Bankruptcy
cases are rising,
and their
lawyers are
gaining respect.
Ellen Alter is one
of many Jewish
bankruptcy
attorneys
JEWISH ATTORNEYS
LEAD PROFESSION
mong the leaders in their
profession, Barbara Alter
and Barbara Rom are two
of the many Jewish attorneys
practicing bankruptcy law in
Detroit.
Historically, the bankruptcy
field has been filled with Jew-
ish attorneys and Jewish
judges.
"Because of discrimination
and because this was obvi-
ously an open field and some-
thing the silk-stocking firms
weren't interested in dirtying
their hands with, the void was
filled by Jewish lawyers," Ms.
Alter explains.
Ms. Alter adds it is not un-
usual to hear a bit of Yiddish
in this particular court setting.
"I've seen a lawyer get up in
bankruptcy court and ask the
judge for a 'writ of rachmonos'
(compassion), she says.
Judge Ray Reynolds
Graves, a 10-year veteran of
Detroit's bankruptcy bench, is
presently the local court's only
non-Jewish member. He is not
convinced there really are
more Jews than non-Jews
practicing bankruptcy law, yet
he does point to a "historical
narrative that says Jewish at-
torneys were kept out of ma-
jor corporate law practices."
"There was a time when
bankruptcy was considered
`back door,' " Ms. Alter says.
Irving Boigon of Levin Levin
Garvett and Dill agrees. He be-
gan his practice shortly after
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From Back Room
To Board Room
SUSAN KNOPPOW
Special to The Jewish News
ighland Appliance tried
to stay out of bankrupt-
cy court.
For the past several
months, attorneys worked in
private with creditors to re-
structure the debt of the 49-
store chain without seeking
federal protection, or Chapter
11, with the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court.
Unfortunately for Highland
Appliance, a workout, which
would have been quiet and
less expensive, didn't pan out.
Last week, the chain filed for
Chapter 11.
Highland Appliance is one
of many businesses that has
been devastated by the chang-
ing economy. Lawyers who
never handled such cases are
H
being called into meetings to
join special legal teams, and
there has been a noticeable
increase in attempts to settle
cases out of court.
Economic downturn means
big business for area bank-
ruptcy attorneys, who pros-
per when people and
corporations can no longer
make good on their loans or
stay afloat financially.
"I haven't been around long
enough to see many reces-
sions," says Ellen Alter, a
partner at Jaffe Raitt Heur
and Weiss and a law instruc-
tor at the University of De-
troit. "But one of my partners
says this is his sixth down-
turn and he has never seen
anything like it."
At Jaffe, corporate lawyers
and litigators are joining the
bankruptcy specialists be-
cause troubled corporations
have problems across-the-
board.
We've found that a lot of
the skills that people have in
different areas can be brought
to bear in bankruptcy because
it is kind of a microcosm of
everything," Ms. Alter ex-
plains.
More than ever, business-
es and individuals are reor-
ganizing or liquidating assets
under protection of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court. Between
1978 and 1991, six million
bankruptcy cases were filed
in the United States.
Bankruptcy law is divided
into a number of sections, or
chapters. Chapter 11 regu-
lates reorganizations, during
which corporations may at-
tempt to restructure debts or
downsize operations.
Chapter 7, or liquidation,
is more drastic and describes
the process most people asso-
ciate with bankruptcy pro-
ceedings — "going out of
business."
In addition, many compa-
nies are choosing out-of-court
workouts.
"Businesses and banks
have learned that the bank-
ruptcy process is slow and ex-
pensive and not always very
effective," Ms. Alter says. She
has noticed a significant in-
crease in the number of out-
of-court settlements, called
"workouts," handled by her
law practice.
Instead of going to court,
many businesses, like High-
land Appliance, try to avoid
formally filing for bankrupt-
cy by first sitting down in pri-
vate workout meetings with
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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