Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy Blog

If you have been following previous emails, Michael Misenheimer and I had to cancel the June seminars in California because no one registered for them.  We both were shocked and wanted to find out why no one was interested in attending.  The training we offered was beyond any other training offered within the industry and the popularity of previous seminars told us that we were doing everything right.  So, what was the problem?

After emailing and talking with about 15 different California bankruptcy attorneys, we were told that the Central District is so busy that attorneys do not have time to attend a seminar right now.

Our first reaction was: What can we do to help?

IDEA FOR TELEPHONE TRAINING

The first idea came from Art Hausmann, a seasoned bankruptcy attorney that attended the Los Angeles Chapter 13 seminar back in August 2009.  Art hired me to provide training to his paralegal, as the paralegal needed it.  In other words, when his paralegal is working on a bankruptcy case, if she has a question she calls or sends me an email.  I either reply to her email or call her in order to help solve the problem.  In addition to solving the issue, I also take the time to train her skills in the process.  Art’s paralegal and I will begin our training starting tomorrow (Monday.)

In the meantime, I talked with Michael about this problem.  He agreed that we should offer other attorneys the same service.  For a fee of $100 per hour, Michael or I will be available by telephone and email to answer your questions.  In fact, we will not even charge a retainer fee to get started. If you try out our service and you do not immediately see results, you owe nothing.  The training can be provided for you or any member of your legal staff.  How much better could this offer be? You have nothing to lose.

Obviously, Michael and I are only two people.  We can only provide our training services to a limited number of attorneys and we are doing this in order to assist the law firms who are in crisis mode at this time.  Please contact us (see contact information at end of this email) to discuss this training option if you are interested.

LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE

Working in law firms, Michael and I are also aware that some law firms do not necessarily need help with petitions, but are severely disorganized due to the huge increase in the workload.

These are precisely the types of problems that Michael and I are experienced in handling because we have worked in a variety of law firms throughout our career.  Please contact us (see contact information at end of this email) so we can analyze your situation, offer a few suggestions and see what we can do to help you improve your law firm efficiency.

CHAPTER 13 PETITION ASSISTANCE

As you may already know, Chapter 13 filings are increasing because the creditors are fighting harder against Chapter 7 filings.  This has created a nitch for paralegals like Michael and me to work with attorneys in improving their Chapter 13 petitions and Plans.  We provide a wide range of services up through the confirmation stage.   And, if you are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado or Atlanta, Georgia, we can even accompany you to court if you need us.  To discuss your Chapter 13 needs, please contact us (see contact information at end of this email.)

We are here to help in any way we can, especially during this time of mortgage crisis and upside down loans.  Remember, we are both skilled in cram downs and strip downs of mortgage loans which can save your client thousands of dollars.

We hope to hear from you soon.  See contact information below.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Victoria Ring Phone: 719-465-2442 Email:  victoriaring@coloradobankruptcytraining.com

Michael Misenheimer Phone: 404-795-9013 Email: mmisenheimer@gmail.com

Most attorneys are already aware that there are very few training options available for bankruptcy attorneys pertaining to Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy petitions. In law school, the focus is mainly on Chapter 11s and business-related filings.  Not only is consumer law often overlooked in law school, but until recently, bankruptcy was not an area of law that carried much weight or prestige.

In the past, attorneys and their staff had no option except to be trained either on the job (through the trial and error method of making mistakes) or from experienced people who had the time to train them.  However, because of the record number of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions being filed today, bankruptcy is booming.  Therefore, the option of learning by trial and error or being taught by experienced people is an option not readily available to most law firms today. In addition, bankruptcy courts in every state spend a great deal of time finding and fixing errors caused by new and inexperienced attorneys and their personnel.  All of this combined will waste time and money which is why many courts are becoming more strict with their procedures.

But there is a very bad side to this issue also.  Some attorneys have actually been sanctioned and either paid high restitution fees or lost their license to practice law simply because the attorney and the staff were not properly trained and repeatedly filed inaccurate or fraudulent petitions.  Some of these attorneys became paralegals and continued to work inside law firms and others will get out of the profession altogether.

This problem needed fixed and it needed to be fixed fast!!

In a sincere effort to help address these problems, Victoria Ring (the developer of the virtual bankruptcy assistant industry) and Michael Misenheimer (a certified paralegal who is entering law school this Fall) have joined forces.  They have developed a dynamic training curriculum that has literally transformed business for bankruptcy attorneys nationwide.  Together, Victoria and Michael are able to provide bankruptcy attorneys with the skills they need to streamline their practice and increase profits for their law firms.

Keeping costs to a reasonable $275 per person, an attorney can easily afford to attend with their staff and everyone will gain from the knowledge that both Michael and Victoria teach.  Unlike typical seminars and workshops, Michael and Victoria take a different approach to training by making their seminars unique and unlike others you may have attended in the past.

For example:

1.  The information taught in the Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars is NOT taught in any other seminar, workshop or training program. This is because the materials have been personally compiled from many years of working in the field as well as advanced training from attorneys, judges and trustees.

2.  The Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars are causal, relaxed and interactive. In fact, attendees are encouraged to ask questions and participate in the ongoing discussion.  This type of atmosphere promotes a higher level of learning.

3.  Networking is one of the prime goals of the Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars.  In fact, in previous seminars, long-lasting business relationships have developed just from attending.  This is because the Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars place great emphasis on working together and feeding off the knowledge of everyone present. This results in an atmosphere that helps to promote maximum retention levels.

4.  All attendees receive a wealth of information in the form of handouts that they can use to take back to the law firm and immediately put to use.

Bankruptcy Attorney Seminar Overview

The Bankruptcy Attorney Seminars are structured to cover TWO days (Friday and Saturday.)  Attorneys and their staff may attend either day or both days and save $100.  A single day registration is only $275 per person with discounts when two or more are attending from the same law firm.

Day 1 of the Seminar (Friday)

* Bankruptcy petition preparation skills and tips to make your job faster * Demonstrations of how to propose mortgage cram downs and strip downs * Tips for improving your Chapter 13 Plan preparation skills * Techniques to help you reduce deficiency notices after the bankruptcy petition is filed * How to work better with creditors as well as how to better protect the debtor

Day 2 of the Seminar (Saturday)

* Client intake interview tips to help reveal information that could make or break a case * Procedural and operational techniques to maximize office efficiency * Methods for turning free consultations into paying clients * Easy to understand web page development suggestions * Marketing your law firm via the internet and social networking

To find out more about these seminars, visit http://www.bankruptcyattorneyseminars.com

I just returned from the Bankruptcy Training and Marketing Seminar, held at the Best Western Airport East Hotel in Hapeville, Georgia; a suburb of Atlanta.  Eight people (including two attorneys) attended the Marketing Seminar portion on April 23 and Nineteen people (including five attorneys) attended the Training Seminar portion on April 24.

April 23 – Marketing Portion

Due to the small number in attendance, the eight people received more hands-on training compared to larger seminars we have had in the past.  In fact, I personally prefer working with a smaller group when I teach marketing because I can individually address specific concerns and give precise direction so that the attendee can go home and put ideas into action immediately.

One of the main points I always make in my marketing seminars is to teach people to wake up every morning and say: What can I do to make money today?  Instead, many people begin their virtual business day with negative comments, like:  I do not feel confident. I am afraid to advertise. It is too soon for me to make a website, etc.  I found out a long time ago that the ONLY way to be successful is to think thoughts that will make you successful.  If you begin each day by asking yourself, What can I do to make money today? … you will find that you begin looking for ways to make money.  This line of thinking will make you successful.  The other line of thinking will make you unsuccessful.

Clay Holland also spoke at the Marketing portion of the seminar.  He explained, step-by-step, everything he did to become a successful virtual bankruptcy assistant.  Clay is excellent at relating to other virtual bankruptcy assistants (VBA) because he had absolutely no prior legal experience before he became a VBA.  I, on the other hand, was trained in the law firms and received my training from attorneys, judges and trustees.  This is why Clay can relate much better to the VBAs and he is doing a tremendous job managing 713Training.

At the Marketing seminar, two attorneys flew in from Chicago, Illinois. These attorneys had been very successful at building their law firm in a market saturated by bankruptcy attorneys.  They contributed a great deal to the marketing round table discussion and everyone learned from their knowledge also.  This is one reason I always try to conduct the training seminars in an informal type of format.

Throughout my legal career, meetings became second nature for me.  Some meetings would be boring because only one person would talk.  I do not care how interesting a person is; if one person does all the talking and does not interact with their audience, anything they say becomes boring after awhile.  This is why I pattern all my seminars on interaction.  The result provides attendees with a much better understanding and comprehension versus a long, boring lecture.

April 24 – Bankruptcy

Nineteen people were in attendance for the Bankruptcy portion of the seminar, including five attorneys.  We began the day by having everyone introduce themselves and briefly describe their knowledge of Chapter 7s.  Because I customize every seminar to the needs of the audience, this feedback allows me to address specific topics that will provide the best level of training for those in attendance.  Since everyone in the group already had a basic knowledge of Chapter 7s, I was able to immediately move into training the overall conversion from a Chapter 7 to a Chapter 13 as well as cover cram down and strip down training.

Michael Misenheimer spoke for a few minutes about how the foreclosure process works.  Then he opened the floor for questions.  Pamela Starr provided an insight into the corporate side of her own personal experience and Michael opened the floor for questions and addressed specific issues relating to debtor and creditor bankruptcy; which he has a vast amount of experience in.

Summary

We would love to meet you at a future Bankruptcy Training Seminar. For more information and to view the calendar of upcoming events, visit: http://www.bankruptcyattorneyseminars.com

Due to the rapid growth of the debtor bankruptcy industry, it has become necessary to separate 713Training and 713Attorney.

From 2004 to 2010 these companies served two separate markets. 713Training provides training and support for virtual bankruptcy assistants and 713Attorney provides training and support for the debtor bankruptcy attorneys.  For the past several years, Victoria Ring has been able to manage both of them with occasional support from virtual assistants she hired to answer phones and fill orders.  But at the alarming rate the bankruptcy industry is growing, a point occurred where the companies had to be separated or both of them would suffer.

Therefore, on February 1, 2010; Clay Holland of MyBankruptcyAssistant.Com will take over the management of 713Training.  Victoria Ring will then have the ability to direct her attention solely to the training and support of debtor bankruptcy attorneys and their law firms through 713Attorney.

HOW TO STAY CONNECTED TO VICTORIA RING

1.  Visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/coloradovictoria 2.  Click:  ADD VICTORIA TO YOUR NETWORK 3.  If you are not already logged into LinkedIn you will be asked to login 4.  When prompted to type in an email address, use:  victoriaring@lawyer.com 5.  Send the email invitation

If you are already subscribed to the 713Training LinkedIn list, by all means, DO NOT UNSUBSCRIBE.  Clay Holland works as a virtual bankruptcy assistant, who is also assisting an attorney in building his law practice; therefore, Clay has a great deal of knowledge to share with the group that will be beneficial to you.

I apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause but this is the procedure that LinkedIn has in place to prevent you from being subscribed to a network for an individual you are not interested in following.

Additional changes are being made to compensate for the rapid growth of 713Training and 713Attorney.  Make sure you stay connected for updated details.

Victoria Ring, CEO http://www.713Training.Com http://www.713Attorney.Com