June 18, 2026
On June 18, 2026, more than twenty North Carolina consumer bankruptcy attorneys gathered online for the 2nd Annual NC Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney Fee Roundtable, led by Shawn Orcutt and Ed Boltz, to discuss attorney compensation, access to justice, and the increasing complexity of consumer bankruptcy practice. Building on the inaugural Roundtable held in 2025, this year’s discussion focused on current Chapter 7 market rates, Chapter 13 presumptive fees, recognition of board certification, and possible reforms to improve access to bankruptcy representation while ensuring that consumer attorneys are fairly and adequately compensated. The Roundtable was intended to encourage an open exchange of ideas among practitioners from across the state and to provide objective data that can inform future discussions among the bench, bar, trustees, and Bankruptcy Administrators.
Chapter 7 Fees Continue to Increase, but Remain Modest
The Roundtable reviewed data from 259 Chapter 7 cases filed by 60 law firms across North Carolina. The statewide median attorney fee was $1,800, with a mean of approximately $1,850. This represented an increase from the statewide median fee of $1,650 reported at the inaugural Roundtable one year earlier, reflecting the continuing economic pressures facing consumer bankruptcy practices. Nevertheless, nearly three-quarters of all cases charged between $1,500 and $2,499, demonstrating a remarkably competitive and consistent marketplace.
Median fees varied by district:
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Eastern District: $1,625
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Middle District: $1,725
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Western District: $1,900
These figures illustrate that despite growing complexity—including Means Test challenges, insufficient and out-dated exemptions, mortgage servicing litigation, student loan issues, consumer protection claims, electronic filing requirements, and increasingly sophisticated and intransigent creditor practices—Chapter 7 fees remain relatively modest when compared to the amount of work required. While the increase from a statewide median fee of $1,650 in 2025 to $1,800 in 2026 reflects recognition that consumer bankruptcy practice has become substantially more demanding, participants noted that these year-over-year increases may prove short-lived.
In particular, the Eastern District Bankruptcy Administrator has indicated that additional standardized document production requirements for consumer debtors are likely to be implemented. Although greater uniformity among trustees has many advantages, expanded document collection and review inevitably requires additional attorney and staff time, increases administrative costs, and may require investment in new office procedures and technology. Unless these additional costs are reflected in attorney compensation, they will place further financial pressure on consumer bankruptcy practices and ultimately increase the cost of providing bankruptcy relief. Participants emphasized that efforts to improve the quality and consistency of case administration should be accompanied by recognition of the additional work those requirements impose on debtors’ counsel.
Recognizing the importance of these issues, the Eastern District Bankruptcy Administrator has scheduled a meeting for July 13, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. in the Meeting of Creditors Room, Century Station Federal Building, 300 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27602, to discuss the proposed standardized document production procedures with members of the consumer bankruptcy bar and Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 trustees. Participants expressed appreciation for the opportunity to provide input before any new procedures are implemented and emphasized that any expansion of document production requirements should be carefully balanced against the resulting increases in attorney time, staff resources, and the overall cost of obtaining bankruptcy relief.
Chapter 13 Presumptive Fees Should Reflect Inflation
The discussion also turned to Chapter 13 compensation.
Participants noted that the Western District of North Carolina recently increased its presumptive Chapter 13 fee to $7,000. By comparison, the Eastern District’s $6,500 presumptive fee has not been adjusted since January 2020.
Using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator, the purchasing power of $6,500 in January 2020 is equivalent to approximately $8,443.97 in May 2026. Accordingly, the current EDNC presumptive fee would need to increase to approximately $8,500 merely to restore the value intended when the fee was last established.
Participants also noted that the economic realities facing consumer bankruptcy practitioners have changed in other significant ways. The recent unceremonious termination of the Eastern District’s Loan Modification Management Program not only eliminated an important tool that helped many homeowners achieve sustainable mortgage modifications—likely resulting in many bankruptcy cases involving mortgages being filed out of venue in the Middle District—but also reduced compensation to debtors’ counsel in many cases by approximately $2,000. When considered together with six years of inflation and the steadily increasing complexity of Chapter 13 practice, the case for revisiting the EDNC presumptive fee is even stronger.
Participants further observed that consumer bankruptcy practice has become substantially more demanding during those six years. Mortgage servicing litigation, escrow disputes, student loan litigation, evolving consumer protection issues, increasingly complex Chapter 13 administration, electronic case management, and additional procedural requirements all require significantly more attorney time than they did in 2020.
Viewed in that context, an increase to approximately $8,500 would not represent an increase in real compensation, but rather an adjustment recognizing both inflation and the significantly increased complexity of modern consumer bankruptcy practice.
Board Certification Should Be Recognized in Presumptive Fee Structures
The Roundtable also discussed an issue receiving increasing national attention: recognition of board certification in bankruptcy law when establishing presumptive Chapter 13 fees.
The Middle District of North Carolina has taken a welcome first step by providing a higher presumptive Chapter 13 fee for attorneys who are Board Certified in Consumer Bankruptcy Law. Participants suggested that other bankruptcy courts should build upon this approach and more fully implement Congress’s explicit direction in 11 U.S.C. § 330(a)(3)(E), which instructs bankruptcy courts to consider, when determining reasonable compensation, whether the professional is board certified or otherwise has demonstrated skill and experience in the bankruptcy field.
That discussion proved especially timely. The July 2026 ABI Journal includes an article entitled “ABC Update: Statutory Fee Enhancements with Board Certification,” by Johnathan C. Bolton and Edward C. Boltz, examining precisely this issue. The article explains that Congress deliberately added board certification as a statutory compensation factor in BAPCPA and surveys bankruptcy courts around the country that have adopted enhanced presumptive fees for board-certified attorneys. It argues that board certification provides objective evidence of specialized expertise, efficiency, experience, and continuing legal education that bankruptcy courts should recognize when establishing compensation structures.
Rather than treating board certification as merely a marketing credential, courts should recognize that it represents a congressional directive to consider specialized expertise when determining reasonable compensation. As consumer bankruptcy practice continues to become more technically demanding, enhanced presumptive fees for board-certified practitioners would encourage advanced education, reward demonstrated expertise, and ultimately benefit debtors through higher-quality legal representation.
Available at: https://www.abi.org/abi-journal/abc-update-statutory-fee-enhancements-with-board-certification
And, if someone asks nicely, as one of the authors, I can probably provide a copy.
The Roundtable also noted that several North Carolina courts have now recognized $495 per hour as a reasonable hourly rate for experienced consumer bankruptcy and consumer rights attorneys. These decisions underscore that consumer bankruptcy practice has evolved into a highly specialized area requiring expertise in bankruptcy law, consumer protection, mortgage servicing, tax law, student loans, and complex federal and state procedural rules. The increasing judicial recognition of these hourly rates reinforces the conclusion that presumptive Chapter 13 fees should likewise reflect the skill, experience, and specialized knowledge required to competently represent consumer debtors. Recent North Carolina decisions have recognized or approved such rates in both bankruptcy and consumer litigation contexts.
Proposed New Bankruptcy Code § 708
The National Bankruptcy Conference’s proposal to add new 11 U.S.C. § 708, which would expressly authorize post-petition payment arrangements for Chapter 7 attorney’s fees under carefully regulated conditions, was also discussed. The proposal seeks to address one of the greatest barriers to bankruptcy relief—the inability of many financially distressed consumers to accumulate the full attorney fee before filing.
Participants noted that Judge Benjamin Kahn spoke favorably regarding the proposal during the recent Middle District Bankruptcy Institute, recognizing that it offers one possible means of expanding access to bankruptcy relief while maintaining appropriate judicial oversight.
The Roundtable also reviewed NACBA’s position. NACBA has not endorsed or opposed enactment of § 708, recognizing that bankruptcy practice is highly dependent upon local law and that no single national solution fits every jurisdiction. The accompanying position paper explains that chapter choice depends on several local considerations—including homestead exemptions, wage garnishment laws, and creditor collection pressure—and therefore advocates preserving multiple approaches, including Attorney Fee Only Chapter 13 cases, bifurcated Chapter 7 representation, co-signer arrangements, and other ethically permissible fee structures.
North Carolina May Not Need Congress to Act
An important point raised during the discussion was that congressional action may not actually be necessary.
Numerous bankruptcy courts have already approved various forms of bifurcated Chapter 7 representation, concluding that existing provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and Rules provide sufficient authority when such arrangements are fully disclosed, transparent, and subject to judicial oversight.
Accordingly, if North Carolina’s Bankruptcy Judges and Bankruptcy Administrators concluded that appropriately structured bifurcated Chapter 7 fee agreements are consistent with existing law, they could authorize such arrangements locally without waiting for Congress to enact § 708. New legislation could provide greater national uniformity and certainty, but it is not necessarily a prerequisite to meaningful reform.
Preparing for the 3rd Annual Roundtable
The 2nd Annual NC Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney Fee Roundtable concluded with a shared recognition that preserving meaningful access to bankruptcy relief requires more than simply keeping attorney fees low. It requires maintaining a financially sustainable consumer bankruptcy bar capable of representing increasingly complex cases against sophisticated creditors.
Reasonable Chapter 7 fees, periodic inflation adjustments to Chapter 13 presumptive fees, greater recognition of board certification as expressly contemplated by 11 U.S.C. § 330(a)(3)(E), thoughtful consideration of additional fee structures—including bifurcated Chapter 7 representation where appropriate—and appropriate recognition of the increasing administrative burdens placed on debtors’ counsel are all part of preserving access to justice for North Carolina consumers while ensuring that experienced practitioners remain able to provide the high-quality representation the Bankruptcy Code demands.
The organizers hope this annual Roundtable will continue to serve as a forum for North Carolina consumer bankruptcy practitioners to engage in an open, collegial, and data-driven discussion about attorney compensation, access to justice, and the long-term sustainability of consumer bankruptcy practice in North Carolina. By sharing market data, examining developments from other jurisdictions, and encouraging thoughtful discussion of both legislative and local reforms, the Roundtable seeks to promote a bankruptcy system that remains accessible to financially distressed families while ensuring that experienced attorneys can continue providing the skilled representation that debtors, creditors, and the courts deserve.
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