the course of her Chapter 13. Bank of America (BAC) moved to lift...
read moreFighting Fraud in Bankruptcy Act of 2011
On May 25, 2011, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a bill (S.1054, full text available here) titled the “Fighting Fraud in Bankruptcy Act of 2011″ (hereinafter “FFBA”). The FFBA is aimed at providing additional tools to the U.S. Trustees to protect homeowners from lenders who file fraudulent claims. These additional tools consist primarily of remedies against those who assert or assist in the assertion of fraudulent claims in the bankruptcy court. The available remedies are broad and left to the Judge’s...
read moreDonate to a Good Cause
The world is becoming an increasingly stratified place. Many people have prospered through the recent recession and many people have struggled. We are all, however, in this world together. One irony of financial downturns is that those people who may need legal help the most are the least likely to be able to afford it. While there are numerous public interest organizations our there that provide free legal services to the extremely poor, many people are turned away from these organizations because they are employed. A new organization is,...
read moreDonation Only Bankruptcy Help
KarmaCounsel.org is now providing an alternative method for Arizona and California individuals to obtain help with a bankruptcy. Based on the principle that helping others sows positive seeds for the future, KarmaCounsel.org connects people with attorneys willing to work on a donation only basis. The website fills the gap between those public interest organizations who only help the indigent and the for-profit law firms who serve only themselves. The concept is simple. Clients needing help submit their information online and receive a call or...
read moreUsing Nontraditional Credit Data
The modern credit score carries with it so much meaning for most Americans that it has become part of our identities. Potential employers use it to gauge our trustworthiness and consistency. Creditors use it to determine whether to lend to us. Government agencies use it during security clearances and background checks. There is a lot our credit scores do not say about us, however. For those of us who rent our primary residences, our history of rental payments is generally not reported to the credit bureaus (unless you live in one of the 8...
read moreConsumer Borrowing On the Rise
A recent report from the New York Federal Reserve indicates that consumer borrowing is on the rise. This apparent “healing of the credit markets” is widely seen as a good sign for the economy. It often feels, however, that what is good for the economy is bad for consumers. When was the last time you thought about how great it would be to incur more debt? These types of bizarre economic realities also come up in my everyday practice. When counseling clients about potential bankruptcy cases I have to tell them similarly strange...
read moreBankruptcy and Employment Discrimination
Often I have people come to me contemplating a bankruptcy who are worried that their employers will terminate them if they file. This is especially common for people who work for banks and credit card companies. After all, if you work for Bank of America as a loan officer and file Bankruptcy to discharge debts owed to Bank of America on credit cards or home loans, it would only be fair for Bank of America to terminate your employment, right? Wrong. The Bankruptcy Code contemplates this predicament and, as a result, includes provisions...
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