Bankruptcy Attorney
Michael Miller
Supervising Attorney
Biography
Mr. Miller joined The Semrad Law Firm in 2004. He supervises attorneys and represents consumer debtors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy matters, with a particular focus on complex legal and appellate issues. He also founded and manages the firm’s pro bono bankruptcy appellate practice.
Mr. Miller has extensive appellate experience. He co-chaired a case before the Supreme Court of the United States in City of Chicago v. Fulton, 141 S. Ct. 585 (2021). He has argued five times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, including successfully affirming rulings that permit the discharge of state benefit overpayment debts (Dennis v. Illinois Department of Human Services, 927 F.3d 1015 (7th Cir. 2019)) and require the return of Chapter 13 trustee funds in unconfirmed, dismissed cases (Marshall v. Johnson, 100 F.4th 914 (7th Cir. 2024)).
In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Miller is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where he teaches appellate legal writing.
In 2025, Mr. Miller received the Champion of Consumer Rights Award from the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, recognizing his extraordinary service in protecting consumer debtors and preserving access to bankruptcy relief.
Mr. Miller earned his B.S. with Honors in Business Administration from Roosevelt University in 2001 and his J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law in 2005. While in law school, he served as an extern with the U.S. Department of Justice and with the Greater Southwest Development Predatory Lending Clinic, assisting consumers targeted by abusive lending practices.
Mr. Miller previously served as Seventh Circuit Leader for the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, providing analysis of appellate decisions affecting consumer bankruptcy practice in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. He has also served on the advisory board of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Honorable Eugene R. Wedoff Seventh Circuit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference, co-chaired the Northern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee, and held leadership roles on the American Bankruptcy Institute Consumer Committee, including Membership Relations Director and Communications Director. He was appointed to the advisory committee for ABI’s 2021 Consumer Bankruptcy Extravaganza.
Mr. Miller is a frequent commentator on consumer finance issues for WalletHub and volunteers with the Chicago CARE program, which provides financial literacy education to students. He was born and raised in Illinois. Outside of law, he competes in tennis and has previously been ranked the #1 United States Tennis Association Singles player in Chicago on three occasions.
Other Highlights
Mr. Miller successfully overruled the Chapter 13 Trustee’s motion to modify to capture a potential post-petition settlement from a personal injury as the motion was premature. See In re Salinas, 23-01309 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Sep. 23, 2024)
Mr. Miller successfully overruled the Chapter 13 Trustee’s motion to modify to capture a post-petition settlement from a personal injury in the amount of $47,658.57. . See In re Freeman, 22-05968 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. June 15, 2024)
Mr. Miller successfully discharged a private student loan owed to Salle Mae with a balance of $30,000 in an adversary proceeding. See 23-00346 Isaiah v. Sallie Mae Bank Inc.
Mr. Miller successfully overruled the Chapter 13 Trustee’s objection and was able to successfully surrender a vehicle that was being paid in a confirmed Chapter 13, post confirmation. The issue is one that has caused a split in the case law, and the only circuit case that has ruled on this issue, In re Nolan, 232 F.3d 528 (6th Cir. 2000) was rejected. See In re Cooke, 22-05968 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. November 27, 2023)
In re Marshall, 18-23482 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.April 26, 2022) No. 67 (Doyle.J) Mr.Miller successfully defended the Chapter 13 Trustee’s motion to modify the Debtor’s plan which attempted to treat a lump sum payment gift the Debtor received from paying off the case early and instead treat it as an additional payment.The Court overruled the Trustee on four different grounds 1) equitable estoppel since Debtor relied on Trustee’s payoff quote; 2) the applicable commitment period is a multiplier and not a temporal one; 3) a gift is not disposable income which is ground for modification under 1329; and 4) the best interest of creditors and disposable income test are not applicable to 1329
Mr. Miller successfully overruled the Chapter 13 Trustee’s motion to dismiss for the Debtor’s failure to turn over four years of tax refunds which equaled $31,129. The Trustee failed to seek the refunds until the end of the case, and the Court used its inherent power under Section 105(a) to forgive the tax refund turnover provision, and also granted relief under 60(b) (5) to vacate the tax refund turnover condition from the confirmation order for equitable grounds.In re Carter, No. 17-bk-03367, 2022 WL 953495 (Bankr.N.D.Ill Mar. 30, 2022)
Mr. Miller successfully obtained the return of a vehicle without the use of an adversary pursuant to Sections 542(a) and 543 . In re Watts, No. 21-13127 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.Dec. 8, 2021), ECF No. 26 (Cox, J.).
Mr. Miller successfully defended an adversary from a creditor resulting in dismissal and prevailed under § 523(d) to recover an award of $7,850.00 in attorney fees. See In re Merced, No. 20-AP-00262 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.Feb. 5, 2021), ECF No. 75 (Barnes, J.).
Mr. Miller successfully defended a debtor's $100,000 surplus from a third-party locator service who attempted to take $25,000 as a finder fee. See In re Scott, No. 10-43795, (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Sept. 13, 2021), ECF No. 62 (Goldgar, J.).
Mr. Miller successfully obtained the return of a vehicle, and the court ruled the debtor provided adequate protection and the vehicle was consequential to the estate.In re Corder, No. 21 B 10189, 2021 WL 6124234, at*2 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.Sept. 15, 2021) (Cleary)
Mr. Miller reopened a Chapter 7 for the debtor, and defeated the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in its attempt to characterize an unpaid tuition debt for $11,531.00 as a non-dischargeable student loan.The Court held the debt was dischargeable, and the registration agreement the debtor signed when she enrolled in school was insufficient to transform into a student loan.In re Espino, 20-15769 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.October 18, 2021), No. 39 (Barnes, J.)
Lawyer information
- J.D., University of Illinois Chicago Law School, 2005
- Recipient, CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Bankruptcy
- Recipient, Fannie Mae Predatory Lending Scholarship
- B.S., Roosevelt University, 2001
- National Dean’s List
- Recipient, Franklin Honor’s Society Scholarship
Jurisdictions admitted to practice
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- Illinois Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. Supreme Court
Professional & bar association memberships
- National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Seventh Circuit Leader
- American Bankruptcy Institute
- Chicago Bar Association
- Chicago C.A.R.E. Program
- National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys
- Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee For the Northern District of Illinois
- United States Bankruptcy Court Volunteer Panel
- John Marshall Law School Alumni Mentor Program
- United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Volunteer Panel
Notable Appellate Cases
- Wilson v. S. Ill. Univ. Carbondale (In re Wilson), 23 CV 344 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 13, 2024)
- Marshall v. Johnson, No. 23-2212 (7th Cir. May 3, 2024)
- City of Chicago v. Fulton, 141 S. Ct. 585 (2021)
- In re Cherry, 963 F.3d 717 (7th Cir. 2020)
- In re Dennis, 927 F.3d 1015 (7th Cir. 2019)
- In re Wade, 926 F.3d 447 (7th Cir. 2019)
- In re Rees, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 22277 (7th Cir. July 17, 2020).
- Rees v. Marshall, No. 19-cv-3004, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22329 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 10, 2020)
Notable Cases
- In re Jackson, 2025 WL 1378241 (Bankr. N.D. Ill April 25, 2025)
- In re Cooke, 22-05968 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. November 27, 2023)
- In re Brown, 23-00837 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. June 15, 2023)
- In re Johnson, No. 22 B 04449, 2023 WL 3409597 (Bankr. N.D. Ill May 12, 2023)
- In re Montilla, 22-02585 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Oct. 12, 2022).
- In re Szafraniec, No. 21 B 10216. 2022 WL 1721489 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. May 27, 2022)
- In re Carter, No. 17-bk-03367, 2022 WL 953495 (Bankr. N.D. Ill Mar. 30, 2022)
- In re Corder, No. 21 B 10189, 2021 WL 6124234, at *2 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Sept. 15, 2021) (Cleary)
- In re Vaughn, No. 20 B 19430, 2021 Bankr. LEXIS 1065 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Apr. 21, 2021)
- In re Williams, No. 19 BK 22007, 2020 Bankr. LEXIS 1236 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. May 5, 2020)
- In re Wade, 592 B.R. 672 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2018)
- In re Brisco, 502 B.R. 212 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2013)
- In re Brisco, 486 B.R. 422 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2013)
Presentations
- "Post-Petition Issues in Consumer Cases: Life Goes On" American Bankruptcy Institute 2023 Consumer Practice Extravaganza, November, 2023
- "Advanced Exemption Planning" American Bankruptcy Institute 2022 Consumer Practice Extravaganza, November 15, 2022
- "Great Debates, Post-petition appreciation in a converted chapter 7" American Bankruptcy Institute 2022 Consumer Practice Extravaganza, November 16, 2022
- "Circuit Leader Caselaw update Webinar" National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, March 2, 2022
- "Fees & Profitability" American Bankruptcy Institute 2021 Consumer Practice Extravaganza, November 12, 2021
- "Annual Seventh Circuit and Supreme Court Review" Chicago Bar Association", Chicago, Illinois, March 17, 2021"
- “Advantage of Chapter 13 over Chapter 7: What you need to understand” Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 17, 2019
- Moderator-“Bankruptcy Appeals” ABI Honorable Eugene R. Wedoff Seventh Circuit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference, Chicago, Illinois, October 14, 2019
- The Nuts and Bolts of Consumer Bankruptcy Appeals” Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois. January 15, 2020
Publications
- Commentary on getting credit cards (click here to see article)
- Commentary piece on debt consolidation loans on wallethub.com (Click here to see article)
- "Assessing In re Topp's Impact on Interest Rates for Secured Creditors". XLIII ABI Journal 5, 14-15, 56, May 2024
- Commentary piece on credit card balance transfers on wallethub.com (Click here to see article)
- Commentary piece on the intersection of credit cards and bankruptcy on wallethub.com (Click here to see article)
- “Vesting in the Windy City—Debtors Should Decide How to Vest Property Under Chapter 13”, American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, Vol. XXXVIII, Number 10, October 2019 (Click here to see article)
- Calculating Adequate-Protection Payments to Car Creditors in Chapter 13”. American Bankruptcy Institute Journal Vol. XXXIX, Number 1, January 2020.
- "Untangling the Web of § 362(c)(3)(A) and Its Legislative History". American Bankruptcy Institute Journal Vol. XXXVIX, Number 4, April 2020.(Click here to see article)
In the News
- CHICAGO, May 9, 2024 Chicago Daily Law Bulletin highlights Michael Miller's Seventh Circuit victory in affirming an appeal against the Chapter 13 Trustee Marilyn Marshall prohibiting 13 Trustees from being paid in unconfirmed and dismissed chapter 13 bankruptcies.To read this article, visit this link
- CHICAGO, July 2, 2019 Chicago Daily Law Bulletin highlights Michael Miller's Seventh Circuit victory in affirming an appeal against the state of Illinois allowing debtors to discharge over- payment benefits owed to governmental agencies.To read this article, visit this link
