Bankruptcy Lawyers Email List for Chapter 7, 11 and 13 practices

Chapters 7, 11, 13

Which bankruptcy lawyers does the email list cover?

The list covers attorneys whose records carry the bankruptcy practice area, the lawyers behind Chapter 7, 11 and 13 cases. Those 3 chapters held all but 540 of the 608,511 bankruptcy filings in the 12 months ending June 30, 2026. Total filings rose 12.2% on the prior year.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported 581,570 non-business and 26,941 business bankruptcy filings for the 12 months ending June 30, 2026. Business filings grew faster, up 16.9%, while non-business filings rose 12%. Records carry bankruptcy in the practice area column, and each order is selected by state, city, ZIP code, role and firm size.

Chapter 11 lets a business reorganize and keep operating, which places reorganization work next to company law. Campaigns aimed at reorganization counsel can add corporate and business lawyer contacts to reach the transactional side of the same matters.

Chapter 7

Liquidation of non-exempt assets: 382,161 filings

Chapter 13

Court-confirmed repayment plans for debtors with regular income: 215,490 filings

Chapter 11

Business reorganization while operations continue: 10,320 filings

Chapter 12

Family farmers and fishermen: 336 filings

Why vendors sell here

What do bankruptcy law firms buy?

Credit counseling, debtor education, petition software and advertising services all sell to bankruptcy law firms, because every consumer case follows fixed federal steps. Under 11 U.S.C. 109(h), an individual debtor completes a briefing from an approved nonprofit credit counseling agency within 180 days before filing.

The Supreme Court ruled in Milavetz v. United States, decided March 8, 2010, that attorneys who provide bankruptcy assistance to assisted persons are debt relief agencies. Their ads to the general public carry the line “We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.” or a substantially similar statement.

Means-test figures change on a published schedule: the U.S. Trustee Program applied new Census median income data to cases filed on or after April 1, 2026, and new IRS expense standards from July 15, 2026.

• Credit counseling agencies approved by the U.S. Trustee Program deliver the pre-filing briefing.
• Debtor education providers run the separate post-filing course that debtors complete, with limited exceptions, before a discharge.
• Petition and means-test software depends on U.S. Trustee Program data, last updated for cases filed on or after July 15, 2026.
• Advertising agencies write consumer bankruptcy ads that carry the debt relief agency statement required by 11 U.S.C. 528.

Board certification

What is a board certified bankruptcy attorney?

A board certified bankruptcy attorney is a lawyer who has passed a specialty exam and met practice, education and peer-review standards in consumer or business bankruptcy law. The American Board of Certification, a national ABA-accredited board, writes the exam that North Carolina also uses.

The North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization grants 3 titles: Board Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy Law, in Business Bankruptcy Law, or in Business and Consumer Bankruptcy Law. Applicants average at least 500 hours a year of bankruptcy practice over 5 years, complete 36 hours of bankruptcy CLE in 3 years, name 10 lawyer or judge references and pass a 6-hour exam graded by the American Board of Certification.

A lawyer who passes that exam qualifies for certification by both the North Carolina board and the American Board of Certification. The North Carolina standards also count service as a bankruptcy judge, a court clerk, a standing trustee or a law professor teaching bankruptcy courses toward the practice-hour requirement.

The file describes each attorney by bar number, bar admission state, job title and the bankruptcy practice area.

Bankruptcy practice runs through the 90 U.S. bankruptcy courts, which by statute are units of the U.S. district courts, the same federal system served by federal court litigator contacts. Bankruptcy Administrators take the place of the U.S. Trustee Program in Alabama and North Carolina, where certified specialists belong to the wider set of North Carolina lawyer contacts.