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Did Dr. McDreamy Unfairly Charm Auctioneers?

It is time for a guest blog from our law clerk:

A company owned by Grey’s Anatomy star, Patrick Dempsey, aka Dr. McDreamy, won a bankruptcy auction to purchase Tully’s Coffee, a Seattle-based coffee chain.  The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2012.  Dempsey pushed for the purchase of the company in order to keep an alternative to Starbucks and also to save over 500 jobs.  There were a total of six companies bidding for ownership of Tully’s, including Starbucks Corp.  Starbucks offered to buy Tully’s for $10.6 million.  This bid was higher than Dempsey’s winning bid of 9.15 million.  

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21 Questions

We always conduct an initial consultation with prospective clients.  This offers us the opportunity to determine whether an individual actually needs to file bankruptcy, and, if they do, what chapter they should file and if there would there be any issues in with their case.  Time and again, I find myself asking my potential clients numerous questions, but I am rarely asked many questions.  This amazes me.  Filing for bankruptcy is a legal process, and I would imagine that someone not familiar with that process would have many questions.  Maybe the problem is that people are unsure of what questions to ask.  

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The Politics of Adoption

The adoption of a child should be a happy and joyous time for a family as parents see their dreams of having a child become a reality.  The Russian government, however, has just passed legislation that will most likely harm many American families who were interested in adopting Russian children, or who are already in the process of adopting a child from that country.

The new bill puts a total ban on Americans adopting Russian children and is believed to be the response of growing tension between the two countries.  The adoption legislation follows the heels of a highly controversial law signed by President Obama last month.  The US law is in honor of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who uncovered political corruption among several Russian tax officials.  Magnitsky was arrested and detained.  While in detention, he died.  It is strongly believed that his death was the result of the actions of prison officials.  The United States’ bill imposes a ban on the entrance into the US by several of the Russian officials involved in the Magnitsky case and prohibits them from using the US banking system.  Russia touts its adoption ban as its own human rights’ measure because the bill is named after a Russian child who was adopted by Americans and died in 2008 from neglect. 

By |Adoption and Juvenile Law|0 Comments
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The Color Purple

Today I am digressing from legal analysis and legal questions to talk about the color purple.  When I say “the color purple”, I am not referencing that movie starring Oprah.  Although, it was a great movie.  I am talking about the national symbol for domestic violence awareness.  I was introduced to this color at a luncheon on Wednesday for Eve’s Place, a shelter for victims of domestic violence, which is located in Arizona.  The luncheon was a fashion show fundraiser designed to be lighthearted and to encourage attendees to donate to Eve’s Place.  Despite the fun atmosphere, the luncheon presented some serious themes.

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The Scarlett Letter “B”

Many people hold off on filing for bankruptcy because they feel ashamed that they were not able to manage their debt on their own and for not being able to pay their creditors.  They also worry that if they seek bankruptcy relief, the world will know that they have committed this “shameful” act, and that they will  somehow be branded with a scarlet letter “B.”

First of all, I do not believe that filing for bankruptcy should be viewed as shameful or embarrassing.  Now, I know that I am a bankruptcy attorney and that people will think this is a biased opinion.  But, I really do believe this.  We all experience tough times and sometimes it is harder to pull ourselves out of those tough times than usual.  We need help, and there is nothing wrong with needing help. 

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