Lawyer Julian Hall must wait until next week to hear whether the Chief Justice will discharge his bankruptcy.

He claims that because it prevents him working as a barrister, he can't earn enough to pay his $3.3 million debts.

However, his request has been vigorously opposed by lawyers for Official Receiver Stephen Lowe and two of Mr. Hall's creditors - the estates of his late employer Charles Vaucrosson, and of wealthy widow Betty McMahon.

The high-profile former MP came under heavy fire from them during a three-day Supreme Court hearing that concluded yesterday, for failing to repay a cent of the money owed.

They claimed he has refused to detail his assets and finances in the eight years since being declared bankrupt - including his current $119,000 per year contract as consultant to the Department of Works and Engineering.

Yesterday, Timothy Marshall, lawyer for the Vaucrosson estate, said his actions "do not in any way support a finding that Mr. Hall conducted himself in an honourable and forthright way under this bankruptcy legislation".

Mr. Hall has argued that he complied with requests for information to the best of his ability.

He has accused the Official Receiver of persecuting him in a bid to keep him bankrupt for as long as possible.

He has also told the court that Mr. Lowe has been "hijacked" by those acting for Mrs. McMahon, who was declared unfit to handle her own affairs under the Mental Health Act in 1996.

Mr. Hall further claimed that his earnings have been meagre since being declared bankrupt, despite work as a legal consultant for clients in Bermuda and overseas.

However, Mr. Marshall yesterday accused Mr. Hall of living "a lavish lifestyle" instead of repairing the damage to those he owes.

The hearing has heard that he lists three addresses on his letterhead and had the educational expenses of his daughters met by the Bermuda Industrial Union in lieu of payment for work as a consultant.

The latter, said Mr. Marshall, should have been declared to the Official Receiver, who is responsible for ensuring that Mr. Hall complies with the rules of bankruptcy, which state he is only allowed to keep money for his basic domestic needs.

Urging Chief Justice Richard Ground to be mindful of the human cost of Mr. Hall's financial woes, he said: "You can have situations where people get themselves into terrible financial predicaments, but they don't run away from their obligations, they deal with it in a responsible way. They recognise that people gave their good hard earned money to them.

"We use the label 'creditors' as a convenient way, throughout these proceedings, to describe them en block, but these are human beings.

"It's Charles Vaucrosson. His family suffers as a result of Mr. Hall not meeting his obligations. It's the estate of Mrs. McMahon. It's those children who suffer. The court needs to take into account that zero dollars have been paid at the beginning of this bankruptcy and zero dollars have been paid to date.

"What we ask is no apology, but an examination as to whether or not this is the type of bankrupt who did his level best to answer the situation that he found himself in and the answer, we submit, is 'absolutely not'."

Saul Froomkin QC, representing the trustees of the estate of Mrs. McMahon, complained: "For some two days we've been listening to the ad hominum haranguing of Mr. Hall accusing everyone of doing everything and anything wrong - coercion, bias, kidnap - yet we've not heard a word from him about his reasonable compliance with the (Bankruptcy) Act."

Echoing this, Lesley Baden, representing the Official Receiver, said there was nothing to support Mr. Hall's allegation that Mr. Lowe acted in bad faith.

"He would do well to remember that the issue here is the conduct of the bankrupt," she said.

Mr. Justice Ground has wide scope under the Bankruptcy Act. His options include giving Mr. Hall an absolute discharge from the bankruptcy or a conditional discharge.

The latter is favoured by Mr. Marshall and Mr. Froomkin who want conditions including a lump sum payment to the creditors then a fixed amount of Mr. Hall's income thereafter.

The Chief Justice reserved his ruling until next week, telling the lawyers he needs more time to consider the complex issues raised.