On Friday, December 15, Judge David C. Godbey of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, issued a final judgment in the case of Hersh v. U.S.. The judgment is a declaratory judgment that Section 526(a)(4) of the Bankruptcy Code violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Section 526(a)(4) states that a debt relief agency shall not “advise an assisted person or prospective person to incur more debt in contemplation of such person filing a case under this title or to pay an attorney or bankruptcy petition preparer fee or charge for services performed as part of preparing for or representing a debtor in a case under this title.” This section prevented debtor’s attorneys (classified as debt relief agents under BAPCPA) from advising debtors or potential debtors from incurring more debt. The plaintiff challenged this section on the grounds that limiting her ability to properly advise her clients violated the First Amendment free speech right. This ruling means that bankruptcy attorneys (or debt relief agents) in North Texas can advise their clients to incur debt in contemplation of bankruptcy if the specific circumstances in their cases warrant it. Ray