The Hon. Calvin K. Ashland and his
Big Book of Bankruptcy Funnies
by J. Scott Bovitz & Paul R. Shankman
Paul R. Shankman
Hinds & Shankman, LLP
Torrance, CA
Prof. Bovitz Goes Back to School
T
he National Association of
Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys
is constantly polling its members
on important issues. Your input counts.
According to a recent survey, 44% of
NACBA members checked the survey
box for, “The Consumer Bankruptcy
Journal isn’t always that funny, but
the articles are usually easier to
read than those heavily footnoted
scholarly bankruptcy articles in other
publications.”
This might be a funny article (you be
the judge, so to speak), but I wasn’t
always funny.
As a child, I was more serious. My
parents were forced to send me to
Camp Ha Ha in Ojai, California in
between third and fourth grades. We
learned to paddle canoes, weave
plastic lanyards, and perform standup
comedy routines. (“Is this microphone
working? You’re killing me up here.”)
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CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL
J. Scott Bovitz
Bovitz & Spitzer
Los Angeles, California
Of course, this was a long time ago. I
might be confusing my this with Camp
Ramah,
http://www.campramah.org,
where my law partner went. But I’m
sure I remember the lanyards. I just
found another one in an old box in the
garage.
All this led directly to theatre arts in high
school, two best acting awards, and an
acting scholarship for college.
But I didn’t need my economics degree
to realize that actors are always out of
work. So, like most of you, I went to law
school.
I was lucky. I took my bankruptcy law
class in 1979. The law was brand new.
No one understood how the Bankruptcy
Code worked. I was the top bankruptcy
student, so the professor hired me as
a clerk and then an associate. (Thank
you!)
Two years later, my first employer gave
up his teaching duties. By then, I was
Winter 2018
working with a new law firm. I received
a call from a friend (who was working
for the law school). “Do you want to
teach the bankruptcy class starting
next month?” I laughed. “Well,” I said, “I
have read every single case decided to
date.” (This task wasn’t too hard back
then.) “You’re hired. As the new guy,
you get the 8:00 a.m. class slot.”
So, I began my five-year gig as an
Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law
School in Los Angeles.
How does a new professor get law
students to class at 8:00 a.m.? I wanted
to provide an incentive for the timely
kids. I thought about donuts or coffee.
Starbucks’ gift cards were not yet
available. After some thought, I came
up with “Bankruptcy Joke for a Buck.”
Keep in mind, a dollar in 1982 has the
buying power of $2.57 in 2017. You
can check my math at the Inflation
Calculator at HERE.
The rules for Bankruptcy Joke for a
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys