Law Offices of J Arthur Roberts

My firm has a right of commercial free speech protected by the constitution and regulated by the State Bar of California My law firm sends out a series of print advertising and newsletters to individuals who have filed bankruptcy using publicly available information The targeted advertising piece offers free legal assistance to those in need However, there is nothing private or confidential about the information used, including the debtor's name, address, judge or case number listed on the envelope The public, including the debtor's friends and neighbors, is already on constructive notice that the debtor filed bankruptcy When a debtor files bankruptcy, they voluntarily alert the world of the legal matter The nature of our legal system is transparent and a debtor must subject themselves to full public disclosure of their financial situation when they choose to seek relief from the bankruptcy courts When a bankruptcy is filed, the debtor seeks to indirectly pass on the burden of their unpaid debts to the creditors and the rest of society The debtor has no right of privacy as to this financial information, let alone the identity of the judge and case number as listed on envelopes and sent by US mail The debtor is free to ignore the advertising pieces and throw them away as is her choice However, the debtor should not expect, and is not entitled, to any degree of privacy when filing a case within our legal system

My firm has a right of commercial free speech protected by the constitution and regulated by the State Bar of California.  My law firm sends out a series of print advertising and newsletters to individuals who have filed bankruptcy using publicly available information.  The targeted...

advertising piece offers free legal assistance to those in need.  However, there is nothing private or confidential about the information used, including the debtor's name, address, judge or case number listed on the envelope.
The public, including the debtor's friends and neighbors, is already on constructive notice that the debtor filed bankruptcy.  When a debtor files bankruptcy, they voluntarily alert the world of the legal matter.  The nature of our legal system is transparent and a debtor must subject themselves to full public disclosure of their financial situation when they choose to seek relief from the bankruptcy courts.  When a bankruptcy is filed, the debtor seeks to indirectly pass on the burden of their unpaid debts to the creditors and the rest of society.  The debtor has no right of privacy as to this financial information, let alone the identity of the judge and case number as listed on envelopes and sent by US mail.
The debtor is free to ignore the advertising pieces and throw them away as is her choice.  However, the debtor should not expect, and is not entitled, to any degree of privacy when filing a case within our legal system.

Review: I received a letter from the Law Office of J. [redacted] which disclosed my personal, private and confidential information printed right onto the address label which was attached to the outside and front of a large manilla envelope. The label included the information of my legal case, the case number, the type of case and the judge's name. It is completely unacceptable to advertise my personal business for my neighbors, strangers or anyone else to see; especially in this day and age of identity theft. This office needs to recognize the severity and nature of its actions and how devastating and embarrassing this is for individuals. This action was extremely thoughtless, inconsiderate and disrespectful as it is obvious that they are unprofessional and would be unable to maintain their client's confidentiality. If I ever had any intentions of using this office's services, all such potential was blown with this simple careless yet heinous act.Desired Settlement: Further attempts to place personal and private information onto the address labels needs to cease immediately.

Business

Response:

My firm has a right of commercial free speech protected by the constitution and regulated by the State Bar of California. My law firm sends out a series of print advertising and newsletters to individuals who have filed bankruptcy using publicly available information. The targeted advertising piece offers free legal assistance to those in need. However, there is nothing private or confidential about the information used, including the debtor's name, address, judge or case number listed on the envelope.

The public, including the debtor's friends and neighbors, is already on constructive notice that the debtor filed bankruptcy. When a debtor files bankruptcy, they voluntarily alert the world of the legal matter. The nature of our legal system is transparent and a debtor must subject themselves to full public disclosure of their financial situation when they choose to seek relief from the bankruptcy courts. When a bankruptcy is filed, the debtor seeks to indirectly pass on the burden of their unpaid debts to the creditors and the rest of society. The debtor has no right of privacy as to this financial information, let alone the identity of the judge and case number as listed on envelopes and sent by US mail.

The debtor is free to ignore the advertising pieces and throw them away as is her choice. However, the debtor should not expect, and is not entitled, to any degree of privacy when filing a case within our legal system.