Welcome to May, and our latest cdcbaa newsletter of 2021. I hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe and are encouraged by both the easing of the pandemic restrictions, and the rising numbers of those vaccinated. Hopefully, this historic pandemic can soon be over, and we can all see and greet each other again in person.

We are also proud to announce that during the pandemic, the cdcbaa membership has now surpassed 200 members this year, and is still climbing. This represents a figure which the cdcbaa has not achieved since 2014, and is exciting growth as all of us prepare on how best to be equipped with current knowledge to assist our existing and future clients.

While the much-anticipated surge of bankruptcy filings has yet to materialize, filings seem to be increasing somewhat. In the first two months of this year, there were 3,739 new filings of all chapters. While this  is down sharply from January and February of 2020, but there was no pandemic here yet at that time. In March 2021, there were 2,474 filings, the most filings in a month since July last year. This represents a monthly increase for the third month in a row. Through it all, the cdcbaa continues to put on timely, informative, and popular programs to inform its members about developments in the law in a fast-changing
landscape. In January, Professor M. Jonathan Hayes was joined by BAP Judge William Lafferty and Central District’s Judge Neil W. Bason to discuss the most important cases in the past year from the Supreme Court, appellate cases in the Ninth Circuit, District Court, and the BAP.

In February, our cdcbaa Treasurer and skilled attorney Jeff Hagen participated in a very timely program with Chapter 13 Trustee Kathy Dockery’s Lead Counsel Aki Koyama. They went over recent changes to California exemption laws, and recent bankruptcy-related developments in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, signed into law last December.

Later in February, cdcbaa Board Member Todd Turoci moderated an informative panel with Central District Subchapter V Trustees in a lively discussion to review the SBRA law a year after its implementation to provide our members the latest tips, and dos and don’ts in this new area of bankruptcy law.

In March, it was Central District’s Judge Barry Russell talking with Professor Hayes about his favorite topic: Evidence in the context of Bankruptcy Law. The two extremely knowledgeable speakers even stayed an extra twenty minutes to field additional questions… and it feels as if we still barely scratched the surface of Evidence.

Hopefully you were able to join us for these programs, but if not, still to come are: lien-stripping and family lawbankruptcy crossover with CDCA Judges Mark S Wallace and Wayne Johnson; a panel discussion to Meet the Chapter 13 Trustees’ Counsel, and more.

I remain grateful to our cdcbaa board of directors - a team that helps serve the cdcbaa members as they help their clients. Daniela Romero edited this newsletter and will be working on publishing at least one more this year. If you have an idea for an article or want to discuss a recent case ruling, please feel free to contact Daniela directly. So, whether the recent uptick of filings continues, roars ahead, levels out, or even subsides, the cdcbaa community remains strong, and is poised to continue serving the numerous consumer attorneys in the Central District for the upcoming year, and then beyond.

Hale Andrew Antico is President of the cdcbaa and has practiced bankruptcy law in Palmdale and Santa Clarita for over 15 years.