The Innovation Leader in Bankruptcy Software

BkAssist was designed and built by a practicing bankruptcy attorney.

Walter Oney, the architect, designer, and implementer of BkAssist, has been a professional software developer for almost 50 years. He has written numerous articles on Windows programming for the software trade press, including many articles that appeared in the prestigious Microsoft Systems Journal. He has also written three books on Windows driver programming that were published by Microsoft Press.

Oney has also actively practiced bankruptcy law in Massachusetts since 2003. He has been an outspoken advocate for consumer rights in the Bankruptcy Court and elsewhere. He has won awards for the number of pro-bono cases he has taken on, which goes a long way toward explaining the pro-bono features (see the Pro-Bono Options page) built into BkAssist.

Domain knowledge matters

Only a fellow bankruptcy attorney can write software that does what you need your computer to do. There are hundreds of tiny details built into BkAssist that reflect intimate knowledge of the Bankruptcy Code and of court procedure throughout the nation.

Programming experience matters

Bankruptcy software is complicated—see the sidebar! Oney's software resume includes a decade's worth of major responsibility for a giant database product and more than 20 years of active Windows programming experience.

Daily use matters

BkAssist is the only major bankruptcy product that receives daily use by the person tasked with continued development and ongoing maintenance. Plus, we have logins to the training databases for all 93 of the courts that use the CM/ECF application, so we can quickly replicate user problems from the same perspective as the user.

The technology behind BkAssist

BkAssist comprises about 750,000 lines of C++ code using Microsoft Foundation Classes to deliver an idiomatic experience on any Windows platform.

BkAssist includes several executable modules (dynamic link libraries, or DLLs for short) in addition to a main executable file that exports about a thousand service routines for use by the DLLs. One DLL contains the Chapter 13 engine, another contains the exemption information for every jurisdiction, and yet another embodies all the intelligence needed to handle the means test. Each major iteration of the official form set has its own DLL. And there are 55 DLLs to provide localized forms and user interface elements for the 94 districts that make up the federal judiciary.

BkAssist also comes with a "places" database that we use to automatically determine city, state, judicial district, and divisional office based on zip codes.

A few BkAssist functions rely on the MSJET relational database that comes with every installation of Windows. Client data, however, is stored using 64-bit encryption in a proprietary data file because database technology is inappropriate to that kind of use.