List the connections an employment application must state
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the engagement records, list any connection with the debtor, a creditor, any other party in interest, their attorneys and accountants, the United States trustee, or a person employed in that office. Record whether a statement of those connections is on the file. Do not write the statement and do not decide that a connection bars employment.
- What the lawyer must review
- You decide whether a connection must be disclosed and whether it affects employment, and you write the statement. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 2014(a) says the court may approve employment of an attorney, accountant, appraiser, auctioneer, agent, or other professional under section 327, 1103, or 1114 only on the trustee's or committee's application. The application must state the need, the name of the person, the reasons for the selection, the services to be rendered, any proposed compensation, and, to the best of the applicant's knowledge, all of the person's connections with the debtor, creditors, any other party in interest, their respective attorneys and accountants, the United States trustee, and any person employed in the United States trustee's office. Except in a Chapter 9 case, a copy goes to the United States trustee. The application must be accompanied by a verified statement of the person to be employed setting forth that person's connections with any entity listed there. 11 U.S.C. § 327(a) says that, except as otherwise provided in that section, the trustee, with the court's approval, may employ professional persons who do not hold or represent an interest adverse to the estate, and who are disinterested persons, to represent or assist the trustee. The definition of disinterested person was not opened. The other exceptions in section 327 were not applied. The opened rule does not use a two-year list, and it does not treat an indemnity as its own category. If the file contains an indemnity, you decide whether it is a connection the rule requires to be stated.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Consider narrowly defined preparation support after confirming the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.