Tag: Continuing Legal Education

CLE You Can Use: The TBA’s Creditor Practice Annual Forum is this Wednesday

If you need CLE credit and want to learn more about creditors’ issues, the Tennessee Bar Association has a great course coming up this week: This year’s Creditors Practice Annual Forum is this Wednesday, September 30, 2020.

This is generally an in-person event at the TBA headquarters in downtown Nashville, but, this year, it’ll be entirely online (for obvious reasons).

I’m the Chair of the TBA’s Creditors Section for 2020, and it was my job to recruit all the speakers and create the sessions. The online format really made for some fun choices, including finding speakers who otherwise wouldn’t be available to speak at a live event in Nashville.

We’ve got a Judge from Shelby County. A digital media specialist from Atlanta. A bankruptcy debtor’s lawyer from Jackson. A former creditor lawyer turned tech guru from Memphis. And, to everybody’s surprise–a creditor lawyer from California! (Note: Nobody even knew that California had creditor lawyers; we all assumed that they only had different levels of debtor focused lawyers.)

In all seriousness, it’ll be a great program. Topics include:

“A Creditor’s Rights: Top Issues and Common Mistakes From the Judge’s Perspective” by Hon. Phyllis Gardner, Hon. Lynda Jones and moderated by Kara Reese.

“The Future of Collections and Bankruptcy in the New Recession” by Monique Jewett-Brewster, Tracy L. Schweitzer and Jerome Teel, Jr.

“Legal Technology Update: Zoom, Slack, and Other Things You Never Realized You Need” by Zack Glaser, Lori Gonzalez and Kim Bennett.

And, remember, your Tennessee Bar Association membership includes 3 free CLE credits, so, basically, this will be free for you all. Thank me later!

You’ve Got the Escalade, Now What? A Reminder of What Slow Pay Motions Can’t Do

With the economy in shambles, I’ve come to learn that, sometimes, people are broke.

When I ask that they pay me $250 a month on a judgment, they turn around and file a “slow pay” motion asking to pay me $20 a month.  I talked about Slow Pay Motions (a.k.a. Motion to Pay Judgment by Installments) a few years ago.

Let me revisit one aspect I left out in that earlier post:  What exactly does a Slow Pay Motion stop you from doing?

Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-216 does not stay garnishments against real or personal property; it only stays garnishments against wages or salaries due to the debtors:

The filing of such motion by the debtor shall stay the issuance, execution or return of any writ of garnishment against wages or salary due the judgment debtor or any other funds belonging to the judgment debtor …

Tennessee cases support this conclusion: “No such installment payments are to be ordered unless the debtor has filed an affidavit stating that no other assets are available for payment of the judgment except the wages or salary of the debtor and that any other funds receivable by the debtor are so limited that installment payments are appropriate.” Harrington v. Harrington, 759 S.W.2d 664, 668 (Tenn. 1988).

So, let’s say you execute against a Cadillac Escalade (congratulations), and the borrower files a Slow Pay. In that case, the Court may enter a Slow Pay Order and set payments. But, that Order will prevent Wage Garnishments;  it will not stop collections on real or personal property.

Last Chance to Learn: Creditors’ Rights in Tennessee: 10 Collection Strategies

A quick reminder: Tomorrow, June 6, 2013, I’ll be teaching the CLE  presented by M. Lee Smith Legal Publishers called Creditors’Rights in Tennessee: 10 Collection Strategies.

This is a one hour audio seminar, that will cover the usual Tennessee collections lawyer song and dance. Things like:

  • Things to consider prior to declaring a loan in default and filing a collections lawsuit
  • Issues in deciding between Chancery Court and General Sessions Court
  • Importance of knowing your Statute of Limitations
  • Making sure you Sue the Right Party
  • Judgment Liens and why they work
  • Fraudulent Transfers
  • Overview of bankruptcy issues, including preferences and Trustee avoidance actions
  • Common roadblocks to collecting money, including domestication of foreign judgments

It’s one hour of CLE credit, and, hopefully, what I teach you during seminar will put some money in your clients’ pockets.

Mark Your Calendars: Tennessee Bar Association to host Creditors Rights 101 Webcast on April 17, 2013

On April 17, 2013, the Tennessee Bar Association has asked me to present a webcast CLE called “Creditor Rights 101: 10 Collection Strategies Every Lawyer Should Know.”

This is part of the TennBarU series, designed to give Tennessee general practitioner attorneys an overview of issues in Tennessee creditor rights. Discussion will include:

• Pre-Lawsuit Considerations
• Statute of Limitations Issues
• Jurisdiction and Venue Selection
• Judgment Enforcement Options
• Basic Bankruptcy Issues
• Common Roadblocks to Collecting Money

And, don’t forget, your Tennessee Bar Association membership gets you 3 hours of free CLE.

New CLE Speaking Engagement: The Essentials of Foreclosure Defense, September 22, 2011

My law partner, Tucker Herndon, and I have been invited by LawReviewCLE to speak at their upcoming seminar The Essentials of Foreclosure Defense. This seminar will be on September 22, 2011, in Nashville at the DoubleTree Hilton.

While we generally represent foreclosing creditors in the foreclosure process, the seminar organizers recognized that “bank lawyers” are probably some of the most knowledgeable about avenues to attack, stop, or stay a foreclosure. They’re right: after probably 500 foreclosures over the past 4 years, we’ve seen it all.

As a result, we’ll be speaking about trends in foreclosure litigation, including lawsuits to stay or enjoin foreclosures, as well as well consensual agreements to avoid foreclosures, like loan modifications, short sales, and deeds in lieu of foreclosure.

Finally, we’ll review the powers of Bankruptcy Courts to stop a foreclosure and, in some cases, attack a creditor’s lien rights.

This should be a lively seminar on an obviously topical area of law. We hope you’ll consider signing up. There will be a Q & A session at the end, and, if you ever wanted to ask a bank lawyer about foreclosures, this is your chance.