Bankruptcy Filings Surge After Changes OKd in Law

By Lorene Yue, Chicago Tribune

The phones started ringing in mid-March after Congress approved a bankruptcy law overhaul, and the calls to consumer bankruptcy attorneys haven’t stopped.

“No question about it,” said Melvin Kaplan, a consumer bankruptcy attorney in Chicago. “Inquiries have doubled, and appointments have been made. For me personally, filings are up 25 percent.”

Bankruptcy filings in March jumped nearly 60 percent from February, according to Cardweb.com, a Frederick, Md.-based firm that tracks the credit and debit card industries.

Compared with last March, filings rose 8.5 percent, which Cardweb.com said was a change from January and February, when filings fell compared with year-earlier periods.

“It’s going to be a madhouse this summer,” said Anand Jerome Menezes, a bankruptcy attorney for Macey & Chern in Chicago, which has hired additional staff to brace for the onslaught.

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