Is it R.I.P. for KEL in Bankruptcy Court?

If, as a bankruptcy lawyer,  you tell a Federal Bankruptcy Judge that you are available to appear in Court on a certain day for a hearing, the Judge directs you to appear on that day for that hearing, and you don’t show up because you are “attending to other matters”, you and your Firm (KEL) just might be slapped with a Court Order like this one.

That Order prohibits the law firm of Kaufman, Englett, and Lynd, known widely in the Central Florida area because of its pervasive TV, Print, and Radio advertisements (not to mention the huge “KEL” letters on the high rise downtown at Washington Street and Magnolia Avenue), from:

“practicing before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, including the filing of any papers and pleadings unless and until this Court enters an Order, or grants leave of Court on an emergency basis” authorizing the Firm to practice in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of FLorida.

What does all that mean?  Well, first of all, it means that, at the time of this writing, according to PACER (an electronic data base that allows subscribers access to filed bankruptcy cases)  there are 278 open bankruptcy cases with Debtors who hired KEL to represent them who cannot get the legal help they need because of “numerous missteps and lack of diligence” by KEL.  Those clients are basically stranded right now in the Court with no lifeline unless they fire KEL and hire a different, hopefully more competent, attorney to pick up their case.

Of course, this Order also brings to the public’s attention something that has been known to long practicing Orlando bankruptcy attorneys for quite some time.  That is, simply because you appear on TV every night selling your services and buy up loads of ad space everywhere, does not mean that you are by any means an expert in your field of law or even competent to provide the services you are so desperately pedaling to the unsuspecting public.

Let’s look at the facts about KEL for a second.  Again, using PACER as a reference as the date of this writing.  As a Firm, KEL filed their first bankruptcy case in Orlando on November 17, 2009.  Only 17 short months later, they are barred from practicing bankruptcy law in the Middle District of Florida.  That’s got to be a record of some sort, doesn’t it?

But if you’re a consumer in Central Florida who is considering filing bankruptcy and see the multitude of advertisements offered up by KEL you would probably get the impression that they have been around a long time, and are very professional, competent attorneys, especially in the area of bankruptcy law.

Well, PACER would tell a different story.  The lead bankruptcy attorney for KEL in Orlando, William Sanchez, has appeared in a grand total of 678 cases in his short career.  By contrast, I’ve been a party to nearly 2,300 bankruptcy cases in my career and there are more experienced Orlando bankruptcy attorneys than I.

In fact, William was only admitted to practice law in Florida in 2008.  If you look at the KEL website, you’ll see that’s a common theme with their associate attorneys. They’re all very new to the practice of law, much less the practice of bankruptcy law.

KEL is one of the many “newbie” law firms in Central Florida who have taken advantage of the recent economic downturn and increased bankruptcy filings, and jumped head first into the practice of bankruptcy law, in part, because they see it as an opportunity to “strike while the iron is hot” and make a lot of money representing Debtors.

Some newbies have approached practicing bankruptcy law the right way, with their clients’ interests at heart, and a real motivation to learn the practice and be good at it.  Others, like KEL, in my opinion, should not be allowed to set foot in a bankruptcy Court.

And on that note, with the recent Order entered by Judge Briskman, at least one U.S. Bankruptcy Judge agrees with me.

Get an Update on this case, and read the transcript of the hearing here.