The other morning, my wife informed me I'd been talking bankruptcy in my sleep. In fact, I was giving a lucid and comprehensive client consultation. The Good News is, I can do this in my sleep. The Bad News is I'm doing this in my sleep.

From waking to slumber, bankruptcy is a moveable feast.

I am blessedly free of somnambulistic tendencies. This is a good thing, because a bankruptcy case can be filed electronically from one's laptop 24/7 and one's laptop is a skip and a hop from one's bed. While the basic admonitions that accompany consultation may be rattled off in fitful repose, it is generally not advised to docket a matter while sleepwalking.

In all semi-seriousness, law work is referred to as law practice, because the law evolves and breathes (or at least sighs in exasperation). And it should not be performed while sleeping, eyes wide shut. Still, the knowledge that one practices Sleep-Bankruptcy ("SB") is conducive to a sense of accountability. If a client's recollection fails, the attorney must be able to report with confidence that, Yes, I-certainly-did-mention-that-important-piece-of-advice, which the client did not heed. The SB Practitioner will make this report without equivocation. If the foundations of bankruptcy are sufficiently ingrained that they haunt your sleep, then you know what you would have said, and you know that important-piece-of-advice was given.

Of course, this is very silly, and my wife likely flattered me with suggestions of lucidity and comprehensiveness. I remain committed to the tedious, tireless documentation of essential client communications lest there be sufferance of selective recollection.

On the subject of SB, there's concern for confidentiality. As it were, my own particular SB was of a generic nature: names were not named. In any event, the only witness to my SB is Robin, and as legal assistant, office manager, and wife, she is sworn to preserve client confidentiality. I suppose there's the cat at the foot of the bed, but so far as I know, she's not talking.

Yet, consider the promiscuous prosecutor, the lecherous lawyer, the rakish and philandering attorney or--your average, everyday bachelor(ette): who can count the number of ears that bear witness to the mutterings of their SB?

To limit the dissemination of confidences through SB, it is important that the client retain a happily-married attorney. You know this is the case in my case when you look at my wife and think "how can he NOT be happily married?" Be wary of the overly charming, too-good-looking counsel with a ringless ring-finger.

Fine! Bachelors must earn a living too. But that is all right--there are countless other reasons to select our office for representation. If you need help with your debt, call us: we can help.

Postscript

Commencing with this entry, I am compelled to deliver a new series of articles on the subject of Professional Responsibility. While the California Ethical Rules address myriad concerns, certain topics--Confidentialy in SB not the least of them--are disconcertingly absent.

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