Blackouts are nifty for kids, 'cause of quaint candlelight and that spooky effect of illuminating one's face with one's flashlight. But it's near-Spring and we're in a safe haven between winter-storm outages and air conditioner strain. Lights are on.

I have blackouts on the mind 'cause I'm in a holding pattern of scheduling and head-scratching. I have 30 or more cases ready to file and I can't press Go. Why is that? When I file a bankruptcy case, I get notice of a scheduled mandatory meeting of creditors that takes place about a month later. Both attorney and client must appear at this meeting that's an interview with the assigned case trustee. But what if you have a planned day of absence about a month after the time you're to file? A sole-practitioner lawyer who knows his clients and who's there personally for them, needs to be able to black out a day or two for conflicts: I don't want anybody taking my place if I'm not available for an appearance. Unfortunately, the Bankruptcy Court calendar system does not permit the blacking out of certain dates. It's a function of precluding trustee shopping: meetings of creditors are set randomly by computer, but as calendars begin to fill, we're able to check which trustees occupy which dates. If black-outing is freely available, attorneys might routinely rule out dates when their less-favorite trustees are on calendar. It's very much a game of rolling the dice, then hopping one's shoe or thimble from square to square. The bankruptcy counsel planning a date to drive downtown to the meeting is a game token looking for Free Parking (or an open downtown meter) to lay hold of that community pot of dough: the crisp multi-colored bills, the Monopoly board reward of a favorite trustee. So to avoid suspected trustee shopping, there are no opportunities for scheduled absences. You have to wait until the conflicting date's calendar is filled. And so I wait.

At least, I believe that shopping preclusion is the rationale that would prohibit blackouts. After all, the solution seems handy: a quick tinkering with the machine and attorneys forced to black out could be pushed out beyond the currently-visible calendar. They'd be scheduled for a time frame in which all seven chapter 7 trustees hold meetings and they could land in any spot.

Now, shopping is my least-favorite occupation. And fussing over trustee selection is no exclusion from this retail aversion. It doesn't matter a whit to us. The trustees have different styles and different requirements. But that's all right. I like some variation in my job. And I think of the Boy Scouts. Well, my brothers had done it, but I never joined the Boy Scouts, myself. Never earned those patches for mile swims and CPR and stitching. Never parked my butt fireside with peers and a scout leader, a flashlight held under my chin shining up my face. Still, I subscribe to one Scout tenet: always be prepared.

So no matter where we fall in the case trustee lotto: we prepare for the meeting. How? Paperwork.

This is where our clients will appreciate our strict instructions for providing supporting documentation. Those documents are routed directly to the trustee. And the trustee wants her documents well before the meeting takes place. So going the extra mile (no need to swim it, we'll guide you by phone or e-mail) with those papers pays off when your meeting concludes in the blink of an eye. 'Cause it's been done right by you.

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I'm still scratching my head, 'cause one matter remains unresolved. See, the Boy Scouts, they don't sell cookies. And that's unfortunate. I don't think there's anything unmanly about associating with cookies.