Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 37.3, the American Bar Association (ABA), as amicus curiae, respectfully submits this brief in support of Petitioner’s challenge to the constitutionality of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), Pub. L. No. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23 (2005), as applied to lawyers.

The ABA requests that, in determining whether the BAPCPA withstands constitutional scrutiny, the Court consider the substantial negative—and unnecessary— impact of the BAPCPA on state regulation of the legal profession and on the important protections embodied in the attorney-client privilege.

The ABA submits this amicus brief because it believes that the BAPCPA, if applied to attorneys, will improperly and unnecessarily interfere with regulation by state judicial systems of the legal profession and with the ability of attorneys to advise clients in financial distress—an occurrence made all the more common in light of our Nation’s current economic crisis.