LOCAL CREDIT COUNSELING FIRM MAY BE IN HOT WATER

March 1, 2007

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I attended a meeting of our local consumer bankruptcy lawyer’s group, the Houston Association of Debtors Attorneys (HADA), on Friday, January 26. I was president of HADA from 1999-2002. We had Ivan Hand speak, he is President and CEO of one of the largest credit counseling firms in the U.S., Money Management International. They have 140 locations in 22 states, and a sizable portion of their income comes from setting up “debt management plans” for people with too much credit card debt.

Mr. Hand was very charming and knowledgeable, and gave a speech about credit counseling, etc. After the speech, we had a question and answer session, and someone asked him if Money Management hired people that had filed bankruptcy. He said no, never, they just don’t hire people that have filed bankruptcy.

Well, you could hear a pin drop. It is illegal under federal law, to discriminate in employment just because someone has filed bankruptcy, or has not paid a debt that is dischargeable in a bankruptcy case. We had several of the bankruptcy judges in attendance, and one, Hon. Marvin Isgur, later issued an order to the U.S. Trustee’s Office to determine if Money Management should continue to be approved as a pre-bankruptcy credit counselor for the Southern District of Texas. Now Money Management says Mr. Hand mis-spoke, they in fact do hire people that have filed for bankruptcy, etc. For the full story, go to http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4591675.html.

In my humble opinion, it is patently unfair and un-American to discriminate in employment against people that have had to file for bankruptcy. Some of our greatest Americans have had to file for bankruptcy, including Walt Disney, former Texas Governor John Connally, Abraham Lincoln, P.T. Barnum, Buckminster Fuller, Samuel Clemens (“Mark Twain”), actor Gary Coleman, Sopranos’ star Lorraine Bracco, actress Kim Bassinger, lawyer Melvin Belli, athlete Bjorn Borg, rock star Toni Braxton, Anita Bryant, singer Natalie Cole, director Francis Ford Coppola, singer David Crosby, the list just goes on and on. What if all of these people had been prevented from pursuing their vocations because they had filed bankruptcy? We would all be the poorer for it. America is the land of second chances, and I hope all employers take that to heart, especially Money Management International.

Local Credit Counseling Firm May Be In Hot Water