Richard E. West

Richard West is the only Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney in the entire Dayton area.

See abcworld.org for information on board certification, and to see how few board certified lawyers there are in Ohio.

Mr. West is a frequent lecturer on bankruptcy topics and has delivered lectures for all three of the major seminar companies, as well as for the Ohio State Bar Association.

He graduated from Franklin High School and served in the United States Navy. After military service, he was employed by NCR as a computer engineer. He completed his undergraduate degree at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and he earned his law degree from Temple University in 1986.

He is admitted to the United States Supreme Court, U.S. Tax Court, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, United States Court of Federal Claims, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Ohio Supreme Court.

He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Law Forum, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, Ohio State Bar Association, and the Dayton Bar Association.

Richard West has delivered lectures on Professionalism to attorney meetings sponsored by the Ohio State Bar Association, and has presented continuing legal education lectures on other subjects as well.

Dustin R. Hurley

Dustin earned his undergraduate degree from Miami University’s Farmer School of Business. He then earned his Juris Doctor degree from University of Dayton School of Law. Following law school, Dustin served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Montgomery County. He later began practicing with Richard West, Dustin’s step-father. He is currently a partner at West, Hurley & Malkiewicz and limits his practice to consumer bankruptcy law.

Dustin has lectured on bankruptcy law topics at attorney seminars in Dayton and Cincinnati. He is also a volunteer for the Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyer’s Project, where he represents low income clients pro bono (for free).

Dustin is admitted to the Ohio Supreme Court and United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Law Forum, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, and the Ohio, Dayton, and Cincinnati Bar Associations.

One Response to “About Us”

1. Anonymous says:

   August 14, 2010 at 1:59 pm

   I am considering making an appointment for bankruptcy protection but a friend told me about a program that makes you “judgement proof” if your only income is social security. I’m not sure if I can qualify for that because my husband is still working. (The credit cards I have are all in my name).

   If I would qualify for this could your company handle this for me?

   Sincerely, (name removed by Rick West)

   ———————————————
   Great Question.

   There is no such program. But, often folks who have only social security income are judgement-proof, and I frequently tell them they need not file, since creditors cannot garnish social security income.

   But, this does not mean that one has nothing to fear from creditors if their income is only social security. I frequently see retired people who have savings in the bank that could be taken by creditors, or houses paid off that could be lost to creditors, or vehicles that are paid for.

   Yes, creditors, even credit card creditors, can take your house and car if you don’t pay them.

   So, you see, just having social security income and not looking at other aspects of your situation could be a recipe for disaster.

   Always best to call us up and discuss these things. The call is free. You don’t even need to come to the office. We are happy to help you understand if you are judgement proof, – really – or not.