You are visitor number 

This site was designed from the ground up, by a Pennsylvania Consumer Law and Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney for general reference. No professional site-building was used. We hope that you, as an individual and consumer, find it helpful to obtain a basic understanding of the law of personal bankruptcy and your rights as a debtor in a consumer transaction.  This site should only be used as a starting point and is not a substitute for competent legal advice in your jurisdiction. The laws in your area may differ, so please consult a local attorney.

If you reside in PA or NJ, or you wish to bring legal action against a party in PA or NJ you are invited to request representation from this office. A legal consultation for any type of case may be had by appointment.  Consultation fees may be waived if a retainer agreement is signed.  Please inquire as to our current rates.  At this time we cannot advise non-clients by phone.  Further, we cannot render legal advice to persons outside of the states for which we hold a license to practice law, i.e. Pennsylvania or New Jersey.  However, cases may be considered where clients do not reside in PA or NJ but litigation is brought in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. 

The office in the news:  We are happy to report a successful result in a major Pennsylvania appellate decision, which has been described as "the first time an appellate court in Pennsylvania has put all the law together in one place at one time and talked about the kind of evidence a debt buyer needs to prove an alleged debt," as reported in The Allentown Morning Call. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania, decided in Commonwealth Financial v. Smith, 2011 Pa.Super. 30, a case it described as one of "first impression," that debt buyers indeed have their limits, and cannot dictate to the courts or the public that they have the right to an easy judgment because, "that's the way it's done in the industry."  The case is one of the first times that the courts in Pennsylvania have decisively struck back at debt buyers.  For more on the topic, go here.

... and on-air:  On May 7, 2011, Lawrence Rubin appeared on the Consumer Defense Line radio show, hosted by Attorney Michael Forbes on WCHE to discuss the above case (Commonwealth Financial Systems v. Larry Smith).  The show can be heard here and is available in podcast.  The background and legal reasoning of the decision is discussed in a manner understandable by non-lawyers.  If you find yourself in legal difficulty caused by a debt buyer or creditor, you will certainly benefit from listening.  The main discussion of the case begins at about the half-way point of the show.

If you need an attorney and do not reside in PA or NJ, we suggest you try NACA.NET. or NACBA.org (National Ass'n of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. 

Lawrence S. Rubin has over with over 33 years of experience in consumer bankruptcy (Chapters 13 and 7), debt collection defense, and consumer protection law (including creditor harassment). We also offer other legal services including: personal injury matters (auto accidents, slip and fall, serious injuries, medical malpractice, etc.), contract litigation, general commercial matters, wills, estates, family law (sample of successful support appeal where we reversed the trial court and reinstated our client's support that had been terminated by the court) and other general matters. We also review and draft Physician Employment Contracts.  Lawrence S. Rubin is licensed to practice only in PA, NJ and NY (inactive), is a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference, and is a Martindale-Hubble peer reviewed attorney. Lawrence Rubin is proud to hold a BV (Distinguished level) 4.4 out of 5 rating.

Federal law requires us the following disclosure: We may be considered a "debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code." Even though we may be considered a "debt relief agency" this does not change our status as a licensed attorney admitted to practice in all state courts of PA and NJ, as well in the federal Districts of New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as well as in their respective Bankruptcy Courts.

 
Fax: (610) 565-1912

Directions to the office from anywhere.  

For injury cases, on our staff is a physician-attorney, who is able to review medical charts for injury cases, as well as evaluate medical employment contracts for residents, house staff and most types of physician - hospital or physician - medical care provider contractual matters. Respecting personal injury matters, there is no fee until we recover money for you. Click here for a sample contingency fee agreement

What about legal fees? Legal fees are always reasonable and competitive, but based upon the complexity of the case and the experience brought to bear.  Fees may be paid using Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover or by PayPal (no credit cards permitted in bankruptcy cases pursuant to federal law, however, a debit card is permissible). We are a verified PayPal member.[back]

Harassed by creditors? We routinely handle litigation under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This federal statute helps individuals protect themselves from unfair collection practices. Please see the Debtor's Rights Primer page for information about your rights and also several samples of harassing collection phone calls and what is illegal about them. [top]

 

Payments accepted through    and all major credit/debit cards.

 

Hopefully, you won't have the occasion to use this one:

Welcome to the World's Worst Credit Card.

Not exactly bankruptcy law, just great aircraft videos.