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Steve Klesner
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Steve Klesner
Johnston & Nathanson, P.L.C.
1927 Keokuk Street
Iowa City, IA 52240
Phone: (319) 338-9852 | Fax: (319) 354-7265
http://iowabankruptcylaw.net/
http://www.johnstonnathanson.com/
17 yrs experience- Free consults and personal attention
Legal Topic
Bankruptcy
Preferred New Clients
I prefer to handle bankruptcy cases involving Chapter 7, Chapter 13, foreclosure defense, and garnishment issues.
Sub-Categories
Bankruptcy
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 7
- Collections & Repossessions
- Credit Disputes
- Debt Relief
- Garnishments
- Business Bankruptcy
- Creditor Harassment
- Personal Bankruptcy
- Foreclosures
Bar Admissions
IA, Jan 1991
IL, Jan 1991
Bar Number: (inactive)
Other Court Admissions
Iowa State Courts.
Association Memberships
I prefer to handle bankruptcy cases involving Chapter 7, Chapter 13, foreclosure defense, and garnishment issues.
Continuing Education
I attend continuing education seminars on the topics of bankruptcy and consumer law.
Example Cases
In re Batzkiel, 349 B.R. 581 (Bankr. N.D. Iowa 2006) is a much-cited case from shortly after the bankruptcy law amendments went into effect in 2005. The debtors household income was approximately $45,000 greater than the median household income, and therefore they were presumed ineligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief. We were able to persuade the court that their special circumstances should allow them to discharge their debts in Chapter 7. I am particularly proud of this case because I believe many other lawyers would not have been willing to prove that this husband and wife were eligible. Instead they would have taken the easy route of recommending a Chapter 13 case, which would not have suited them.
In re Cumberworth, 347 B.R. 652, 8th Cir.BAP (Iowa), in 2006, is another case I am proud of. In that case, a disabled wife was able to discharge her student loans despite her husband (a disabled veteran) having a nice level of income. We were able to convince the bankruptcy court and the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel that his income was not available for her use in paying her student loans, which is an outcome that is contrary to most cases that came before.
Education
Degree:
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
School:
University of Iowa College of Law
City:
Iowa City
State:
IA
Year:
1990
Honors:
Graduated with distinction.
Focus and Accomplishments:
Focused on bankruptcy in the college's law clinic.
Degree:
B.S.
School:
Central College
City:
Pella
State:
IA
Year:
1986
Focus and Accomplishments:
Major: Political Science.
Studied abroad one year at Trinity College, Carmarthen, Wales, UK.
Number of Attorneys
7
State Licensed In
Iowa
Firm Focus and History
Johnston & Nathanson, P.L.C. has attorneys specializing in bankruptcy, family law, criminal defense, personal injury, real estate, business organizations, and probate.
Johnston & Nathanson, P.L.C. was established in Iowa City in 1968. Please visit our website for more information.
Previous Employment Summary
After graduating from law school in December 1990, I began practicing with a law firm in Dubuque, Iowa. About a year later, I moved to Iowa City and practiced on my own until I joined Johnston & Nathanson, P.L.C. in 2000.
Activities and Awards
Johnston & Nathanson, P.L.C. is an AV-rated firm by Martindale-Hubbell. This is the highest possible rating in Martindale-Hubbell, and is based on peer reviews.
What is your opinion regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?
I encourage clients to educate themselves. I help them by providing legal hand-outs and information on my website. Better prepared clients ask meaningful questions. This leads to better communication with the attorney and better decisions made by the clients.
Are you willing to review documents prepared by clients?
I am not willing to review documents prepared by clients. I think it a bad idea, and it can be considered by the bar association to be a violation of a lawyer's professional ethics in some cases.
Are you willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?
I am not willing to coach clients to represent themselves. Too many problems can occur through this type of coaching.
Why did you decide to be a lawyer?
I've always liked the idea of helping ordinary people with their everyday problems. I am a first generation lawyer, and had no ambition to be a lawyer until it dawned on me that I was poor and I had friends in law school. I haven't made a lot of money practicing law, but I have been able to help people be a little less poor themselves.
What work experience and education helps you be a better lawyer?
As a young person, I worked minimum wage jobs (or worse), starting with a paper route and mowing lawns. Both during and after college, I worked hard and had little to show for it. This real world experience helps me to appreciate and understand the challenges working people face every day.
Working with thousands of clients since I became a lawyer in 1991 has made me familiar with many different areas of the law and the lives of people in our community. Today, I live a modest middle class lifestyle with my wife and child in Iowa City. This keeps me rooted in our community.
All of these experiences help me to understand my clients' issues and to be a better lawyer.
Why did you decide on your primary area of practice?
Law students who wanted to become hot shot litigators avoided bankruptcy, which they thought was boring and not likely to bring them courtroom glory. I didn't want to be a hot shot, and I didn't want glory. I wanted to help the ordinary people in my own community. There is no experience more gratifying than to meet someone who is anxious and frustrated about debt, offer a solution that they may not have thought possible, deliver on the promised solution, and do it all for a set fee. I do that every day. I love my job.
What do you like best about your career?
The satisfaction of knowing my clients benefit from my representation and appreciate what I help them to accomplish is the best thing about my career.
Tell us about your law firm:
I am a partner in a full-service law firm. My paralegal, Dawn, has been with me for over ten years and is a favorite among my clients. She keeps me on-task and handles a lot of the routine calls I am not able to take in the course of a day.
Please see our website for more information.
What are your strengths and style?
I am told by my clients that they appreciate my easy-going style (I usually wear jeans in the winter, and polo shirts and shorts in the summer). They also appreciate my sense of humor, and the fact that I don't judge them or their situations. It is a rare case in which I am at all judgmental, because I know that most financial problems are not brought about intentionally.
I am well-respected within my legal community, and I am known for aggressively representing my clients' interests. I work with my colleagues to defend and promote the quality of bankruptcy representation in our legal community.
A common practice for bankruptcy attorneys is to spend very little one-on-one time with clients relying instead on paralegals to meet the clients, gather facts, put together the documents, and handle almost all client communication. The lawyer in that case is merely reviewing documents and supervising the work performed by staff. We call these "bankruptcy mills." These lawyers typically charge a very low fee and represent a large number of clients. I consider this kind of practice to be unprofessional because it fails to serve the true needs of the clients. I believe in spending time with my clients. I provide a no-cost initial consultation, which will last as long as is needed. I personally produce most of the bankruptcy forms because I have found it helps me to better understand the details of the case. I handle the signing of the bankruptcy forms with the client, which typically takes about two hours. I meet with my clients if they have questions or just want to stop by and talk to me about something. This approach reduces errors and allows me to provide needed advice to my clients rather than just producing documents. My paralegal is very important to me and stays busy, but her job is to do things that paralegals do, not things that only lawyers should do. The extra amount of time I spend per case means I cannot charge $500 or $1,000 per case like the bankruptcy mills do, but my clients are more satisfied and better served.
Personal Interests:
I very much enjoy my time with my family, and my work. Among other things, I like to cook, travel, and watch baseball. My team is the Cardinals, but who doesn't enjoy watching the Cubs do well?
Office Manager/Assistant
Dawn.
Fax
(319) 354-7265
Office Hours
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Emergency After Hours
No
Foreign Languages
No.
Additional Offices
Muscatine, IA
208 W 2nd Street
#201
Muscatine, IA
(563) 263-8801
Cedar Rapids, IA
2735 1st Ave SE
Cedar Rapids, IA
(319) 366-1000
Fixed-Price Services and Fees
There is no average case cost at my office. I quote a reasonable fee after a review of debtors' circumstances during the free consultation.
For a single wage earner filing a Chapter 7 case, the fee will usually run between $1,500 and $2,000, depending on the complexity of the case, plus costs -- the filing fee (currently $299) and a $35 credit report per person filing.
The Chapter 13 bankruptcy fee is determined based on hourly billing, but the client only pays the retainer directly to the attorney. Any additional fees are subject to court approval, and are paid by the trustee from the regular Chapter 13 payment so there is usually no additional cost to the client.
Hourly Rates
$200 per hour.
Free Initial Consultation?
There is no charge for the initial consultation. I set no time restrictions on this meeting. Typically, the initial consultation will last from one to two hours.
Typical Retainer
I would rather spend my time working for my clients than issuing bills and collecting fees. The time and expense involved in managing payment plans drives up the cost of bankruptcy cases. Therefore, I usually require the full fee, plus costs, for a Chapter 7 case, to be paid in advance. For a Chapter 13 case, I usually require $2,200, which includes the filing fee. However, reasonable client offers will always be considered.
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