Mr. Miller joined The Semrad Law Firm in 2004. In addition to supervising attorneys, Mr. Miller also advises and represents debtors in Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy cases. Mr. Miller also formed and manages the firm’s pro bono bankruptcy appellate practice. Mr. Miller co-chaired a case in the United States Supreme Court. See City of Chicago v. Fulton, 141 S. Ct. 585 (2021). Mr. Miller has also argued three times in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In one of the cases, Mr. Miller successfully affirmed a ruling that allows debtors to discharge overpayment of benefits debts with state agencies. See Dennis v. Illinois Department of Human Services, 927 F.3d 1015 (7th Cir. 2019). Mr. Miller is also an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School where he teaches appellate legal writing.
Mr. Miller graduated with Honors from Roosevelt University with a B.S. in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Management, in 2001.
Mr. Miller then went on to receive his J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago Law School in 2005. While in law school, Mr. Miller was an extern with the U.S.Department of Justice's Office. In addition, Mr. Miller also was an extern at the Greater Southwest Development Predatory Lending Clinic, helping consumers fight predatory lending practices.
Mr. Miller is the current Seventh Circuit Leader for National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys in which he provides meaningful, insightful, and timely coverage of bankruptcy decisions impacting consumer attorneys and debtors within the purview of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana). He keeps the membership apprised of developments and trends within the 7th Circuit and their impact on contemporary jurisprudence. Mr. Miller also serves for the American Bankruptcy Institute Consumer Committee where he previously was the Membership Relations Director, and now is the Communications Director.
He also serves as an advisory board member for the American Bankruptcy Institute Honorable Eugene R.Wedoff Seventh Circuit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference. Mr. Miller was also appointed by the American Bankruptcy Institute to the Advisory Committee for its groundbreaking 2021 Consumer Bankruptcy Extravaganza. Mr.Miller was the co-chair of the Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee for the Northern District of Illinois for the 2019-2020 term.
Mr. Miller is a frequent commentator for articles on wallethub.com.
Mr. Miller is also a member and volunteer in the Chicago CARE program, which provides educational seminars to students about the responsible use of credit. MrMiller was born and raised in Illinois. In his spare time, he plays competitive tennis, and has previously been ranked the #1 U.S.T.A. Singles player in Chicago three different years.
In re Marshall, 18-23482 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.April 26, 2022) No. 67 (Doyle.J) Mr.Miller successfully defended the Chapter 13 Trustee’s motion to modify the Debtor’s plan which attempted to treat a lump sum payment gift the Debtor received from paying off the case early and instead treat it as an additional payment.The Court overruled the Trustee on four different grounds 1) equitable estoppel since Debtor relied on Trustee’s payoff quote; 2) the applicable commitment period is a multiplier and not a temporal one; 3) a gift is not disposable income which is ground for modification under 1329; and 4) the best interest of creditors and disposable income test are not applicable to 1329
Mr. Miller successfully overruled the Chapter 13 Trustee’s motion to dismiss for the Debtor’s failure to turn over four years of tax refunds which equaled $31,129. The Trustee failed to seek the refunds until the end of the case, and the Court used its inherent power under Section 105(a) to forgive the tax refund turnover provision, and also granted relief under 60(b) (5) to vacate the tax refund turnover condition from the confirmation order for equitable grounds.In re Carter, No. 17-bk-03367, 2022 WL 953495 (Bankr.N.D.Ill Mar. 30, 2022)
Mr. Miller successfully obtained the return of a vehicle without the use of an adversary pursuant to Sections 542(a) and 543 . In re Watts, No. 21-13127 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.Dec. 8, 2021), ECF No. 26 (Cox, J.).
Mr. Miller successfully defended an adversary from a creditor resulting in dismissal and prevailed under § 523(d) to recover an award of $7,850.00 in attorney fees. See In re Merced, No. 20-AP-00262 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.Feb. 5, 2021), ECF No. 75 (Barnes, J.).
Mr. Miller successfully defended a debtor's $100,000 surplus from a third-party locator service who attempted to take $25,000 as a finder fee. See In re Scott, No. 10-43795, (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Sept. 13, 2021), ECF No. 62 (Goldgar, J.).
Mr. Miller successfully obtained the return of a vehicle, and the court ruled the debtor provided adequate protection and the vehicle was consequential to the estate.In re Corder, No. 21 B 10189, 2021 WL 6124234, at*2 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.Sept. 15, 2021) (Cleary)
Mr. Miller reopened a Chapter 7 for the debtor, and defeated the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in its attempt to characterize an unpaid tuition debt for $11,531.00 as a non-dischargeable student loan.The Court held the debt was dischargeable, and the registration agreement the debtor signed when she enrolled in school was insufficient to transform into a student loan.In re Espino, 20-15769 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.October 18, 2021), No. 39 (Barnes, J.)