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Marc A. Lieberman
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Marc A. Lieberman
Fredman Lieberman LLP
1875 Century Park East
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: (310) 284-7350 | Fax: (310) 284-7352
http://www.fredmanlieberman.com/
Real-life solutions to real-life problems.
Legal Topic
Bankruptcy
Preferred New Clients
Our clients are people in extreme financial distress who seek cost-effective solutions to real-life problems. They hire us because they seek the peace of mind that comes from experienced counsel at a fair price. Today, those clients range from school teachers, police officers, and firefighters overwhelmed with credit card debt, to physicians, lawyers, corporate executives, real estate developers, celebrities, and professional athletes whose lives have suddenly been turned upside down by a changing economy, a paralyzing lawsuit, an impatient bank, or who have been the victims of fraud, embezzlement or corporate downsizing.
Sub-Categories
Bankruptcy
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 7
- Collections & Repossessions
- Credit Disputes
- Debt Relief
- Garnishments
- Chapter 11
- Business Bankruptcy
- Creditor Harassment
- Personal Bankruptcy
- Foreclosures
Bar Admissions
CA, Dec 1991
Bar Number: 157318
Other Court Admissions
Our lawyers are admitted to practice in several states, including the state, federal and bankruptcy courts in every district in California, the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Association Memberships
I am a past Chairman of the Bankruptcy Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association and an active member of the Financial Lawyers Conference, the Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills Bar Associations, the California Bankruptcy Forum, and the Southern California Complex Business Litigation Inn of Court. I am also a former board member of Public Counsel, the country's largest provider of volunteer legal pro bono legal services to the poor.
Continuing Education
All of our lawyers not only attend advanced continuing education in the areas in which they concentrate, they teach those courses as well. I speak and write for various bar associations, providing continuing legal education to young lawyers as well as to experienced attorneys about complex bankruptcy topics.
Example Cases
Lawyers and judges around the country cite as precedent the published decisions for cases I have handled, including the landmark bankruptcy case of In re Barakat, 99 F.3d 1520 (9th Cir. 1996), cert denied 117 S.Ct 1312 (1997).
Education
Degree:
Juris Doctor
School:
UCLA School of Law
City:
Los Angeles
State:
CA
Year:
1991
Degree:
A.B.
School:
Brown University
City:
Providence
State:
RI
Year:
1986
Honors:
High Honors in Spanish and Linguistics.
Number of Attorneys
4
State Licensed In
California
Firm Focus and History
Our firm was formed in 1999 and is comprised of lawyers who began their careers at top law firms after graduating from the finest schools in the country. We focus on representing real people who pay their own legal bills and expect cost-effective results. Located on the west side of Los Angeles in Century City, Fredman Lieberman LLP has received the highest possible "AV" rating from Martindale Hubbell and represents clients in courts throughout Southern California. We are a federally designated Debt Relief Agency under the United States Bankruptcy Laws, proudly assisting people and their companies to find solutions to their debt problems, including, where appropriate, assisting them with the filing of petitions for relief under the United States Bankruptcy Code. We help people save their homes, their retirement savings, and their sanity.
Previous Employment Summary
I have always been a lawyer. I was born a lawyer. My birthday suit had pin stripes.
What is your opinion regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?
Our law firm welcomes such clients, and I especially enjoy representing those who demonstrate an interest in the nuances in their case, participate actively in their case, and seek to understand thoroughly all their options before embarking on a course of action.
Are you willing to review documents prepared by clients?
Of course. Why should a client pay an attorney for "re-inventing the wheel?" Our law firm is here to help solve problems as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, and we take full advantage of work already done right, whether it was done by our clients or a prior attorney.
Are you willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?
The day doctors start "coaching" patients who want to take out their own appendix is the day I'll start coaching clients who want to represent themselves.
Laws enacted in 2005 were designed to deny bankruptcy protections previously available to individuals. Now, more than ever, bankruptcy is fraught with traps for the unwary. For their case to succeed, clients often require well-conceived and carefully executed planning to receive the full measure of benefits available under the law. Indeed, the failure to carefully chart a safe course can lead to a sea of troubles, including the unnecessary loss of a home, retirement account, commissions, receivables, cars, an inheritance or a bank account. Failure to properly time the filing of a bankruptcy case can result in certain tax and credit card obligations remaining an unnecessary burden after the bankruptcy case is over. Even the repayment of legitimate debts to friends and family can lead to their being sued, unless the payments are precisely timed to avoid the reach of harsh laws that permit a bankruptcy trustee to claw back those payments for the benefit of other creditors. On the other hand, intentionally failing to disclose such payments can result in the loss of the bankruptcy discharge at best and a felony criminal conviction and prison time for bankruptcy fraud at worst.
Sadly, the line between legitimate planning and unlawful conduct is not always a bright one; indeed, it can be downright invisible to good people enduring bad times. Nevertheless, the consequences of a misstep in bankruptcy can be devastating for individuals and their families. Having long represented financially distressed clients throughout Southern California, we provide a steady, experienced hand to walk our clients up to that line, without letting them crossing it.
For all these reasons, the more savvy and intelligent the client, the more they have at stake, and the more stress they are under, the more important it is that they seek professional help to avoid putting themselves and their families at risk.
Why did you decide to be a lawyer?
When I was in college, my parents told my grandmother that I wanted to be a hotel manager. She called me in my dorm and said, "Vwuts dis I hear, such a nice Jewish boy, you vant to vork in a hotel? You vant to carry someone's suitcase? Go be a lawyer; let someone carry your suitcase." Grandma's gone now, but she lived long enough to see me graduate from law school. Thank goodness she doesn't know that I still carry my own suitcase.
What work experience and education helps you be a better lawyer?
I cut my teeth representing bankruptcy trustees at one of the top bankruptcy law firms in Los Angeles. It was my job to tear apart bankruptcy cases, to search for ways to nail people hiding assets, and to sue their family members and creditors who got paid before the case was filed. I ate red meat, careless lawyers, and sneaky debtors for breakfast. On a really good day, I got to refer people for criminal prosecution.
For the last 16 years, however, I have successfully represented debtors as well as well as fraud and Ponzi-scheme victims in bankruptcy courts around the country. Much like a tax attorney who began his career working for the IRS, my experience as a trustee's lawyer gave me invaluable insight and experience from which my clients now reap an incalculable benefit. I also sleep better.
Why did you decide on your primary area of practice?
In my last year in law school at UCLA, senior partners from top law firms conducted job interviews with young lawyers-to-be in small conference rooms in the back of the law school library. Without realizing it, I walked into someone else's interview with one of the more prestigious bankruptcy firms in town. (The person who was supposed to have been there didn't show up for reasons that remain a mystery.)
At the end of the interview, the lawyer blind-sided me: "I think you'd be a great fit at our firm, but why the interest in bankruptcy?" What? Where did that one come from? "Bankruptcy?" I responded, swallowing hard, searching for an answer. He just stared at me, expecting a reasonable answer to a reasonable question. "Bankruptcy?" I repeated, filling an awkward silence. "I've always wanted to be in bankruptcy. I have an uncle that filed bankruptcy." How such an incredibly lame answer could have been good enough to get the job, I'll never know.
As it turned out, it wasn't such a great fit. On the one hand, to the pride (and perhaps relief) of my parents, I had a job—and not just any job, mind you; I was a lawyer at one of the more venerable law firms in town. On the other hand, as attorney for the Trustee, it was my unhappy duty to sue debtors and those to whom assets had been transferred prior to a bankruptcy, even people who had done nothing wrong. It seemed that my clients-- bankruptcy trustees with thousands of cases-- had undue power over fragile lives precisely because they had no personal stake in the cases they administered; and many, despite immense personal integrity, seemed at times oddly detached from the "collateral damage" caused by the work I was doing in their name and in the name of the "System" comprised of bankruptcy trustees and their expensive entourage of lawyers, accountants, investigators, appraisers, auctioneers, and real estate brokers. And I was not happy.
I eventually left that venerable law firm and went to work helping individuals and their companies plan and execute effective bankruptcy strategies, preparing my clients to face with confidence their bankruptcy trustee, their creditors, and the bankruptcy judge.
What do you like best about your career?
Without doubt the best part of my job now is the personal satisfaction of helping good people get through the most difficult time of their lives.
Tell us about your law firm:
Adding to information in the "Firm Focus and History" section of this profile, Fredman Lieberman's administrative support capabilities, bankruptcy paralegals, and depth of legal talent allow us to provide high quality, cost-effective representation that is often difficult for a sole practitioner to match. Moreover, we are not a bankruptcy mill, a high volume, low service, consumer bankruptcy "factory" where bankruptcy is the only answer to every problem. Rather, our practice centers on the individuals that are its clients. This means, for example that , unlike many bankruptcy law firms, we do not ask our clients to fill out lengthy questionnaires about their finances. We believe that dumping complex, one-size-fits-all forms on a client is unduly impersonal, unnecessarily stressful for the client, and can lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding.
For that reason, clients invited for an office visit should prepare not to be rushed. That's because we insist on spending the necessary time with every client to make sure that individual needs, goals, and circumstances are thoughtfully considered before deciding on the best possible solution. Sometimes that solution involves bankruptcy. Often it does not.
Divorce, real estate, taxes, student loans, personal guaranties, aggressive creditors—they all raise special issues requiring an astute attorney to pay special attention to a client's case. This is where our law firm excels.
In fact, we are often hired at the suggestion (or insistence) of family law attorneys, business lawyers, and accountants concerned that their clients receive the highest quality service at a reasonable price. Lawyers and accountants refer their clients to us because the personal attention and caliber of our work reflect well on them.
What are your strengths and style?
Our strengths and style are one and the same: We listen carefully to our clients, tailoring practical solutions to their individual needs and circumstances. We take our time with each client to make sure that that the course of action we are taking meets an individual's particular needs. If we don't think bankruptcy is right for the client, we'll say so, and suggest other options. If it is right, we make sure it's done properly so that the client gets the maximum benefit permitted by law.
Personal Interests:
Taking pictures with cameras that are older than I am. No batteries. Real black and white film. I love the smell of darkroom chemicals in the morning.
Office Manager/Assistant
New clients will meet my assistant Nyna Hale and our Senior Bankruptcy Administrator is Leon Coleman
Fax
(310) 284-7352
Office Hours
Our office is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. We can also arrange appointments earlier or later for clients who cannot come in during regular business hours.
Emergency After Hours
Yes
Foreign Languages
Most of the attorneys in our firm can communicate comfortably with clients in more than one language
Fixed-Price Services and Fees
For individual Chapter 7 cases, legal fees start at $1,500 for the simplest cases. Legal fees will be higher in cases involving exemption planning, tax issues, family law matters, real estate, pre-petition litigation, potential non-dischargability claims, means test issues and significant numbers of creditors. In Chapter 7 and 13 cases, we can be retained for a small down payment. In Chapter 13 cases, a portion of the legal fee can sometimes be paid over a period of up to 5 years, without interest.
We understand that circumstances often do not permit a client to pay legal fees in a lump sum. For that reason, individualized, pre-filing payment terms are available in Chapter 7 cases, and we can even accept credit card payments from friends or family members who are not filing bankruptcy. Routine communications with creditors are included in the flat fee for Chapter 7 and 13 cases. Creditor negotiations for the purpose of reducing or restructuring debt outside of bankruptcy are charged on an hourly basis.
Hourly Rates
Hourly rates range from $325 to $475 for attorneys and up to $135 for paralegals. Most bankruptcy matters are handled for a fixed fee.
Free Initial Consultation?
There is no charge for our initial telephone consultation, during which the client provides basic income, asset, and creditor information. There is also no charge for the initial office meeting, unless the client decides to retain our firm. When we are retained for a fixed fee matter, the initial office visit is usually included in the fixed fee.
Typical Retainer
We provide each client with a written retainer agreement in plain English, not legalese. We generally require an advance deposit for our services. The amount of the deposit depends on the services for which we are retained. For flat fee matters, we can tailor payment arrangements to a client's particular circumstances. In most cases, we can also accept credit cards. (Sorry, we cannot accept credit cards from clients filing bankruptcy, but we can accept such payments from their family members).
Nolo's Licensing Check
Attorneys have passed a licensing check. Nolo has confirmed that every member attorney has a valid license and is in good standing with the applicable bar associations upon joining the directory.
Directory lawyers are required to notify Nolo immediately if they become the subject of any disciplinary action by any bar association.
