About Albert Goodwin - New York Bankruptcy Attorney

New York Bankruptcy Attorney Albert Goodwin

Albert Goodwin is the founding attorney of the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin, PLLC. He has been licensed to practice law in New York since 2008 and has spent the last eighteen years in trial and bankruptcy courtrooms across New York State.

Admissions

State of New York (2008)
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York

Professional Memberships

New York State Bar Association
New York City Bar Association
American Bar Association

Approach

Albert takes a small number of cases at any one time so that each client receives direct, senior-attorney attention. He personally drafts and reviews every petition that leaves the office, attends every 341 meeting of creditors, and appears at every contested hearing. Clients are given his direct phone number and his direct email address.

His approach to bankruptcy practice is forensic. Before a petition is filed, he walks through every line of the schedules with the client to make sure assets, debts, income, and expenditures are reported accurately and to identify any pre-filing issues — recent transfers, post-petition tax obligations, fraudulent conveyance exposure, look-back period concerns — that need to be addressed first. The goal is to file once, file correctly, and obtain the discharge.

Areas of Focus

The firm's practice is concentrated in debtor-side bankruptcy and related insolvency matters. Areas of focus include:

Chapter 7 liquidation for individuals, families, and closing businesses.
Chapter 13 reorganization for wage-earners saving a home from foreclosure, paying down priority tax debt, or restructuring around non-exempt assets.
Chapter 11 and Subchapter V for small and mid-sized businesses, and for individuals whose debt exceeds the Chapter 13 ceilings.
Foreclosure defense through both bankruptcy and state court litigation.
Lien avoidance and lien-stripping motions under sections 522(f) and 1322(b)(2).
Adversary proceedings contesting non-dischargeability and defending objections to discharge.
Pre-bankruptcy exemption planning within the boundaries of sections 522(o) and 727(a)(2).
Out-of-court restructuring and settlement when bankruptcy is not the right answer.

How Albert Works With Clients

The First Meeting

Every prospective client meets with Albert directly — not an intake coordinator, a paralegal, or an associate. The first meeting usually runs thirty to sixty minutes and covers the full financial picture: income for the past six months, assets, debts, pending lawsuits, judgments, garnishments, recent transfers, and the client's objectives. At the end of the meeting, the client has a clear recommendation: which chapter (if any), what the projected outcome looks like, and what the all-in cost will be.

The Engagement Letter

Once a client decides to retain the firm, the engagement is documented in a written letter that quotes a flat fee for the case, identifies what is included and excluded, and explains the payment schedule. Court filing fees, credit counseling fees, and financial management course fees are itemized separately. The firm does not charge hourly for routine consumer matters.

Preparation of the Petition

Albert personally prepares and reviews every petition that leaves the office. The first draft is built from the documents the client provides; it is then reviewed line by line with the client — in person, by phone, or by video — to make sure nothing is missed or misstated. The schedules, statement of financial affairs, means test, and (in Chapter 13) the proposed plan are all walked through before anything is filed.

The Case Itself

After filing, Albert handles the case personally. He attends the 341 meeting of creditors, appears at any contested hearing, handles all motions for relief from stay, prepares any adversary complaint or answer, and shepherds the case through discharge. Clients have his direct phone number and email address throughout the engagement.

Court Familiarity

The firm files regularly in both the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (One Bowling Green in Manhattan and the Federal Building in White Plains) and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York (271-C Cadman Plaza East in Brooklyn and the Alfonse M. D'Amato Courthouse in Central Islip). Albert is familiar with the procedural preferences of the judges who sit in these courts, the practices of the standing Chapter 13 trustees, and the questions the Chapter 7 panel trustees focus on at the 341 meeting.

This local knowledge matters in everyday case management. It also matters when something goes wrong — when an exemption is challenged, when a creditor files an objection to discharge, or when a Chapter 13 plan needs to be confirmed over a trustee objection.

What to Expect in a First Consultation

An initial consultation with Albert is conversational rather than formal. Most people who call us are stressed, often more stressed than they realize, and the first goal of the meeting is to understand the situation completely before any recommendation is offered. The conversation typically covers:

Your sources and amount of income over the last six months — W-2 wages, self-employment, rental income, retirement distributions, public benefits, and contributions from household members.
The debts you owe — secured (mortgages, car loans), priority (recent taxes, child support arrears), and general unsecured (credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, judgments).
What you own — home, vehicles, retirement accounts, bank accounts, business interests, investment property, anticipated inheritances, pending lawsuits.
What you have done in the recent past — payments to family members, transfers of property, new credit card charges, retirement withdrawals, prior bankruptcy filings.
What you are trying to accomplish — keeping a house, keeping a car, stopping a garnishment, dealing with a particular creditor, resolving a tax problem, or simply getting a fresh start.

At the end of the meeting you will have a recommendation: Chapter 7, Chapter 13, Chapter 11, a non-bankruptcy alternative, or no action at all. If retention is the right step, you will receive a written engagement letter the same day or the next business day with the all-in fee quoted up front.

How Albert Built the Practice

The firm began handling debtor-side bankruptcy work shortly after Albert's admission to the New York bar in 2008. Over the years that followed, the practice grew through referrals from prior clients, from other attorneys, and from members of the New York legal community who knew the firm's work. The current practice is concentrated in consumer Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 matters, small-business Subchapter V reorganizations, and individual Chapter 11 cases for high-debt clients who exceed the Chapter 13 ceilings.

Albert remains personally engaged in every case. The firm has deliberately stayed boutique-sized rather than scaling into a high-volume operation. The math is straightforward: a high-volume firm can file more cases but cannot give each case the individual attention it needs. Albert's view, which has shaped the practice from the beginning, is that bankruptcy is a one-time decision for most clients and that getting it right matters more than getting it done at the lowest possible cost.

Media

Albert has been interviewed by and appeared in ProPublica, Forbes, ABC, CNBC, CBS, NBC News, Discovery, the Wall Street Journal, and NPR. The interviews have covered topics ranging from consumer bankruptcy trends to estate planning, debt collection abuses, and the financial impact of major events on ordinary households.