Uppers for Bankruptcy Law

Let's face facts -- most aspiring lawyers don't grow up dreaming about arguing on behalf of reorganization plans in Bankruptcy Court. People go to law school thanks to the passion of Atticus Finch and Mr. Smith and, for younger generations, Michael Kuzak and Ally McBeal. They go to law school because they believe in passion and justice and all that is good about America.

And even those that jumped in the legal game for the power and the money -- their role models were the patrician Beltway counsel like Clark Clifford or the mergers and acquisitions stars who shepherded along the 1980s m-&-a boom. Justice is great, but so are stretch limos and pinstripes.But bankruptcy law -- doesn't even hit the radar screen. Go ahead. Find a pre-law student who dreams of preparing bankruptcy petitions and securing confirmation orders. Not so easy, right?So why? Why bankruptcy law?

More channels than DirecTV

Has this guide mentioned that a bankruptcy lawyer wears many hats? Performs many roles? Is really really diverse? For many bankruptcy attorneys, the variety within the practice, the opportunity to be a generalist, was bankruptcy's number one drawing point, and keeps them coming back for more.

But you are also a specialist

Within bankruptcy, specialization is the yin to the generalist's yang. Your practice might deal with everything from secured financing to environmental regulation, but all through the prism of bankruptcy. It's like a buffet at an Italian restaurant, containing every food group, but each with a taste of garlic and Parmesan. So you get the best of both worlds -- you are both a generalist, touching on most areas of law, and a specialist, with expertise in the seemingly arcane world of bankruptcy. "Bankruptcy is mysterious to other people," notes Orange County bankruptcy attorney Roger Friedman, "so being a bankruptcy attorney gives you an opportunity to become a specialist. And this makes you a commodity," giving you unique value in the marketplace.

And, if you want, a super-specialist

Ironically enough, the other corollary of bankruptcy's variety is the chance to be a "super-specialist," in the words of bankruptcy tax specialist Mark Wallace, of counsel at Los Angeles-based Stutman, Treister & Glatt. Although one of bankruptcy's biggest draws is the chance to be a generalist, it also can provide you with the opportunity to carve a niche within a niche, like having a unique double major. Many ultimately choose to focus on certain aspects of the practice. The biggest divide, of course, is litigation versus transactional, gruff Tracy versus genteel Hepburn. Some bankruptcy practitioners focus on the courtroom aspects of the practice, others focus on the m&a or financing aspects of the trade. And some choose truly unique areas, like bankruptcy tax. While bankruptcy is at heart a wide-frame practice, opportunities for zooming in abound.

A portable practice

"Bankruptcy gives you a national presence," notes Aram Ordubegian of Los Angeles bankruptcy boutique Weinstein, Eisen, Weiss & Rothschild LLP. It takes place in federal courts, under federal laws, based on federal case law. Although each district and circuit has it's own unique law and nuances, often in conflict with each other, it has the same foundation and is based on the same principles. It's easy to have a national practice given the uniformity of law, and similarly easy to relocate to a different city without "wasting" all of your knowledge.

An argument a week, and then some

For aspiring litigators, few practices afford so many opportunities for court time. In bankruptcy, "you are a lawyer from day one," says Leonora Long, an attorney with the Office of the U.S. Trustee. The court must approve each of the debtor's major decisions, and plenty of the smaller ones. Accordingly, bankruptcy cases are an endless stream of hearings. Some are complicated and sophisticated affairs -- a sale of the debtor's business, for instance, might involve arguing against twenty separate objections (after attempting to settle each of them in the hallway before, or even during, the hearing). Others are straightforward -- a fee application hearing, for instance, where an attorney's main function is often to present an uncontroversial fee request to the court.Bottom line -- any given bankruptcy has monthly, weekly, sometimes even daily hearings, of all sophistication levels, providing plenty of opportunities for the young litigator to get courtroom experience, regardless of her seniority. "Part of the beauty of bankruptcy is that there are lots of little things to get your feet wet with, with responsibility for a motion -- and hearings -- from beginning to end," notes James Bromley.

And given that any bankruptcy proceeding involves the same judge and group of attorneys throughout the same process, each provides a comfortable environment in which to stand up and speak. After two months of attending weekly hearings before the same judge and around the same attorneys, getting up to that podium is a little less frightening than it was that on first day. The junior bankruptcy associate usually gets far more court time than a majority of their non-bankruptcy colleagues; few practices give you this much time before judges than bankruptcy.

Community and camaraderie

There are two principal types of camaraderie in this practice -- the micro and the macro. First, as discussed above, each proceeding has a relatively set cast of characters, who frequently work together other in court and in meetings. And you're always negotiating with each other, reflecting bankruptcy's emphasis on compromise. "Bankruptcy has a 'let's make a deal' mentality," notes St. Louis attorney David Unseth, "you're trying to work towards a solution rather than puffing out your chest. Its a much more collegial effort in getting to the finish line."

You get to know each other during these months of meetings and deal-making, and most bankruptcies last long enough that you really get to know all of the attorneys involved in each case. A few months into a bankruptcy case, a courtroom hearing can have the warmth of any regular clubhouse meeting (well, at least before arguments begin). It is not unheard of for there to be reunions of the attorneys involved in particularly large bankruptcies years after the end of the case.

Beyond each case, the bankruptcy bar is small enough, particularly within each city, to guarantee that you get to know a good portion of your fellow bankruptcy practitioners. "As a senior litigator, it is a pleasure to practice in bankruptcy court -- you know the judges, you know the other attorneys," says bankruptcy litigator Elissa Miller of Los Angeles-based Sulmeyer, Kupetz, Baumann & Rothman. Bankruptcy litigator Celine Guillou of the San Francisco office of Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl, Young, Jones & Weintraub compares the collegial atmosphere of bankruptcy court to the "more adversarial" and "zoo-like" atmosphere of many state courts, where strangers duke it out before unknown judges after months of hostile discovery disputes. "It's a much more pleasant to work in this environment," she finds.

In many ways, the bankruptcy bar exists within its own small universe -- bankruptcy attorneys argue before the same judges within the same courthouses, attend the same American Bankruptcy Institute, Practicing Law Institute and other professional conferences and continuing legal education events, and dine at the same annual dinners. In addition, each bankruptcy proceeding often involves many -- often dozens -- of law firms, given the sheer number of interested parties in each case. Any first day hearing likely has upwards of twenty law firms in attendance; go to enough first-day hearings and you'll meet most of the bar in the given city. "You tend to know the players in your community -- everybody knows everybody," says Unseth.

This collegial atmosphere is one of bankruptcy's most unique qualities, and makes it a welcoming place for a young practitioner.

"I'm a people person"

If that's true, this is the practice for you. Most bankruptcy attorneys spend the day with a telephone receiver glued to their ears (although speaker phones have done much to ease their lives). As discussed above, bankruptcy is a deal-maker's sport, filled with big deals and small, parties trying to figure out how to slice a pie in as many -- and as big -- slices as possible. "In bankruptcy, so much of what we do is talk with other parties, adversaries and clients," notes David Unseth. This is not for the pathologically shy; but if you enjoy working with other people, this practice might be you.

Better than an MBA

Often the best way to learn about a business is learning what went wrong. Bankruptcy attorneys must understand the debtor's business in order to provide effective counsel, as they counsel the debtor in every aspect of that business. You must understand relationships with suppliers, debt and equity structures, the relationships between management and labor -- every aspect of the business. This requires that bankruptcy counsel have unique access to the mechanics of the debtor's business, all with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Talk about an education. "Bankruptcy is a great opportunity to really learn how an industry works," says Shari Siegel, of counsel at the New York City office of Latham & Watkins LLP, listing the airline, retail clothing and mining industries among those she has learned about from the inside out. By the end of a bankruptcy proceeding, most practitioners feel like an expert in the debtor's industry. And usually, they are.

And it's exciting!

As stated in the introduction, bankruptcy attorneys are in the business of trying to rescue a sinking ship, with constant explosions and fires that must be contained And, like the life of all rescue workers, the life of a bankruptcy practitioner is full of excitement -- emergency hearings, surprise assaults by creditors, and the like. "There's an immediacy to everything about bankruptcy, and you always have to get up to speed quickly, go to court quickly -- there's a real triage aspect to the practice," says practitioner James Bromley. Just when you've had enough downtime, something explodes, requiring emergency court dates, motions and negotiations. Rarely a dull moment here.

Satisfaction of the new -- and fresh--start

Contrary to popular belief, bankruptcy often signals a fresh start, not a death knell, for many debtors. Many practitioners find satisfaction in guiding a debtor, whether individual or corporate, to a new beginning; individual debtors and reorganized corporate debtors typically leave bankruptcy proceedings in far better shape than when they entered the courtroom doors, giving counsel a pride in helping their clients survive a very rocky road.

"You can stand back and say 'the system works'" when the debtor is still up and running, employees and all, at the end of a successful Chapter 11 reorganization, says bankruptcy attorney Brian Behar of Boca Raton-based Behar, Gutt & Glazer, P.A., "and that's a good feeling." Behar adds that this satisfaction extends to all sorts of proceedings, especially individuals: "I meet couples in bankruptcy who arrive in my office holding hands, terrified. Once they find out that they can make it through the system, they can sleep through the night." And this good feeling extends to large corporate Chapter 11's, particularly in debtor representation, where you get to know management and employees on a very personal level. If the reorganization is successful and your new friends keep their jobs, you know you've made a difference for people you care about.

Breaking the code

The Code, the Code, the Code. Everything in bankruptcy revolves around the Code, and the better you know the Code, the better a practitioner you are. There is a certain comfort in having a rulebook for your practice, set parameters in which to advise (or the challenge of stretching those parameters in creative ways). There is an even greater satisfaction in mastering that rulebook, especially for you academic types.

Extra! Extra!

The facts of bankruptcy also make it fun -- "there are stories in every case," says Ben Becker of Becker Meisel, LLC . Lots of businesses and individuals go bankrupt because of a rough economy or natural forces. But others are either part of a larger story -- say, the airline bankruptcies, part of a larger saga of the post-regulation evolution of the industry -- or has its own unique narrative, sometimes involving fraud or shady dealings (although, to clarify, most bankruptcies are not the result of shady activity, and any inference that most bankruptcy debtors were anything but scrupulous in their business dealings is inappropriate, to say the least). "Bankruptcy lawyers say 'they did what!' more than anyone else," laughs Chapter 11 practitioner Shari Siegel.

The story behind each bankruptcy is often fascinating, and as an attorney in the process, you have a front-row and privileged seat to that narrative.

A recession-proof practice

And now, for the dirty little secret -- practice areas don't get more recession-proof than this, and in the midst of these days of economic uncertainty, business is booming. Even in the best of times there is plenty of bankruptcy work to go around. And when times are rough, forget about it.

That sounds horrible -- no one likes to think they profit of off others' financial hardships. But take a hard look around the profession over the past few years. Firms are laying off their security and corporate associates; they're not touching their bankruptcy folks, and in fact, even in the midst of industry-wide layoffs, are hiring new bankruptcy associates and redirecting their other attorneys into their insolvency departments. In a profession of risk-averse personalities, bankruptcy is one of the more risk-adverse practices, booming in rough times and teaching you skills that are as vital in flush times.