Jacob Braunstein | Portland Bankruptcy Lawyer

Jacob D. Braunstein, the founder and managing member of Braunstein Law, PC, is a graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. During law school, Jacob concentrated on criminal law and procedure and clerked for both the Washington County District Attorney's Office and the Oregon Department of Justice. In his first year of law school, Jacob was awarded the honor of Best Appellate Brief in a legal writing competition among first-year law students. He took several classes focusing on criminal law/procedure and advanced legal writing, as well as representing Lewis & Clark Law School in national competition as a member of the Moot Court Mock Trial team.
 
Jacob is a licensed member of the Oregon State Bar, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon. Jacob began his legal career in 2006 as an Associate Attorney for a criminal defense firm in Portland, Oregon specializing in serious criminal charges such as aggravated murder, robbery and assault, as well as less serious charges such as Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. In 2007, Jacob broadened his practice to include Consumer/Debtor law with an emphasis on assisting clients with filing for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy protections. Jacob founded Braunstein Law, PC, in 2007 for the opportunity to grow both his practice and his client base. Jacob now assists clients with a variety of legal issues, including criminal defense, bankruptcy, general civil litigation and estate planning (wills/trusts) and maintains his main office in downtown Portland, Oregon. In 2010, Jacob opened a second office in Sandy, Oregon to better serve the legal needs of the mountain community.
 
When Jacob isn't in the office assisting clients or in court, he can usually be found kayaking, hiking or traveling and enjoying time spent with his children. He lives with his family in NE Portland, but spends a great deal of time in Sandy, Oregon and up on Mt. Hood.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Owner	Braunstein Law, PC		Present
Associate	Des Connall PC		2006-2007

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
Lewis & Clark Law School	J.D.	Law School	2006
Miami University of Ohio	Bachelors		2002

State / Court	Date
Oregon	2006

• Multnomah Bar Association | 2006 - Present
  Oregon Trial Lawyers Association | 2006 - Present
  Multnomah Bar Association, CLE Committee | 2007 - 2009
  Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association | 2006 - 2010

• Bankruptcy Clinic Pro Bono Award | Legal Aid Services of Oregon | 2009- 2015

• In re Yarber
  Debtors filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy and claimed an exemption for an $8,500 bail deposit made in a criminal case (all charges were later dismissed). The chapter 7 trustee objected to the exemption claimed by the Debtors in the bail bond deposit made prepetition to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. At a hearing on the trustee's objection on October 21, 2014, after confirming some additional facts, the court overruled the objection.
  
  The relevant facts were few and undisputed. The Debtors filed their chapter 7 petition on May 2, 2014. In the schedules filed contemporaneously with their petition, the Debtors listed and clearly identified the Deposit on their Schedule B and claimed an exemption in the Deposit in their Schedule C under § 522(d)(5). The Debtors subsequently amended their Schedules B and C, but again, clearly identified the Deposit on their amended Schedule B and claimed the Deposit as exempt under § 522(d)(5) in their amended Schedule C. The Trustee filed the Objection, arguing that under § 522(g), the Debtors could not exempt the Deposit voluntarily transferred to Washington County prepetition.
  
  At the hearing, Mr. Braunstein confirmed, without dispute from the Trustee, that the Debtors paying the deposit by certified funds to the Washington County Sheriff's office, was the only way that Debtor could avoid being incarcerated on a criminal claim, that subsequently was dropped.
  
  The Court ultimately concluded that the Debtors' prepetition transfer of the Deposit to the Washington County Sheriff's office in lieu of a bail bond to keep Debtor out of jail was not a voluntary transfer for purposes of § 522(g)(1)(A), and overruled the trustee's Objection.

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