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| BankruptcyPro Version 6.4 | |
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Very few areas of law are as form-intensive as bankruptcy law. There also are very few courts as rigid when it comes to filing practices as the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts. What other courts have local rules exceeding 300 pages and require at least six copies of any petition filed? Loading BankruptcyPro is painless. I installed it on my Toshiba Portégé Tablet running Windows XP 2002 at 1.5GHz with a Centrino processor without a hitch. License authentication is a bit unorthodox, however. The software scans your computer and generates an unlock code request form. You must then fax it to LegalPro Systems. Generally, unlock codes are faxed back within 10 minutes if the fax is received during normal business hours, but I got mine the next day. This is detrimental because there is no guarantee you can use the program until you get the unlock code back. Also, the license is good only for the computer that generates the code; to share data you must refer to a central data directory in a server. Therefore, using one system to generate the code with the intent to load it on another computer will not fly. Customizing user settings is easy. The system is very thorough when it comes to available options for setting up schedules, creditor matrixes, notifications and inputting court filing fees. Data entry is straightforward. As the attorney or paralegal enters assets, debts, biographical information and chooses exemptions, the system takes note of this data and generates a color-coded report. If data is lacking, the report is flagged with a red “X” mark, prompting you to go back and check that area of the database. Once the user’s report is filled with comforting green checkmarks, you can print out the forms for signature, photocopying and filing. When I lacked certain information to complete an area, I realized it would be nice to have a pop-up To-Do list so I could take notes. The program does offer a general “Memo Window” which you can use to take notes and print, but it’s not specifically linked to any one area or task within the system. One novel feature I have not seen in other bankruptcy forms programs is the exemption calculator. Available from the toolbar palette, it has a nifty database that calculates the remaining exemption amounts that might apply to offset certain assets. This feature is especially beneficial for California bankruptcy attorneys as it compares system one (§704) with system two (§703) exemption schedules, helping the practitioner decide which schedule would best apply given the petitioner’s unique financial situation. A handy feature when creating creditor lists is the standard calculator, which pops up for those past due account statements that are not easily summed up. When listing debts on Schedule F, you have the option of listing certain common creditors on a master list for use with other debtors. This is ideal for common credit cards. Another option is a “Cut and Paste” button that will capture several fields of creditor address information. This can be recalled at any time to repopulate the same creditor, should the debtor be obliged to the same creditor over and over again. This feature is nice, but is poorly placed and covers some of the data entry fields. BankruptcyPro is feature rich. For example, the user can choose to mask account numbers for privacy when printing drafts. Descriptions of the debt easily can be called up from an editable pick list. Hovering over the quick list of debts invokes a balloon message with detailed information about the debt — including the name of the creditor and the account number of the delinquent account. BankruptcyPro also allows for the submission of briefs and letters through a basic word processor plug-in called FlashDocs, which has merge capability and allows users to use data they have entered in the cases. The merge capability doesn’t connect directly to other word processors, but documents created in other word processors can be copied into FlashDocs to take advantage of the Portable Document Format writer built into BankruptcyPro. FlashDocs can save documents in a Rich Text Format, which can be opened in other word processors. When adding creditors, the program allows the attorney to add additional contacts who can be connected to the case but who might not necessarily need to be added to the list of noticed parties to the petition. This contact information can be entered for the private use of counsel. Users also can format the creditor matrix for a disk or for electronic filing. The result? Slick forms you would be proud to file in court. |
BankruptcyPro for Windows Windows 95 or higher; 64MB memory; 100MB hard disk space. Reviewed by Alexander H. Lubarsky, a California attorney and legal technology enthusiast based in San Mateo, Calif. PROS CONS VERDICT |
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