Reprinted with permission from Weekday Magazine May 2001
"Although it is barely 8:00 A.M., the office answering machine is showing 6 messages. The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1999 is on the verge of congressional passage and the debt-ridden are panicked. They know the window to use a simple and quick bankruptcy filing is possibly coming to a close and they need answers: will I still be able to file? Will it cost more? Will I be able to restore my credit?
The question not asked, however, is whether Julianne Frank is the lawyer they want for the job. Most of the callers have already scoped her out, having asked their accountant or their family lawyer. "I did my research, I asked the right questions, and for me, there wasn't any other choice", according to Donald Y. of Jupiter, Florida. He and his wife Ruth were mired in potential liability after the floor plan lender pulled the line of credit on their wholesale furniture business. "Everyone I talked to had only good to say. And after all was said and done, we knew we had come to the right professional. She put us back about the business of living our lives."
Accolades like this came only after years of dues-paying mixed with a healthy dose of serendipity. Frank started her career as a real estate lawyer with a megalithic South Florida law firm, and hated every minute of it. "My days consisted of sitting in a closet with a pile of title policies and not being allowed to come out until they had been checked and double checked. I threw in the towel and headed for a beach to consider a career change." A partner called and said one of her real estate developer clients had serious financial problems and wanted to pursue a Reorganization proceeding. Knowing little about the subject, Frank flew to New Orleans where a renowned bankruptcy conference was taking place and she dove head first into the seminars.
She returned sufficiently enlightened to successfully take the client through the Ch11 process. "Maybe it was beginner's luck, but it was certainly the beginning of a love affair", she relates. "I abandoned any thought of practicing in any other area."
Seventeen years and hundreds of bankruptcy proceedings later, Frank is one of only approximately 800 lawyers in the United States nationally certified in both consumer and business bankruptcy law. An accomplished speaker and author, she loves to bestow "enlightenment" on other lawyers and financial advisors. Some of the calls this morning are from fellow lawyers asking for advice.
"I don't hesitate to call Julianne for help on a tough client situation. I figure she's already 'been there' or knows enough about the system to guide me through the moment", relates one of the lawyer callers.
Frank's practice consists of all facets of representation in what she refers to as the "financial distress" arena-creditors, debtors both individual and business, and even bankruptcy trustees. She is wary to steer clients to bankruptcy who might have other solutions to their problems.
"I have to laugh when a client comes to me and announces that they are here to file bankruptcy", she says. "I ask them if they tell their doctor they need an appendectomy when they go to them with a stomach ache". "My number one job", she says, "is to diagnose the patient and decide whether radical surgery is necessary or whether less drastic remedies are available".
A file in her office labeled "Testimonials" overflows with expressions of gratitude from clients who felt they got what they come for. "Most importantly, you are a nice person and really made us feel like you cared", reads one of them."