ANALYSIS: Here’s Where Debt, Ethics, and Client Well-Being Clash

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I cannot think of a better time to explore the inescapable intersection between mental well-being and bankruptcy practice. Attorneys engaged in public-facing legal practices, such as debtors’ attorneys, are often tasked with the responsibility of remaining mindful of their clients’ mental and physical well-being in addition to providing the expected legal services. Consumer bankruptcy attorneys frequently meet with clients who are not only at their lowest points financially, but also simultaneously dealing with mental and emotional strains.

The Covid-19 pandemic has added to the mental distress of debtors. According to the National Alliance ...