A Minnesota law firm has filed a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that bankruptcy attorneys are not “debt relief agencies” under the newly revised bankruptcy code. Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz P.A. filed the suit alleging that the restrictions imposed on debt relief agencies under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (”BAPCPA), if applied to attorneys, would impermissibly restrict their free speech under the First Amendment. The lawsuit also alleges that the law conflicts with the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct because BAPCPA “limits the ability of attorneys to competently advise their clients and to advocate for them.” It’s an interesting read, available at http://www.mytempdir.com/265343

As we noted a month ago, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Georgia has already issued an order exempting members of its bar from the “debt relief agency” definition. That opinion is available at http://www.gasb.uscourts.gov/usbc/LWDOrder.pdf

Mac