CIN Legal Data Services Blog

CIN Legal Data Service recently announced that CIN Online, the company’s web-based application platform, has integrated the capability for attorneys to upload various legal documents to the due diligence order within CIN Online. Integrated directly within CIN Online, this feature provides an easy means by which attorneys can share documents with their clients via the CIN Legal Data Services platform. CIN Legal Data Services provides extensive flexibility with the types of documents that may be uploaded and shared with clients.

A secondary benefit to this new feature is the fact that all uploaded documents are stored on CIN Legal Data Services’ leading storage area network (SAN). A best in class solution, CIN Legal Data Services SAN provides terabytes of storage capability that connect to its web servers via high availability fiber connections. Within the SAN, CIN Legal Data Services has implemented replication procedures for fail-over and disaster recovery purposes. Furthermore, all data is off-loaded to off-site storage in the event of a catastrophic event at the company’s primary data center.

While due diligence orders completed by CIN Legal Data Services have enjoyed this form of data protection and recovery for years, the feature to permit attorneys to upload case specific files now extends this disaster recovery feature to CIN Legal Data Services clients. In an age where guaranteed access to electronically stored documents is imperative, many firms often struggle with implementing a viable disaster recovery solution. Via this new CIN Legal Data Services feature, an easy and free solution is now available to clients utilizing the company’s due diligence services.

For more information on this solution, or to discuss your Bankruptcy Information Needs, please feel free to contact CIN Legal Data Services at 866-218-1003.

Posted by Lee Midkiff, CIN Legal Data Services COO, March 20, 2007

CIN Legal Data Services has announced that its industry leading Consumer Liability Report (CLR) is now available in Spanish. Via CIN Online, the company’s web-based application, bankruptcy professionals and consumers are now provided with an easy means by which to translate every CLR into Spanish.

Committed to providing the most comprehensive bankruptcy due diligence services in the industry, the Spanish Language CLR demonstrates our commitment to providing easy to understand information to our attorney clients and their Spanish speaking consumers. Coupled with our Spanish Language Due Diligence Brochures, the Spanish Language CLR provides another no-cost value added product for all attorneys and their clients.

To find out more about the Spanish Language CLR, including access instructions, please contact a member of our support team at 866-218-1003.

Posted by Lee Midkiff on March 14, 2007

lmidkiff@cinlegal.com

The Commerce Department recently reported that Savings Rates for 2006 hit a 74 year low. Savings rates for the year were a negative one percent meaning that the average household in the United States spent every after tax dollar earned, plus an extra penny.

This is a phenomenal statistic considering that this marks the second consecutive year of negative savings. Even more interesting is that the only other years which encountered negative savings were in 1932 and 1933; a time during which the country was in the midst of the Great Depression.

Many claim that this recent phenomenon is a result of a mentality change within the American public. The logic utilized claims that Americans are saving less as a result of solid gains in other areas of investment; namely the stock market and real estate. While the second may be true, America’s desire to leverage debt and other assets and spend negatively now for 21 straight months will inevitably have some repercussions in the number of Bankruptcy filings. One can not think that the gains in the stock market and real estate sector can continue at a pace to outweigh increasing consumer debt and negative savings.

We would welcome your feedback on this interesting statistic and what you perceive the recourse on bankruptcy filings will be.

Post By Lee Midkiff of February 7, 2007

Credit Infonet’s CIN Legal Data Services division has released CLR², a new version of its flagship Consumer Liability Report (CLR) product. Utilized by over 6,000 consumer bankruptcy law firms nationwide, CIN Legal Data Services’ CLR has become an integral part of the bankruptcy process for thousands of law firms since the enactment of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005.

CIN Legal Data Services’ CLR² represents a natural evolution of the industry-leading CLR product, the first liability report designed solely for bankruptcy due diligence use by consumer law firms.  Featuring easy-to-read account listings, summarized data, and the graphical presentation of account information, CIN Legal Data Services’ CLR² provides attorneys with an easier means by which to cover outstanding liabilities with clients contemplating the filing of bankruptcy.

Unique to CIN Legal Data Services, CLR² also provides bankruptcy department creditor addresses for the majority of national creditors. Bankruptcy department creditor addresses assist attorneys with contacting creditors in the event that their clients decide to move forward with obtaining bankruptcy protection.

CLR²is now available to all clients of CIN Legal Data Services. For more information on CLR² please contact your account manager at 866-218-1003.

Posted by Lee Midkiff, COO & EVP, lmidkiff@cinlegal.com

The numbers are in for the third quarter of 2006 and bankruptcy filings for the period have hit a 10 year low (http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-12-05T193237Z_01_N05293872_RTRUKOC_0_US-BANKRUPTCIES.xml). As previously discussed on this Blog, most industry insiders did not expect this continued downturn to be in effect this long after the BAPCPA’s enactment, let alone be at levels the industry has not seen in over a decade. It is a statistic that in any other sector might seem unimaginable.

All the statistics aside, however, most bankers, attorneys and credit cards insiders agree that filings will rebound in 2007. Outstanding consumer debt, rising interest rates and wage compression in certain areas of the country all should factor into increased filing volume in the coming year. The biggest question for the year lay in the definition of rebound, something that is hard to define given the unexpected, continued downturn in filing volume through the end of 2006.

Another interesting question that seems to be gathering more traction within the mainstream media is the question of additional bankruptcy reform. With the coming change in government in D.C., will Democrats stand together behind an issue that appeals to their base and look to reform the reforms? I would welcome any outside opinions from readers of this Blog on the potential bankruptcy ramifications of the coming political shift at the Federal level.

Posted by Lee Midkiff, COO & EVP, lmidkiff@cinlegal.com

A recently released study found that Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings are down 71% from the comparable time period in 2004 (http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=21948). Using 2004 as the benchmark truly displays the magnitude of this year’s drop in filings. When compared against 2005, the filing decrease far exceeds the 2004 drop-off and will only grow larger as the market approaches the October 17^th anniversary of the enactment of the BAPCPA.

That said, economic factors such as the previously discussed impact of reverse amortization and interest only ARMs, energy costs, and increasing medical costs should inevitably impact the rate of filings. The biggest question is how quickly and at what point these market factors will increase that rate.  

An interesting article can be found on MSNBC’s web site (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14584569/) titled “Exotic’ mortgages seen losing their allure”. Discussing the recent trend of aggressive Adjustable Rate Mortgage lending, as well as hybrid mortgage products that produce reverse amortization or offer interest only payments, the article clearly lays our a scenario that could culminate with an increase in bankruptcy filings.

As most areas of the country experienced escalating property values over the past few years, many consumers were forced into ARMs offering hybrid payment options as a means of affording home ownership. What this ultimately produced was a consumer mentality of “payment over price”. Mentally offsetting the downside to these types of mortgages, many consumers assumed that continued real estate appreciation and a bettering of their personal financial position would ultimately provide them with various options as these ARMs came up for adjustment. Unfortunately this is not the case.

Many homeowners are now seeing a doubling of their monthly payment with no viable sources of income to afford the new payment. Furthermore, those who employed reverse amortization or interest only payments are finding themselves with little equity given the downturn in real estate values in some areas. While some individuals downplay the number of individuals this affects nationally, Freddie Mac’s chief economist has stated that ARMs with scheduled payment increases account for five (5%) percent of all single family debt in the county. Coupled with data such as the state of California’s 67% increase in foreclosure notices, one has to wonder where this will end.

Inevitably, many consumers will find themselves in a position of not being able to afford their homes, with very little options in a down real estate market. This will undoubtedly impact the consumer bankruptcy market at some point. At this point it is probably not a question of if, but rather when and to what extent.