The Effect of Lawyers on Workouts.
Most clients have lawyers. It is a friend, a business associate or someone that they have known and trusted for years. They value the opinion of these professionals as these men and women have come through in many ways over the years and have been beneficial to the client.
In a workout, these intelligent, professional lawyers are a handicap. It is not their area of expertise and though the bank pursues our clients legally, we are trying our hardest to keep the issues out of the legal arena. You lose in court. It is that simple. You borrowed the money, you spent the money, and now you are unable to pay it back. There is no legal defense that will save you.
Now before you run away thinking I am spending this post on lawyer bashing, let’s take a look at why this happens. Most lawyers I have spoken with are smart, savvy, and have the client’s best interest in mind. So why is there a breakdown? It is because the lawyer, is a lawyer. It is that simple. If you spend all of every day thinking of legal arguments and legal documentation, any solution that will come to mind is going to be legal. It is the same reason if someone goes and talks to a bankruptcy attorney the attorney suggests the best method of bankruptcy. They do not give the person tips on how to go into a criminal trial. They simply are not trained for it. It is the same in every profession. When you spend all your time in one realm of thought and possibility you acquire tunnel vision that precludes outside thought.
This is true in 99.9% of the lawyers I have dealt with, and this figure is accounting for both sides of the table. The lawyers on the bank’s end of negotiations are just as smart at times and just as blind. They would rather have the workout drag for years flinging salvos of legal documentation back and forth than use an unconventional and business related strategy, because it is outside their comfort zone. This does not exclude the lawyers who are just out for a buck and drag out the situation because they are paid by the hour or the unmotivated representation that can be found, but even the smart, motivated, well intentioned lawyer can harm a workout.
Today I spoke with one of the very few lawyers with a corporate business background who gets it. He is working for the bank and as soon as I laid out my asset sale, he slowed down the bank and put the offer on the bankers desk. I have never gotten a lawyer who is as accepting of anything non-legal. So the rare lawyer who helps is out there, but the odds of finding a lawyer who helps in a workout situation are long enough, even most chronic gamblers wouldn’t bet on it.
Just like you wouldn’t ask a lawyer to perform your brain surgery, do not try to use a lawyer to handle your workouts. They simply do not have the training and experience in the workout field.
