<p><img alt="bankruptcy, law firm marketing" align="right" width="110" height="159" src="http://blog.larrybodine.com/uploads/image/Samuel J_ Gerdano, Esq_.jpg" />A recent report indicates that <strong>the national bankruptcy rate rose 33 percent in the third quarter of 2009</strong>, as compared to the same time period last year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute ("ABI").</p>
<p><strong>This spike in rates represents the highest rate of bankruptcy filings since 2005. </strong>For the last 12 months at a minimum, bankruptcy has been a hot practice area. See <a class="uline" href="http://www.lawmarketing.com/pages/articles.asp?Action=Article&ArticleID=921">Bankruptcy Practice Leads Law Firms Out of Recession</a> from August 2009.</p>
<p>The ABI that found that there were 388,485 bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in the last quarter, compared to 292,291 bankruptcies filed in the same quarter last year.</p>
<p><strong>In the first nine months of this year, about 1.1 million bankruptcies were filed, a 35 percent increase</strong> over the same period from last year. Last year the tally came to a total of just over 840,000.</p>
<p>American Bankruptcy Institute executive director <a href="http://www.sourcemediaconferences.com/NCCR09/speaker1.html">Samuel J. Gerdano, Esq.</a> released a statement regarding the rise in bankruptcies. <q>The spike in bankruptcy filings for both consumers and businesses reflect the continuing effects of today’s weak economy,</q> he said. <q>With unemployment surpassing 10% and credit to businesses remaining tight, <strong>consumers and businesses are increasingly turning to the financial relief of bankruptcy</strong>.</q></p>
<p>Bankruptcies peaked in 2005, just before legislation made it more difficult to clear debts in Chapter 7 filing. The nation is experiencing the highest bankruptcy rates it has seen since those new regulations were put in place.</p>
<p>Business bankruptcy filings and personal bankruptcy filings have each risen according to the latest reports. <strong>Business bankruptcies are up 32 percent in the third quarter of 2009, a total of over 15,000 filings</strong>.</p>
<p>Personal bankruptcies, which include <font color="#3d7283">Chapter 13</font> and Chapter 7 filings, increased by 33 percent in this quarter. Chapter 7 filings rose by 42 percent, for a total of over 265,000 filings in the third quarter. Chapter 13 filings rose by 15 percent, totaling 107,142 filings.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LarryBodineLawMarketingBlog/~4/in45lpYrU1A" height="1">
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