Lambos. Jewels. How ‘easy money’ from Uncle Sam made Miami a feast for PPP fraudsters

The Miami Herald reported on PPP fraud in South Florida, which is currently being prosecuted by the government. The article can be found at  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/ar-BB1ktBVX?utm_source=pocket_mylist

Rather than spending the money on employee wages and other overhead costs, much of it was defrauded or spent on luxury goods purchases. The government is now prosecuting the individuals and attempting to recover the money or property.

Jim Shenwick, Esq  917 363 3391  jshenwick@gmail.com 

Please click the link to schedule a telephone call with me.

https://calendly.com/james-shenwick/15min

We held individuals & businesses with too much debt!

HOW TO USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN YOUR LAW PRACTICE (“BE AN IMPLEMENTER) CLE OUTLINE DELIBERATE SOLOS PRESENTED ON 03-2008-2024

 

HOW TO USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN YOUR LAW PRACTICE (“BE AN IMPLEMENTER) CLE OUTLINE  DELIBERATE  SOLOS PRESENTED ON  03-2008-2024

Why You Should You Use Artificial Intelligence in your Law Practice:

1. Effectively using technology can make the practice of law easier, more enjoyable and more profitable!

2. Failing to use technology in your law practice may be considered "malpractice" by many State Bar associations.

3. Artificial Intelligence is the most significant development in Legal Technology in the last 50 years: It will turn out to be more impactful to lawyers than the personal computer, email, smartphones, the Internet or Google Search

4. It is also a “Disruptive Technology”-it will sneak up on and displace existing technology at a quick pace

5. One argument against using Artificial Intelligence in law practice concerns confidentiality. Similar issues were raised years ago regarding email, but many State Bar associations ruled that email did not violate confidentiality.

-My thoughts about Hallucinations are discussed below

6. Google Search has become less reliable, according to reports from many users and a study by researchers in Germany.

I have a Pixel phone, I use Google Docs, Google Drive  & many Google products, but I am dissatisfied with many Google Search results.

Advertising, Spam & Artificial Intelligence have corrupted Google searches

Paid placement ads have negatively impacted Google Search results

***When you do a Google Search you get 10 blue squiggly lines, not answers to questions!

Artificial Intelligence is an “Answer Genie”-you do not get 10 Squiggly Lines, you get answers to your questions in real time!

Artificial Intelligence searches allow you to refine your search prompts after each search rather than having to do new searches in Google.

7. On an average day I use Artificial Intelligence 20 times a day

II. HOW I USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PRODUCTS ON A DAILY BASIS:

a. Flawlessly AI - Free AI Writing Checker-will review text up to 1000 characters long.

It is free. You copy & paste text into the app to have it review or edit your writing

I do not send out a lengthy email or blog post without using it

It is the best grammer checker program I have used 

b. Wordtune: Free AI Writing Assistant | Write Better Today https://www.wordtune.com/

 c. chatLAW Q&A with AI Trained on Bankruptcy Law for Bankruptcy Research

1. Free chatbot dealing with Bankruptcy law, created by a PHD in Computer Science with no Bankruptcy law experience

2. Best Bankruptcy law research program I have ever used-in my opinion better than Lexis, Westlaw or Google Scholar

3. You type in a question, it provides an Answer, citation to cases and a “SHOW AUDIT” link that directs you to the cited cases

d.   Image Creator  from Microsoft & Google-these products are free, easy to use, you enter text and they produce an image that you can use for Blog posts, emails or social media.

Microsoft Designer

https://designer.microsoft.com/image-creator

Google ImageFX

https://aitestkitchen.withgoogle.com/tools/image-fx

e. CLAUDE & PERPLEXITY

i. In my opinion these are the 2 best free Artificial Intelligence search bots

ii. Claude by Antrop/c

-incredibly easy to use & very accurate search results

-it also has a “paper clip” icon that allows you to upload & search documents

-Real life example: I uploaded a 65 page Bankruptcy Petition and asked  Claude how many secured creditors and how many unsecured creditors were referenced in the Bankruptcy Petition and the average dollar amount of the claims: the results came back in 13 seconds

iii Perplexity

-results include footnotes

-very accurate results

-Jeff Bezos Amazon founder recently invested $250 million dollars into the company

iv. How  I use Claude & Perplexity on a Daily Basis:

-Legal Research

-Document Drafting

-Learning new areas of the law

-Developing or implementing legal strategies in cases

-As “Co-Counsel to bounce questions or strategies off

-Suggesting documents to request in Discovery & Questions to ask at a deposition

-Troubleshooting technology problems or issues

-Recommendations for new tech apps to use

-Training Tips: I am training for a half marathon. How do I train for that event?

-Food recipes 

-General Searches in place of Google Search

f. Craft document Creator Artificial Intelligence 

i. Get a personalized document in seconds

g. Podcast Search thru Artificial Intelligence Dexa & Listen Notes 

Dexa:

https://dexa.ai/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Listen Notes:

https://www.listennotes.com/search/?q=Israel%20AND%20Gaza&sort_by_date=0&scope=episode&offset=0&language=Any%20language&len_min=0

h. Canva

https://www.canva.com/

“Canva is a free graphic design platform that allows you to easily create invitations, business cards, flyers, lesson plans, Zoom backgrounds, and more using professionally designed templates”

I used it recently to create a Zoom and Google Meet Background-easy to use & free

III. How to Learn to Use Artificial Intelligence in your Law Practice:

1. Use “Kaizen” Japanese approach of continuous gradual improvement

2. Spend 15 minutes each day learning Artificial Intelligence-google alert web searches on Artificial Intelligence topics, read articles & youtube videos

3. Sign up & read Dr Jeremy Caplan Wonder Tools Professor of Journalism at CUNY

Wonder Tools  Tools helps you discover the most useful sites and apps

https://wondertools.substack.com/

4. Sign up & read The Rundown  Learn AI in 5 Minutes

https://www.therundown.ai/subscribe?utm_source=www.therundown.ai&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=openai-changes-the-ai-video-world

5. Learn the difference between “Prompt Engineering vs Search Queries”

HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE PROMPT:

-A Prompt needs background information and context to be useful!

-Tell the Chatbot what you want it to do (give it Instructions) 

Example of a Prompt: I am a Bankruptcy attorney. I have a client, a Debtor, that    wants to file a chapter 13 Bankruptcy Petition in the SDNY. The Plan will be a 5 year plan, if all creditors, including a creditor who got a judgment for an intentional tort, are not paid in full over 5 years, will the Debtor get a discharge?

-The more prompts you write and use, the better you will  become at Prompt Engineering!

6. Go cold turkey: do not use Google Search for one day. Instead, only conduct searches on Claude, Perplexity, or ChatGPT and compare the results.

7. How to Prevent Hallucinations-BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL & CHECK CITES TO LEGAL CASES WHEN USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR LEGAL RESEARCH!

A. Use Perplexity which provides footnotes to its answers & is considered the most accurate chatbot

B. Copy & paste your prompt into Claude, Perplexity, ChatGPT & Google and review the results from all searches to determine if the results are accurate or correct. 

If you are using Artificial Intelligence for legal research or to write a Motion or Brief check & shepardize the cited cases

Do not let Hallucinations be a crutch to prevent you from using or learning Artificial Intelligence.

Jim Shenwick, Esq  917 363 3391  jshenwick@gmail.com 

https://calendly.com/james-shenwick/15min

Personal & Business Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Litigation, Workouts, Asset Protection Planning & Defaulted SBA EIDL Loans.

We held individuals & businesses with too much debt!

U.S. Seeks to Collect on Up to $20 Billion in Delinquent Covid Loans

U.S. Seeks to Collect on Up to $20 Billion in Delinquent Covid Loans

The Wall Street Journal is reporting in an article dated March 7, 2024 that the U.S. is seeking to collect $20 Billion in  delinquent SBA EIDL Covid loans from small businesses and not for profit entities. The article can be found at https://www.wsj.com/business/u-s-seeks-to-collect-on-up-to-20-billion-in-delinquent-covid-loans-96dd36c6?mod=business_lead_story

The SBA announced that  delinquent Covid EIDL loans with balances of $100,000 or less will be sent to the Treasury Department for collection.

The referral is sent to Treasury Direct, which can seize government benefits such as portions of Social Security payments and tax refunds.

Additionally, in our experience Treasury Direct can and will assess a 30% penalty on the unpaid balance of defaulted SBA EIDL loans (a point not covered in the article).

Moreover, borrowers who default may have to recognize Cancellation of Debt income, which is ordinary income under section 108 of the Internal Revenue Code (another point not covered in the article).

Many small businesses never intended to repay the loans, hoping they would be forgiven like PPP loans; however, this is not the case.

Borrowers with questions about defaulted SBA EIDL loans should contact Jim Shenwick, Esq. Jim has an LLM in Taxation from NYU law school and he is familiar with the Cancellation of Debt tax issues. 

Jim Shenwick, Esq  917 363 3391  jshenwick@gmail.com 

Please click the link to schedule a telephone call with me.

https://calendly.com/james-shenwick/15min

We held individuals & businesses with too much debt!

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Jim Shenwick, Esq Blog SBA EIDL Posts:

SBA EIDL Loan Charge Offs

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2024/02/sba-eidl-loan-charge-offs.html

SBA EIDL LOANS & CIVIL & CRIMINAL PENALTIES & BANKRUPTCY FILINGS

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2024/01/sba-eidl-loans-civil-criminal-penalties.html

Defaulted SBA EIDL Loans: In Reversal, U.S. to Heighten Efforts to Collect Billions in Unpaid Covid Loans

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/12/defaulted-sba-eidl-loans-in-reversal-us.html

SBA EIDL Loan Defaults and the Statute of Limitations 12-24-2023

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/12/sba-eidl-loan-defaults-and-statute-of.html

SBA EIDL Penalties if an SBA EIDL Loan is Not Repaid

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/12/sba-eidl-penalties-if-sba-eidl-loan-is.html

Misuse or Misapply SBA EIDL Loan Proceeds and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/08/misuse-or-misapply-sba-eidl-loan.html

SBA EIDL HARDSHIP PROGRAM

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/07/sba-eidl-hardship-program.html

Defaulted SBA EIDL Loans, Limited Liability Company (LLC) and Cancellation of Debt Income (COD) under Section 108 of the Internal Revenue Code

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/07/defaulted-sba-eidl-loans-limited.html

Offers In Compromise ("OIC") for Defaulted SBA EIDL loans and Section 108 of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC"), Relief of Indebted Income, a Trap for the Unwary!

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/05/offers-in-compromise-oic-for-defaulted.html

EIDL LOAN WORKOUTS AND BANKRUPTCY    https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/07/eidl-loan-workouts-and-bankruptcy.html

EIDL Loan Default Questions & Answers

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/10/eidl-loan-default-questions-answers.html

EIDL LOAN DEFAULT DOCUMENT REVIEW, WORKOUT, BANKRUPTCY FILING & OFFER IN COMPROMISE

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/07/eidl-loan-default-document-review.html

EIDL Defaulted Loans

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/07/eidl-defaulted-loans.html

New Relief Program for SBA EIDL Borrowers Who are Having Difficulty Repaying EIDL Loans " Hardship Accommodation Plan"

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/05/new-relief-program-for-sba-eidl.html

EIDL LOANS and SBA OFFER IN COMPROMISE PROGRAM

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/07/eidl-loans-and-sba-offer-in-compromise.html

PPP & EIDL Fraud

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/08/ppp-eidl-fraud.html

Better to connect-What small business owners need to know about repaying loans tied to pandemic relief from the SBA EIDL Loans

https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/11/better-to-connect-what-small-business.html

Small-business owners carry bigger debt loads than they did pre-pandemic

Small-business owners carry bigger debt loads than they did pre-pandemic  

 Biz Journals is reporting that Small Business owners are now carrying bigger debt loads that they did pre-pandemic. 

The increased debt load combined with higher interest rates is proving to be a "toxic mix." At Shenwick & Associates, we are witnessing a significant rise in business bankruptcies, personal bankruptcy filings, and workouts.

The Biz Journal article can be found athttps://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2024/03/07/small-business-debt-loans-federal-reserve-interest.html

Jim Shenwick, Esq  917 363 3391  jshenwick@gmail.com 

Please click the link to schedule a telephone call with me.

https://calendly.com/james-shenwick/15min

We held individuals & businesses with too much debt!