Kenneth Campbell writes: >> But, more respectfully, what is the value you provide outside the >> parametres for business collection upon failure (and how is that >> different than Repo Men)? >> >> Aren't bankruptcy lawyers merely administrators in a system? That is, no >> productive value? Merely moving money around, like a bank teller?
Generally, commercial lawyers add value in the following way: 1. I have an expertise in the Bankruptcy Code. Therefore, if you are engaged in a transaction affected by the Bankruptcy Code, hiring me is like hiring an accountant to do your taxes -- you can try and do it yourself, but the system is so complex that it is worth paying me X to ensure that you do not lose more than X. 2. Lawyers do stuff people do not want to do for various reasons. For instance, carefully drafting and reviewing documents. Therefore, hiring me is like hiring a gardener. You like your garden and nothing prevents you from doing your own gardening, but maybe you would rather spend your time doing something else. This is especially true for corporations, where the time of the decision makers, the people who negotiate the deal points, are too valuable to be involved in the mere documentation of agreements. 3. I have skills in negotiation and conflict resolution. A corporate reorganization has lots of moving parts and competing constituencies in situtations were time really is money. Bankruptcy lawyers are experienced in knowing when to settle and when to fight, and generally how to move things along. Therefore, hiring me is like putting oil in your car -- the oil does not mechanically contribute to the movement of the car, but it makes the process go smoother. In summary, we are productive in that we facilitate various ends: agreements, reorganization and liquidation of business entities, reallocation of resources, etc. To the extent those ends are good things to have, I guess we are productive, and to the extent they are not good things, I suppose we are not productive. David Shemano
