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Bankr. W.D. Tex. L. Rule 2016-1 — Compensation of Professionals: the court's own rule, verbatim from Local Court Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas (These Rules are effective as of February 3, 2025.), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas alongside the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and any judge-specific procedures.
(a) Statement of Compensation. Any attorney representing the debtor in their bankruptcy case, or in connection with such case, whether or not such attorney applies for compensation under the Code, shall file with the Court a statement of compensation paid or agreed to be paid, if such payment or agreement was made after one (1) year before the petition date, for services rendered or to be rendered in contemplation of or in connection with the case by such attorney and the source of such compensation as required by 11 U.S.C. § 329 and FRBP 2016(b). i. The disclosure of compensation shall state whether the fees paid or agreed to be paid are a fixed fee or incurred on an hourly basis. ii. If fees are incurred on an hourly basis, the disclosure must state the amount of the prepetition retainer paid, funds applied to prepetition amounts due, and the balance of the retainer as of the petition date. iii. Representation of a debtor by an attorney in this Court constitutes an entry of appearance for all purposes in the debtor’s bankruptcy case, except as provided in subsection (b) below. While the attorney remains attorney of record for the debtor in the bankruptcy case, the attorney has a duty to advise the debtor on all bankruptcy matters that arise during the course of the bankruptcy case and to represent the interests of the debtor in connection with the bankruptcy case that may affect the debtor, the debtor’s property and, in the case of reorganization proceedings, property of the estate. An attorney may not circumvent this Rule by limiting services in his or her client engagement letter or in the attorney’s disclosures filed in accordance with FRBP 2016. (b) Limited Unbundling of Services for Adversary Proceedings and Appellate Work. A debtor’s attorney may expressly exclude adversary proceedings and appellate work from the scope of the engagement; however, if engaged as the attorney in an adversary proceeding, an attorney may not exclude services within that adversary proceeding. (c) Pro Bono Representation. An attorney representing a debtor on a pro bono basis must still file a disclosure statement under FRBP 2016 stating that the attorney has agreed to not receive any funds in exchange for representing a debtor. That said, an attorney representing an “assisted person” on a pro bono basis is not a “debt relief agency” and, in regard to that particular matter, is not required to comply with the provisions set forth in 11 U.S.C. §§ 526, 527, and 528 of the Bankruptcy Code. (d) Form of Application. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, an application for compensation and reimbursement of expenses for a secured creditor, or professional retained pursuant to Court order, shall also include: (1) A Fee Application Summary in the form of Appendix L-2016-1-a-2; the Summary must include a summary description of the services rendered by category, reflecting the total cost of each category of services and summarizing the nature and purpose of each category of services rendered, and the results obtained; (2) A Compensation Support Exhibit reflecting contemporaneous time records itemizing services rendered by category, in a format which reflects a description of each service entry, the amount of time spent rendering that service, the date the service was performed, who performed that service, and the hourly rate of the person performing that service; and (3) A Reimbursement Support Exhibit, reflecting invoices, records, and/or receipts for expenses incurred. The date, time, and amount of each expense shall be shown. Any single expense in excess of $100.00 shall be supported by a receipt or invoice, except for in-house postage, telephone, and photocopying charges. (e) Procedure for Applying for Compensation in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 Cases. (1) The Fee Application Summary must be served pursuant to L. Rule 9013-1 upon any secured creditor whose cash collateral is used by the estate (and such creditor’s counsel), any committee appointed in the case (and such committee’s counsel), the twenty largest unsecured creditors, any trustee appointed in the case (and such trustee’s counsel), the debtor (and debtor’s counsel), and the U.S. trustee. (2) Any party in interest may obtain a copy of the Compensation Support Exhibit and Reimbursement Support Exhibit at no charge by requesting a copy of same from the professional seeking compensation. (3) A joint application can be filed for jointly administered cases. The Court reserves the right to order that fees be allocated at the time of the final fee application. (f) Procedure for Compensation in Chapter 13 Cases. (1) Hourly Fees. In a chapter 13 case, counsel for the debtor may elect to receive compensation on an hourly basis, subject to fee applications and court approval in accordance with L. Rule 2016-1(d). i. Counsel’s election of hourly compensation must be clearly disclosed in the FRBP 2016 disclosure statement and may not be revoked at any time during the course of the bankruptcy proceeding. Such election, however, is not applicable to an adversary proceeding or appellate matters if debtor’s counsel properly excludes representation in such matters in accordance with L. Rule 2016-1(b). ii. If debtor’s counsel agrees to compensation on an hourly basis, counsel shall include in the chapter 13 plan a good faith estimate of the fees to be incurred through plan confirmation. Any fee application must specifically state whether the confirmed plan is sufficiently funded to pay the requested administrative expense. (2) Benchmark Fee. Alternatively, in a chapter 13 case, counsel for the debtor may elect to receive compensation based on the benchmark fee system. i. If debtor’s counsel agrees to compensation under the benchmark fee system, the benchmark fee for basic required services is provided pursuant to the Standing Order Regarding Benchmark Fees in Chapter 13 Cases, as may be amended from time to time. The standing order is available on the Court’s website at www.txwb.uscourts.gov/standing-orders-index. ii. The basic, required services that are included in the benchmark fee are as follows: 1) All conferences with the debtor, including budget consultations and timely responses to debtor’s inquiries; 2) Preparation of the petition and its associated forms, schedules, statement of affairs, plan, and pre-confirmation amendments to all such documents; 3) Attendance at all 11 U.S.C. § 341 meetings (including adjourned meetings); 4) Attendance at confirmation and discharge hearings (including any adjourned hearings); 5) All motions for moratorium or to modify the plan filed less than 120 days after the confirmation hearing where the plan was confirmed; 6) Compliance with the requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 521; 7) Representation of the debtor(s) in connection with two preconfirmation motions under 11 U.S.C. § 362; 8) Representation of the debtor in connection with a preconfirmation motion to dismiss, including trustee’s motions to dismiss with or without prejudice; 9) Representation in connection with any Order to Show Cause issued by the Court; 10) Reviewing the claims register and filing objections to any claims, as appropriate, however, counsel may seek additional compensation, as set forth below in subsection (iv), when the objection becomes a contested matter; 11) Preparation of and hearing attendance for the following routine motions: (1) motions to pay filing fees in installments; (2) motions to value collateral and avoid liens; (3) motions for waiver of credit counseling; (4) motions for continuation/imposition of the stay under 11 U.S.C. §§ 362(c)(3)(B) and 362(c)(4)(B); (5) motions to extend filing or other debtor deadlines; (6) preconfirmation motion to reinstate case; (7) motion to waive pay order; and (8) any such other matter as the Court may deem to be routine; 12) Filing of the debtor’s financial management course certificate and completed Local Form 4004-1 certificate of eligibility for discharge; 13) Other miscellaneous, normal, customary services including correspondence to clients, review of correspondence from clients, communications with the chapter 13 trustee, the U.S. trustee, and the Clerk’s Office; and 14) In a business case, assisting the debtor in complying with the requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 1304. iii. All benchmark fees are deemed to include the following expenses and, therefore, counsel may not seek reimbursement of those expenses separately: 1) PACER/ECF charges; 2) Westlaw/research fees; 3) Mileage or other travel costs; and 4) Counsel hired to appear with the debtor at the 341 meeting of creditors (commonly referred to as “appearance counsel”). iv. Counsel for the debtor may apply for supplemental benchmark fees for certain non-basic services to be paid in addition to the benchmark fee. To request such supplemental fees, debtor’s counsel must include the request in either a separate application for fees or in the motion that is the basis for the request for supplemental fees. Counsel shall set forth a concise statement of the services rendered, the hours required, the amount of the fee requested, and the impact such fees will have on disbursements to unsecured creditors. Debtor’s counsel shall provide notice of the request for supplemental fees and opportunity for hearing to all parties on the master mailing matrix, in accordance with L. Rules 9013-1 and 9014-1. The chapter 13 trustee may denote their approval of the fees requested by signing off on the proposed order approving the fee application. No supplemental fees may be disbursed to counsel except upon Court Order approving such fees. Supplemental fees may be sought on an hourly fee basis or under the benchmark fees for non-basic services pursuant to the Standing Order Regarding Benchmark Fees in Chapter 13 Cases, as may be amended from time-to-time. The standing order is available on the Court’s website at www.txwb.uscourts.gov/standing-orders-index.
(a) Statement of Compensation. Any attorney representing the debtor in their bankruptcy case, or in connection with such case, whether or not such attorney applies for compensation under the Code, shall file with the Court a statement of compensation paid or agreed to be paid, if