DEREK SOINSKI ESQ.

Overview

Attorney Derek Soinski has practiced bankruptcy law for more than 13 years and has worked on more than 5,000 bankruptcy cases under Chapter 7, Chapter 13 and Chapter 11. He has also litigated more than 50 adversary proceedings.

Mr. Soinski knows bankruptcy from both sides of the table. For more than three years he represented one of the Southern District of California's Chapter 7 panel trustees. In that role he liquidated estate assets and prosecuted recovery actions for the trustee, including preference claims under 11 U.S.C. § 547, fraudulent-transfer claims under 11 U.S.C. § 548, and recovery and preservation of avoided transfers under 11 U.S.C. §§ 550 and 551. He also brought claims under California's Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (formerly the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act).

That trustee-side experience shapes how he represents debtors. He has seen how trustees review a petition, which transfers draw scrutiny and which exemption choices get challenged. That lets him spot problems before a case is filed, plan exemptions carefully, and structure a filing to reduce the risk of an adversary proceeding. Over his career he has represented debtors, creditors and trustees, giving him a full view of how insolvency cases are actually decided.

Consumer Protection and Federal Litigation

Mr. Soinski has also litigated consumer protection claims on behalf of consumers under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), California's Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RFDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

That federal litigation background carries directly into bankruptcy court. Litigation in adversary proceedings follows the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure largely incorporate. Bankruptcy Rule 7026, for example, makes Civil Rule 26 apply in an adversary proceeding. That leaves him well prepared for discovery disputes, including Rule 2004 examinations, and for litigated matters in bankruptcy court.