Calvin Dean Zamansky, Attorney

After several years as a civil litigator, I accidentally fell into doing Bankruptcy law in 1990. It was a happy accident. Bankruptcy law is, by its nature, an area of practice in which great heart and compassion are there for people who find themselves in dire straits. Our clients generally are not people living under bridges or eating from garbage cans. The may own houses, cars, timeshares, businesses and other attributes of the American dream. They may have families, with kids and retirement plans, and may be soccer and Little League coaches, and respected members of their communities.

Historically, job loss, illness and divorce have been the impetuses to put people over the financial edge, and, for many years, credit card debt dominated people's financial burden. Now, of course, foreclosures tied to sub prime loans and adjustable rate mortgages trigger many people's financial woes, and credit card debt, while still significant, has taken a back seat to staggering increases in monthly house payments. Bankruptcy attorneys have traditionally worked to help people save homes. With rampant loss of home equity, the more difficult conversation we have with clients today is whether it makes more sense to walk away from their houses.

Whatever your circumstance, we are not here to judge you. By the time you call our office, you may have stopped opening your mail and answering your phone, and I know you are not sleeping well at night. My job, and our firm's intent, is to get you moving forward again, to allow you to get on with your lives. Bankruptcy has been referred to as a "fresh start," and we take that very seriously.

In 26 years as an attorney, and certainly in the 18 years I have been doing Bankruptcy, I have never heard a client say, "I just want to screw my creditors." I know Bankruptcy is a difficult option for people to consider. In this regard, let me just say that, if you are looking up Bankruptcy attorneys, the time for blaming yourself or regretting choices you made is over. The point is to get you back on track. I believe that Bankruptcy is like angioplasty; you hope you never need it, but if you do, you're glad it's there.

If you choose our firm to represent you, I and we will treat you with the kindness and humanity you expect and deserve. Our years of experience as attorneys, and our familiarity with Bankruptcy law, including the changes made by Congress in 2005, mean that we can assess your situation, determine whether Bankruptcy can help you, and, if so, put together a game plan to remove the incredible weight that is now sitting on your shoulders.

As I said, becoming a Bankruptcy attorney was a happy accident for me. It has been more rewarding than I can described, to help people climb out of situations from which they thought there was no escape.