Practicing Experience

Experience as Counsel:

• Corporation Counsel & Director of Legal and Compliance Operations (2015 – 2017): In-house corporation counsel managing legal compliance with FDCPA, TCPA, GLBA and other acts and providing legal advice and defense to a national collection agency.
• Collection Manager – Creditor’s Rights Attorney (2014 – 2015): In-house counsel to large debt collection agency.
• Associate Attorney (2013 – 2014): Civil Litigation and Bankruptcy attorney representing business and individuals in state and federal courts including courts of appeal. Actively represented creditors in the noteworthy Chapter 9 Reorganization of the City of Detroit.
• Staff Attorney To Chapter 13 Standing Trustee, Carl L. Bekofske, Flint, Michigan (2010 – 2013): Representing the U.S. Trustee Program in all aspects Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 matters.
• Senior Attorney; Bankruptcy and Civil Litigation Manager; Executive Management Committee (October 2003 – April 2010): Representing the country’s largest banks, mortgage companies and mortgage servicing companies.
• Staff Attorney (2000 – 2003): UAW-GM Legal Services Plan, Warren, Michigan
• Attorney and Counselor at Law (1994 – 2000): Founder of private law firm and consumer bankruptcy law partnership. Extensive experience in state trial and appellate court litigation.
• Court Clerk to the Hon. Hilda R. Gage (1990 – 1994): Oakland County Circuit Court, Pontiac, Michigan
• Internal Auditor (1986 – 1989): First of America Bank Corporation, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Education:

• Wayne State University Law School, Detroit, MI; Juris Doctor (1993)
• Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI; Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, Accounting (1985)
• Dale Carnegie Program, Troy, MI; Award For Highest Achievement (2012)
• Staff Attorney Training, National Association of Chapter Thirteen Trustees (NACTT), Chicago, IL (2010) A
• Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Institute, National Association of Chapter Thirteen Trustees (NACTT), Grapevine, TX (2010)
• Trial Advocacy Program, National Criminal Defense College, Macon, GA (1995)

Proffessional Speaking Engagements:

• 23rd Annual Federal Bar Association, Western District Michigan, Bankruptcy Seminar, "Mortgage Issues for Borrowers, Creditors and Trustees" (July 2011, Boyne Falls, MI)
• Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Bankruptcy Certificate Series: The Basics of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, "Representing Clients in Chapter 13 Proceedings Pre-Confirmation" (January 2010, Plymouth, MI)
• American Bankruptcy Institute, Detroit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference, "The Only Cram-Down Left? Lien Stripping and Valuation" (November 2008, Troy, MI)
• AMC Mortgage Services, Inc. Attorney Summit, "The Bankruptcy Reform Act One Year Later" (January 2007, Long Beach, CA)
• DS News Five-Star Conference Attorney Summit, "The Bankruptcy Reform Act" (September 2006, Dallas, TX)
• Homecomings Financial Corporation Client Educational Seminar, "General Bankruptcy Education" (February 2006, San Diego, CA)

Admissions:

• U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
• U.S. District Court, Eastern Michigan
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern Michigan
• U.S. District Court, Western Michigan
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western Michigan
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern Ohio
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern Ohio
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern Illinois
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern Illinois