Ch7 Filing Pattern Analysis
Springer Law Firm — 2015–2026 | Source: USBC ILNB court notification emails
101+
2026 Annualized Pace
86
2021 (Trough Year)
97
2024 (Recovery)
32
2026 YTD (thru Mar 20)
Year-Over-Year Filing Volume
Complete
Capped (100+)
Partial
2026 Projected
Monthly Filing Patterns (Complete Years)
2021
2024
Quarterly Breakdown
| Quarter | 2021 | 2024 | Avg | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 (Jan–Mar) | 21 | 29 | 25.0 | 27% |
| Q2 (Apr–Jun) | 38 | 21 | 29.5 | 32% |
| Q3 (Jul–Sep) | 15 | 25 | 20.0 | 22% |
| Q4 (Oct–Dec) | 12 | 22 | 17.0 | 19% |
First Half vs Second Half
Key Patterns
February — Tax Refund Season
Tax refund season consistently drives filings. Clients use refunds to pay attorney fees.
June — Mid-Year Push
Clients who started the process in spring complete filings before summer.
September — Reliably Slow
Consistently the lowest month (2 in 2021, 6 in 2024). Good for vacations, training, system upgrades.
December — Holiday Slowdown
Slow overall but watch for year-end batch rushes in the last 2–3 days.
First Half Dominance
Jan–Jun accounts for ~59% of filings vs 41% in Jul–Dec. Aligns with tax refund season boosting Q1–Q2.
Batch Filing Pattern
Quarter-end and year-end dates consistently produce filing spikes (up to 12 in a single day).
2026 Trending Hot
Q1 2026 pace (~32 filings in 11 weeks) annualizes to 130+, the strongest pace since 2015–2019.
Notable Batch Filing Days
| Date | Filings | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 31, 2019 | 8 | Year-end push |
| Oct 22, 2018 | 7 | Mid-fall batch |
| Sep 30, 2019 | 12 | Quarter-end (12+ filings) |
| May 3, 2021 | 5 | Post-COVID backlog |
| Jan 1, 2024 | 3 | New Year's Day batch |
Staffing & Planning Recommendations
RAMP UP
Jan–Feb and May–Jun — highest filing volume periods. Ensure full staffing.
SLOW
September — reliably the slowest month. Best window for vacations, training, and system upgrades.
WATCH
Dec 29–31 — year-end batch filing rushes (up to 8–12 filings in one day). Keep capacity available.
2026
Busiest year since 2015–2019 peak era. Q1 pace annualizes to 101+ filings — plan capacity accordingly.
QTR-END
Mar 31, Jun 30, Sep 30, Dec 31 — quarter-end dates consistently produce filing spikes.
Detailed Year-by-Year Data
| Year | Ch7 Filings | Data Quality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100+ | Capped | Only Sep–Dec captured (high volume) |
| 2016 | 100+ | Capped | Includes ~4 WI Western District filings |
| 2017 | 100+ | Capped | Includes ~2 WI filings |
| 2018 | 100+ | Capped | Includes ~3 WI filings |
| 2019 | 100+ | Capped | Includes ~2 WI filings |
| 2020 | 100+ | Capped | COVID year — earliest captured Jun 4 |
| 2021 | 86 | Complete | Complete year — lowest volume (COVID aftermath) |
| 2022 | 100+ | Capped | Rebound year |
| 2023 | 100+ | Capped | Strong year |
| 2024 | 97 | Complete | Complete year — recovery toward pre-COVID levels |
| 2025 | 100+ | Capped | Partial — May–Dec captured (~68 of 100 results) |
| 2026 | 32 | YTD | YTD (Jan 1–Mar 20), annualized ~130+ |
Data source: Court notification emails from [email protected] containing "Voluntary Petition (Chapter 7)" in [email protected].
Gmail search caps at 100 results per query — years marked "Capped" had more filings than shown.
Monthly Detail (Complete Years: 2021 & 2024)
| Month | 2021 | 2024 | Average | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | 13 | 8.0 | Strong start (2024: 13 filings incl. New Year's Day batch) |
| Feb | 9 | 13 | 11.0 | Consistently high — tax refund season drives filings |
| Mar | 9 | 3 | 6.0 | Variable |
| Apr | 8 | 6 | 7.0 | Moderate |
| May | 17 | 5 | 11.0 | 2021 outlier (post-COVID backlog?) |
| Jun | 13 | 10 | 11.5 | Consistently high — mid-year push |
| Jul | 7 | 10 | 8.5 | Moderate-strong |
| Aug | 6 | 9 | 7.5 | Moderate |
| Sep | 2 | 6 | 4.0 | Slowest month |
| Oct | 4 | 10 | 7.0 | Fall pickup |
| Nov | 4 | 7 | 5.5 | Moderate-low |
| Dec | 4 | 5 | 4.5 | Second slowest — holiday slowdown |