Access to Consumer Bankruptcy

In this Essay, Professor Pamela Foohey of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, examines the state of access to justice in the context of consumer bankruptcy. As with the use of any legal remedy, before turning to bankruptcy, people first must recognize the relevancy of law, the legal system, and bankruptcy to help solve their financial problems. This aspect of access to bankruptcy is the least researched, despite being critical to the ultimate delivery of bankruptcy's 'fresh start.' This piece explores some of the complex causes of the relative dearth of consumer bankruptcy filings by examining CFPB records and other empirical data.