In the case of consumer bankruptcy, the relationship is direct.

Many consumer bankruptcy lawyers will be working through the weekend.

We're beginning to see a rise in consumer bankruptcies.

Some consumer bankruptcy lawyers say the new requirements will impose other burdens.

Some lawyers may decide that the consumer bankruptcy practice, which has never been particularly prestigious or lucrative, is not for them.

The consolidation comes at a time when credit quality is improving despite rising consumer bankruptcies.

Rehabilitive measures include consumer bankruptcy and legal debt settlement procedures.

The bill's critics pointed out that these practices are themselves significant contributors to the growth of consumer bankruptcies.

But consumer bankruptcy lawyers worry that there is little incentive in the law for judges to give hurricane victims a break.

The commissioners who took part in the call acknowledged discussing consumer bankruptcy issues, yet they maintained that their discussions were very casual.

Analysts said the move reflected the rising losses from credit cards as a result of rapidly increasing consumer bankruptcies.

Q. So the recent law that touched on consumer bankruptcies also changed the bankruptcy law for corporations?

His firms focus on consumer bankruptcy and personal injury, but also represent clients in the areas of social security/disability and workers' compensation.

There isn't as much to be made in the consumer bankruptcies, the Chapter 7's and 13's, but the filings have increased to an alarming extent."

While the commission, which was established by Congress in 1994, has reviewed the entire bankruptcy process, the toughest debates have apparently occurred over consumer bankruptcy.

Elizabeth Warren, a professor at Harvard Law School, calls it "the single biggest scandal in the consumer bankruptcy system."

It applies to areas such as environmental law, corporate law, labor-management relations, consumer bankruptcy and debt, and family law.

"I've had plenty of calls this morning," said Gary F. Weltmann, a consumer bankruptcy lawyer in Washington.

"We have never seen anything like this," said Barbara J. May, a consumer bankruptcy lawyer in St. Paul.

Consumer bankruptcy filings declined 5 percent last year, according to data compiled by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

McKinley has testified before a Subcommittee of Congress on issues related to U.S. consumer bankruptcy policy.

"It would be imprudent not to advise people that the legislation will make the process more cumbersome," David Shaev, a consumer bankruptcy lawyer in Manhattan, said.

MMI is an approved bankruptcy counseling agency and has developed several consumer bankruptcy education resources, including Bankruptcy.org and BankruptcyCertificate.com.

With the economy slowing and unemployment in cities like Memphis rising, the American Bankruptcy Institute reports that numbers of consumer bankruptcies nationwide are creeping up, too.

"It's pretty draconian," said Harry Sommer, president of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.