BIG BOOK OF BANKRUPTCY FUNNIES
Buck were simple . All candidate jokes must be on the professor ’ s lectern by 8:00 a . m . At 8:01 a . m ., I would read the best two or three bankruptcy related jokes . The top joke would win $ 1.00 for the author . If all the jokes were lame , I would roll over the dollar until the next class . But all the timely students started their day by hearing a few jokes .
Paul Shankman was a student in my first bankruptcy class . Mr . Shankman was smart and prepared . But it wasn ’ t Shankman ’ s legal skills that caught my attention . It was his special attention to Bankruptcy Joke for a Buck . Shankman usually made several submissions to “ Bankruptcy Joke for a Buck .” Shankman often won the dollar . I was sure he had a secret source of bankruptcy humor .
I ’ m proud to report that many of my students ( including Paul Shankman ) found a home in the bankruptcy field . Mr . Shankman took it seriously and ( like me ) eventually became Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification . ( You , too , are welcome to become a certified specialist with the American Board of Certification . See abcworld . com for the details .)
The Hon . Calvin K . Ashland
As an Adjunct Professor , I was permitted to maintain a full-time bankruptcy litigation practice in Los Angeles . ( I ’ m proud to say I lost my first trial on the day after I was sworn in as a lawyer . My career has improved since that day .)
When I began practicing in 1980 , one of our leading Los Angeles judges was the Hon . Calvin K . Ashland . In 1982 , when I began teaching , Judge Ashland was appointed to be one of the first judges on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit . In 1991 , Judge Ashland went on to become chief bankruptcy judge of the U . S . Bankruptcy Court , Central District of California . You can read all about Judge Ashland on line . See , Myrna Oliver ,
“ Calvin Ashland ; Bankruptcy Court Judge ,” Los Angeles Times , April 16 , 1997 , available HERE (“ Appointed to the Bankruptcy Court in 1976 , Ashland served as chief judge administering the court from 1991 to 1996 . He also served on the appellate panel for the federal court ’ s 9th Circuit covering nine western states from 1982 until [ 1996 ]. During his tenure as chief judge , Ashland helped increase the district ’ s number of bankruptcy judges from 19 to 21 , introduced automated systems that improved case management and established offices in Santa Barbara and the San Fernando Valley .”).
I remember one of my first appearances before Judge Ashland . I was representing a consumer debtor . I argued in favor of confirming the debtor ’ s controversial “ zero percent ” chapter 13 plan . When I was done answering his hard questions , Judge Ashland looked down at me and said , “ Mr . Bovitz . You are very convincing . I will confirm this plan .” I was elated !
Many years after my first appearance before Judge Ashland , the judge saw me on the street in front of a restaurant . “ Good to see you , Professor Bovitz . Did Paul Shankman ever pass along some of the jokes from my book of bankruptcy funnies ?” Ah , ha ! I was convinced that Judge Ashland ’ s bankruptcy joke book was the source of so many of Paul Shankman ’ s winning entries for Bankruptcy Joke for a Buck .
But I was wrong . Paul Shankman ’ s alibi .
Eventually , I confronted Paul Shankman at a bar function about the Bankruptcy Joke for a Buck competitions and Judge Ashland ’ s book . I expected a full confession . Shankman would just have to say , “ You are correct . I am not funny . I was just passing along Judge Ashland ’ s best work as my own . This is what lawyers do for a living you know .”
Instead , Paul Shankman refreshed my recollection . Mr . Shankman did not know Judge Ashland at the time and did not have access to Judge Ashland ’ s Big Book of Bankruptcy Funnies .
Here is Paul Shankman ’ s alibi , in his own words .
I was “ wet behind the ears ” as I entered my last year of law school in 1982 at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles . I had the good fortune of enrolling in a bankruptcy law course taught by J . Scott Bovitz , Esq ., a great comedian , teacher , and merciless task master . He was very artful at using humor to illustrate and teach key legal concepts . Scott and I “ clicked ” as fast friends on a human and humor level .
Scott recognized my keen interest in bankruptcy law . Scott noted an opening for a summer internship with bankruptcy judge Calvin K . Ashland in Los Angeles . I applied for the internship and was invited for an interview .
I had never met any judge before . So , at the ripe old age of 24 , I was ready to be intimidated when I appeared for the first interview .
I was invited into Judge Ashland ’ s chambers at the iconic and imposing art deco federal courthouse at 312 North Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles . I sat down in a leather-bound chair and tried to look comfortable .
There was a painful silence during the first few minutes of the interview . Judge Ashland was perched in his robes behind his enormous walnut desk . He looked carefully at my resume and writing samples . From time to time , he would look up from the paperwork with his blue eyes behind oversized glasses -- always with a serious expression on his face . I slowly realized that Judge Ashland was really shy .
When Judge Ashland finally spoke , he asked me to call him “ Cal ” ( short for Calvin ) instead of “ your honor ” or “ judge .” That was disarming . Then he
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Winter 2018 CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL 35