Leon Bayer

Leon Bayer is a Los Angeles, California bankruptcy attorney, practicing since 1979. His primary focus is on representing individuals and small businesses in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. He is a founding partner in the California law firm of Bayer, Wishman & Leotta and is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law. To learn more about Leon, you can visit his Los Angeles bankruptcy attorney website.

Contributions. Mr. Bayer is a coauthor of Nolo's The New Bankruptcy: Will It Work for You?, authored the “Ask Leon” series on Nolo’s Bankruptcy, Debt & Foreclosure blog, and has written on bankruptcy topics for Nolo’s website. In addition, Mr. Bayer devotes a significant number of hours to volunteer legal services. The State Bar of California has commended Mr. Bayer for this work every year since 2004.

Professional affiliations. Mr. Bayer’s professional affiliations and leadership roles are many, and include: President of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum (1995-1996), member of the State Bar of California’s Law Advisory Commission on Personal & Small Business Bankruptcy Law (1996-2000), and exam grader and question writer for the State Bar Legal Specialization test on Bankruptcy.  

Legal expertise. Mr. Bayer testifies in court as a legal expert in bankruptcy malpractice suits, and is a frequent lecturer on bankruptcy law. He has spoken at the former Bridging the Gap program for new lawyers, lectured on bankruptcy case law developments at a number of the State Bar of California Annual Meetings, and has presented bankruptcy law material at many other educational programs.

Media. Mr. Bayer’s frequent television appearances have included interviews on KCAL9 News and EXTRA (where he has weighed in on various celebrity bankruptcies). He has also served as a bankruptcy expert on many different radio shows and news stations, and has been a frequent guest on KALW-FM public radio’s Your Legal Rights.

Mr. Bayer’s publications include:

• The New Bankruptcy: Will It Work for You? (Nolo)
• The Essentials of Chapter 13, Daily Journal Report, December 18, 1987
• Basic Bankruptcy, California Practice Handbook, Matthew Bender 1992, 1993 (contributing editor), and
• Personal and Small Business Practice in California, CEB Bankruptcy Practice Guide, 2003 (reviewer and contributing author).