The Writ Writer

Me and the Law

More than five decades have passed since the day I picked up a book from a table in my family’s living room—You and the Law. I was 10 years old, and that book changed the course of my life.

Until then, I didn’t even know what laws or legal rights were. The book opened my eyes to the U.S. Constitution and to state and federal laws. It gave me a new sense of awareness and direction during one of the most difficult times of my childhood.

Finding Purpose in Hard Times

Life was very difficult for me and my siblings. I vividly remember one day—on my knees in our carport, overwhelmed and in tears—feeling utterly hopeless and even briefly thinking about suicide.

That same week, I heard a news story about a child who sued to become emancipated from his parents. It sparked my curiosity about the law. I immersed myself in You and the Law and found a sense of hope and empowerment I had never felt before.

By seventh grade, I was reading United States Reports, the Southern Reporter, and various other legal publications. What began as simple curiosity became a lifelong passion.

A Lifelong Passion for Law

Although I never made it to law school or obtained a law degree, that never stopped me from working in the legal field. At 27, I became the legal director of an international religious organization operating in thirty-seven countries. After eleven years, I retired from the organization, having won $15.5 million for it in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Eventually, I created software that allows ordinary Americans to file bankruptcy without hiring a lawyer. It uses the same official forms and process—just automated, simple, and affordable. In most cases, no court hearing is even required—just a 3 to 5 minute Zoom meeting with a bankruptcy trustee.

In 2018, I became the legal director for four gun companies in Las Vegas, Nevada, including the largest online gun retailer in the United States.

Challenging the Status Quo

My software has the potential to disrupt the bankrupycy attorney monopoly in the United States—and the traditional legal establishment isn’t happy about it. My competition—roughly 10,000 bankruptcy lawyers nationwide—claims that my software may harm consumers. What really bothers them, however, is that it competes with their $1,200–$3,500 fees for Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases.

Lawyers for the Office of the United States Trustee have sided with their bankruptcy-lawyer colleagues and filed numerous motions and adversary proceedings against me across the country, seeking to fine me and stop me from helping people file bankruptcy without a lawyer. One bankruptcy judge even fined me $63,000—for selling bankruptcy software for $49.

Results That Speak for Themselves

For 24 years, I’ve faced attacks from bar associations (attorney groups), fake online reviews, and name-calling from bankruptcy attorneys. Through it all, I’ve stayed focused on helping people who need it most.

Since 2002, my customers have successfully filed nearly 9,000 consumer bankruptcies—in every federal bankruptcy district across the United States, including Guam and Puerto Rico. Despite the fake reviews calling me a fraud and a thief and predicting I’ll be arrested "any day"—not a single case has ever been denied.

There’s been no consumer harm on my part. To the contrary, consumers already struggling with financial hardship are the ones being harmed—by being forced to pay thousands of dollars to over-priced lawyers to file bankruptcy.

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