Cite as: 540 U. S. 526 (2004)
Opinion of the Court
debtors' attorneys through various permitted means. First, while § 330(a)(1) requires proper authorization for payment to attorneys from estate funds in Chapter 7 filings, it does not extend throughout all bankruptcy law. Compensation for debtors' attorneys in Chapter 12 and 13 bankruptcies, for example, is not much disturbed by § 330 as a whole. See, e. g., 11 U. S. C. § 330(a)(4)(B) ("In a chapter 12 or chapter 13 case in which the debtor is an individual, the court may allow reasonable compensation to the debtor's attorney").
Compensation for debtors' attorneys working on Chapter 7 bankruptcies, moreover, is not altogether prohibited. Sections 327 and 330, taken together, allow Chapter 7 trustees to engage attorneys, including debtors' counsel, and allow courts to award them fees. See §§ 327(a) and (e). Section 327's limitation on debtors' incurring debts for professional services without the Chapter 7 trustee's approval is not absurd. In the context of a Chapter 7 liquidation it advances the trustee's responsibility for preserving the estate.
If we add to all this the apparent sound functioning of the bankruptcy system under the plain meaning approach, petitioner's arguments become unconvincing. Seeming order has attended the rule's application for five years in the Fifth Circuit and for four years in the Eleventh Circuit. See In re American Steel Product, Inc., 197 F. 3d 1354 (CA11 1999); In re Pro-Snax Distributors, Inc., 157 F. 3d 414 (CA5 1998). It appears to be routine for debtors to pay reasonable fees for legal services before filing for bankruptcy to ensure compliance with statutory requirements. See generally Collier Compensation, Employment and Appointment of Trustees and Professionals in Bankruptcy Cases ¶ 3.02[1], p. 3-2 (2002) ("In the majority of cases, the debtor's counsel will accept an individual or a joint consumer chapter 7 case only after being paid a retainer that covers the 'standard fee' and the cost of filing the petition"). So our interpretation accords with common practice. Section 330(a)(1) does not
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