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"Your Day in Bankruptcy Court" Aimed at New Generation of Spenders

"With America facing over 1.5 million bankruptcies annually, it is important for us to reach out to the teenagers who are the next generation of spenders," said Bankruptcy Judge G. Harvey Boswell (Tenn.-Western). "If they don't gain some knowledge of credit, we may see the trend increase, not decrease."

Boswell's court attempted to impart an important life lesson last April 15, when more than 30 students from three high schools in the Jackson, Tenn., area experienced "Your Day in Bankruptcy Court."

"The program offered the students and their teachers an inside look at bankruptcy and bankruptcy court," Boswell said. "Our plan now is to make this an annual event, and to try to reach out to a larger audience next year."

Coordinated by Rugena Bivins, deputy clerk in charge of the Eastern Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Western District of Tennessee, the program drew from a national outreach initiative created by the Administrative Office's Office of Public Affairs.

"The prepared materials were sent to the teachers in advance of the students' day in court. The materials provided by the AO were invaluable in acquainting everyone with some of the terms and procedures they would encounter in court," Bivins said.

AO National Outreach Manager Rebecca Fanning consulted with bankruptcy judges, clerks, staff attorneys, teachers, and students to develop the courthouse experience for high school students.

The program, which can be found at incorporates key concepts of programs sponsored by different bankruptcy judges around the country. Included are scenarios from the CD-ROM Bankruptcy: Don't Let it Happen to You, which can be found at www.ncbj.org, the web site for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.

"I worked with the school boards and school principals, who, in turn, got the students involved," Bivins said. "Arranging for participation by various members of our court family and the lawyers required a bit of work over several weeks."

In Jackson, the students sat in on a mock bankruptcy court proceeding, then heard about each participant's role, and finally participated in a discussion on the consequences of filing bankruptcy.

"The feedback was very positive," Bivins said. "The students and teachers were enthused, and we had attorneys who volunteered to go to the schools so the program could be presented to more students. One attorney said he is willing to speak to students once a month."

The judge who presided over "Your Day in Bankruptcy Court" hopes the lesson was well learned. "Credit is good if managed properly," Boswell said, adding, "I would like to see every district have a program in the near future."