Qualifications and Experience
 
I have been providing legal services to individuals and businesses since I entered private practice in 1983. During my years at Rutgers University School of Law - Newark I was an Editor of the Law Review and participated in legal clinics. After graduating in 1982 I spent a year clerking for a trial court judge in New Jersey.

In the fall of 1983 I joined a firm of ten lawyers and began representing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee. This association resulted in my administering hundreds of bankruptcy cases and gave me the opportunity to deal with a wide variety of bankruptcy issues. In addition to my trustee work, I have represented many debtors in bankruptcy proceedings, in Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13.

Other significant aspects of my practice have included representing buyers and sellers in real estate transactions; banks in connection with large numbers of residential mortgage transactions and commercial real estate and loan transactions; small businesses in collection actions; and individuals in business creation.

I have been associated with one of the largest law firms in New Jersey, then formed a two member partnership, and finally, established an office as a solo practitioner in New Jersey. I moved to Maine in September 1999 and established my practice in York County. I prefer the flexibility and control of a solo practice, which lets me provide direct attention to the legal needs of my clients. I pride myself on accessibility and the ability to provide competent, compassionate representation.

Biographical Data:

Born Winston-Salem, North Carolina 1951
Law Degree: J.D., Rutgers University School of Law - Newark, 1982, Editor Law Review.
Undergraduate Degree: B.A. Political Science, Drew University, Madison, NJ, 1975, Dean's List, London Semester in Comparative Political Science.
Publication: Note, The Private Attorney General and the Public Advocate: Facilitating Public Interest Litigation, 34 Rutgers Law Review 350 (Winter 1982).
Appointment: 1992-1996 Member, District XIII Ethics Committee, New Jersey Supreme Court.

Presenter, Maine State Bar Association educational programs on bankruptcy; 2004 District of Maine Judicial Conference panel on bankruptcy issues.

Member, Local Bankruptcy Rules Committee, District of Maine

Bar Admissions:

1999 Maine Supreme Judicial Court; United States District Court for the District of Maine.
2011 New Hampshire Supreme Court.
1996 United States Supreme Court.
1985 United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
1982 New Jersey Supreme Court; United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. 
 
My Practice
 
One of the greatest pleasures my practice affords is the satisfaction of assisting individuals and families in finding a way out of debt. Sometimes (usually when there are few creditors involved and some resources immediately available), I am able to negotiate a settlement with the creditors without involving bankruptcy. Often my clients are in far enough over their heads that a bankruptcy proceeding is the best solution. I see a number of people who have tried everything else to dig themselves out of financial discomfort, including a credit counseling solution.

In my experience, bankruptcy offers two significant advantages over debt repayment plans outside of bankruptcy.  First, in a bankruptcy, what you repay depends upon what you can afford, not what the creditors will individually accept.  Second, you know for certain in a bankruptcy that if you fulfill your obligations in the proceeding, at the end you will get your discharge, and the debt nightmare will come to an end.

In a Chapter 7, the end is most often a discharge without any payments to unsecured creditors. In a Chapter 13, you pay what you can afford for the necessary period (which depends upon your assets and budget), and you are discharged from the rest. The "discharge" means that no one can ever contact you in an attempt to have the debt repaid.

The process begins in my office with a free consultation, which usually lasts about an hour. Bring with you a list of everyone you owe money to, and a monthly budget, figured on an average over the year. In other words, if you pay heating bills for six months, the total expended in a season should be divided by 12 to get the monthly average. If you make seasonal income, that must be similarly averaged. With the list of creditors and the monthly budget, I review your individual situation and help you decide the best course of action. Sometimes the conclusion is that no bankruptcy is necessary at all, and if that is the case I will certainly give you my opinion to that effect.

Where a bankruptcy is the best solution, we move to the next step. I will provide you with a form to fill out with certain details regarding your situation. Most people take this form home to work on it. When it is returned to me with a retainer, I prepare a bankruptcy petition and any other documents necessary to protect your position. As of the day you retain me, you can advise creditors who contact you to call me instead, thus ending dunning calls.

You come into my office once more to sign the documents, and then the petition is filed with the court. At the time we file the petition, we also file a certificate of credit counseling.  This is obtained through a relatively short (45 minutes to an hour) telephone or online consultation with an agency approved by the United States Trustee.  I will guide you through this process.

As soon as the petition is filed, the court clerk sends a notice to all the creditors advising that a bankruptcy proceeding has been instituted. As of the day the petition is filed, no creditor is permitted to take any action to try to collect on a debt listed in the proceeding. Foreclosures, repossessions, wage garnishments, and other attempts to collect the debts will cease immediately.

About 3 weeks after the date the petition is filed, a meeting of creditors takes place. This is really a meeting between debtors and the trustee appointed to handle their cases. It is a brief, non-adversarial hearing at which you are placed under oath and questioned by the trustee regarding your assets and liabilities and your budget. Creditors may appear if they wish to do so, and may question you regarding specific matters. I attend that meeting with you and will answer any questions you may have concerning the procedure.

In a Chapter 7 proceeding, your discharge may issue at any time later than 60 days after the creditors' meeting. In a Chapter 13 proceeding, your plan will be subject to confirmation. Your payments to the trustee start within 30 days after the petition is filed, and may continue for up to 5 years. In a Chapter 13 your discharge comes after the plan is complete. (See FAQs for more discussion on the differences between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, and what debts are dischargeable.) 

The purpose of the bankruptcy laws is to give you a fresh start, while treating the creditors fairly in accordance with certain priorities. At all points in my representation, I strive to provide timely and complete answers to your questions and concerns, and to guide you through the process as painlessly as possible.