Rick Mitchell: Included in 2010 Super Lawyers

Each year Super Lawyers magazine names attorneys in each state in 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Nevertheless, they included me in their listing for the third year running.
I probably would have named it something besides Super Lawyers, but since the selection process has been blessed by [...]

Charlotte Bankruptcy Education for Realtors & Financial Professionals

With bankruptcy filings surging, people are turning to non-bankruptcy  financial professionals  for bankruptcy counseling. These professionals include real estate agents, non-bankruptcy attorneys, financial advisors and others. Then there’s the internet.
It’s human nature to try to help a client, but sometimes the advice given by someone with no bankruptcy training can do the person in financial distress [...]

Failure Can Teach Success

The Kauffman Foundation just published a study of 549 company founders of successful businesses in high-growth industries.
I zeroed in on this finding: “40 percent cited lessons learned from failures as extremely important – the second-highest “extremely important” rating.”
Lessons from forty years in bankruptcy court
After forty years of practicing law I can validate Kauffman’s findings. I [...]

Bankruptcy Trustee Basics

In addition to my private practice, I serve as a Chapter 7 Trustee for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina.  Few people know what this means and how this service helps my private practice clients, so here’s a primer.
What’s a bankruptcy trustee?
Chapter 7 Trustees (also known as panel trustees) [...]

Small Business Bankruptcy Basics

My friend and fellow bankruptcy attorney Susanne Robicsek and I recently spoke to a group of local small business owners gathered at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. In this tough economy business owners are wise to acquaint themselves with the legal options they may need to employ if their companies hit the [...]

Charlotte Bankruptcy in the Headlines

When you’ve been around as long as I have, you call things as you see them.  Maybe that’s why reporters call me to comment on high-profile bankruptcy cases.
Charlotte’s 210 Trade files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
In case you missed my 2-second TV debut last week on WSOC, here’s a link to what I said about the 210 [...]

Lessons from Reader’s Digest

Reader’s Digest just announced that it is filing a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.  Its goal is to reduce its debt to one-fourth of the present level ($2.2 billion).  The company is essentially using Federal bankruptcy law as a financial planning tool.
At the present level of debt, Reader’s Digest is not a viable company.  At [...]

Moving Through the Python, Bankruptcy Cycles

Today’s economy is force-feeding the bankruptcy python: developers who can’t pay their subcontractors force the subs into bankruptcy. Most small contractors and subcontractors are owned by individuals who guaranteed the business’s debts and will eventually seek personal bankruptcy protection. Bankruptcies always come in waves.

Emerging Trend in Commercial Foreclosures

People tend to stick their heads in the sand and hope for the best. Hoping for the best isn’t a strategy. You can hope for the best while planning for the worst.

I don’t want to file, but should I?

Many people we see in our offices want us to handle negotiations with credit card companies or provide them with credit card counseling. Most often these individuals need bankruptcy protection, not creditor negotiation or credit card counseling. You may be the exception, so contact our office for an initial consultation. Here’s a checklist to see whether bankruptcy is a viable option for your circumstances.

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