Bankruptcy attorneys are increasingly encouraging clients to file for the more expensive “no money down” option of Chapter 13 bankruptcy – a tactic that’s used more often with blacks than with whites, according to research co-written by Robert M. Lawless, the Max L. Rowe Professor of Law at Illinois and a leading consumer credit and bankruptcy expert.

"This paper explores how bankruptcy attorneys are getting paid," said Lawless, also the co-director of the Program on Law, Behavior and Social Science at the College of Law. "Previous studies have documented a racial disparity in the bankruptcy system. Our study suggests that how attorneys are being paid may be driving a lot of the disparity."

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