Akhlaghpour

I. Background

This appeal arose following Debtor Mehri Akhlaghpour’s success in obtaining leave of the bankruptcy court to continue, rather than begin, an ongoing legal malpractice suit in state court against her former bankruptcy attorney, Giovanni Orantes, and his firm (collectively, “Orantes” or “Appellees”). a. Underlying Bankruptcy & Related Events In late 2017, Akhlaghpour met with Orantes to discuss the possibility of filing a bankruptcy petition. During the meeting, Orantes recommended a Chapter 11 petition and Akhlaghpour agreed to filing it. On October 11, 2017,

AKHLAGHPOUR V. ORANTES

Akhlaghpour filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition through Orantes as her counsel. The bankruptcy court approved Orantes as counsel for the estate effective as of the petition’s filing. Due to suspicions regarding the timing of liens recorded against Akhlaghpour’s properties, on February 4, 2018, the bankruptcy court appointed a trustee who immediately sought to liquidate Akhlaghpour’s properties. Two months later, after some properties had been sold by the trustee, Orantes moved to dismiss the petition. The bankruptcy court denied the motion on May 15, 2018, in…