Us People Podcast

The Law We Decide To Practice - Barry Levine - Attorney At Law #314

Barry Levine · April 28, 2026

Author · Financein

Interview with Barry Levine

The Law We Decide To Practice - Barry Levine - Attorney At Law #314

Podcast: Us People Podcast

April 28, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min

Send Us A Message or Ask Us A Question? Bankruptcy Through the Looking Glass with “Hippie Lawyer” Barry Levine (Season 7 Premiere) Savia Rocks opens Season 7 of the Us People Podcast with guest Barry Levine, a Massachusetts attorney and self-described “old hippie,” who shares…

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The Law We Decide To Practice - Barry Levine - Attorney At Law #314

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Key topicsGood Money After Bad — Why Founders Spend the Savings They Will Need NextBarry Levine has advised small business owners in Massachusetts for 45 years, and the money he watches vanish is almost never the company's. It goes in an order he can predict: a supplier gets paid late, a tax filing slips, and the owner quietly starts covering the gap from a personal account, then a retirement account. He argues that the instinct to keep the business breathing one more month is what turns a company problem into a household one, and that the owners who recover are the ones who separate the two early. He has recorded around 14 episodes walking through cases that went exactly this way, and he lays out the signals that a business has stopped paying for itself. Listeners leave able to tell the difference between funding a business and funding a hope.Debt settlement promises can leave panicked borrowers worse offFor personal finance and debt relief listeners, the most dangerous choice is often the one that sounds less scary than bankruptcy. People in crisis may reach for debt settlement programs because they want to avoid stigma, but they still may not understand what creditors, tax authorities, or courts can actually do next. Barry can walk listeners through the practical difference between a marketed promise and a legal process with rules, timelines, and protections. The conversation helps borrowers ask better questions before they commit to a path that may only delay the moment they need real debt strategy. Chapter 13 is not just a slower Chapter 7People often hear Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 as confusing labels, then assume one is simply faster and the other is worse. For listeners dealing with foreclosure pressure, wage garnishment, or repayment problems, that misunderstanding can lead to the wrong decision at the wrong time. Barry can break down how Chapter 13 repayment works, when it may protect someone who needs time, and why Chapter 7 is not automatically the right fit for every distressed borrower. The episode gives listeners a practical decision frame before they try to choose a bankruptcy path from fear alone. View all topics →

About Barry Levine

Bankruptcy Attorney and Debt Strategist for Everyday Americans in Crisis

45 years Representing people in financial difficulty1 book Author, Personal Bankruptcy Through The Looking Glass322 videos On his own bankruptcy YouTube channelBankruptcy attorney Massachusetts

The calls often come late: someone has ignored letters from the IRS, missed too many loan payments, or watched their small business slowly bleed out. They don’t open with legal questions. They ask if there’s any way out.

For almost 45 years, Barry Levine has answered that question with calm, practical guidance. A Massachusetts-based bankruptcy attorney, he works with individuals and small business owners navigating serious financial strain, people who are scared, out of options, and unsure what the next step even looks like. His work isn’t about judgement or quick fixes. It’s about helping people understand what tools are available, how the system works, and what choices they can still make.

What Barry sees again and again is that fear, not just debt, is what traps people. The legal process has structure, options, and predictable outcomes; what derails most clients is the panic that keeps them frozen in place. Barry’s role is to bring order to the chaos. With each case, he applies decades of legal experience to help clients understand what’s happening, what’s possible, and how to move forward with a strategy that restores both stability and control.

He first started practicing bankruptcy law in a hands-on Boston office while still in law school, learning case by case how to navigate both paperwork and people.

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About this episode

Send Us A Message or Ask Us A Question?

Bankruptcy Through the Looking Glass with “Hippie Lawyer”Barry Levine(Season 7 Premiere)

Savia Rocks opens Season 7 of the Us People Podcast with guest Barry Levine, a Massachusetts attorney and self-described “old hippie,” who shares growing up in Brooklyn, becoming a lawyer, and spending 45+ years largely representing debtors.

Barry explains how U.S. bankruptcy works in practice, including exemptions (notably Massachusetts’ homestead protection), the creditor-to-collection-to-lawsuit pipeline, default judgments, debtor’s court, and how filing bankruptcy (including the 341 meeting) typically stops creditor harassment.

He discusses Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 basics, costs and retainers, the high expense and failure rate of Chapter 11, debt being bought and sold, “zombie mortgages,” and the importance of pre-bankruptcy planning. He also recounts unusual cases, including a Chapter 7 involving 1,807 Bitcoin, and closes with personal stories, cannabis culture anecdotes, and where to find him (YouTube, book, email).

00:00 Legacy And Trauma

01:10 Meet Barry Levine

02:24 Brooklyn Roots To Law

04:14 Why Not California

05:59 Building A Debtor Practice

07:38 Bankruptcy Basics

11:28 How Collections Escalate

15:45 Judgments And Debtors Court

17:32 Filing And 341 Meeting

22:09 Chapter 7 Vs 13

27:05 Debt Buying Explained

30:08 Zombie Mortgages