Frequently Asked Questions
You are located in Atlanta, Georgia. In what states can you represent my company in defending bankruptcy preference claims?
How small a preference claim will you consider defending?
Do you work with general counsel or in-house in connection with defending bankruptcy preference claims?
What are your fees for bankruptcy preference claims resolution?
What are your fees for consulting, acting as Georgia local counsel and other legal services?
How Do I Contact You?
You are located in Atlanta, Georgia. In what states can you represent my company in defending bankruptcy preference claims?
We have represented unsecured creditors in responding to bankruptcy preference claims in bankruptcies filed in jurisdictions from California to New York to Florida to Arizona and many states in between. In the vast majority of cases, we have resolved the preference claim through negotiation.
Only in the relatively few instances where we are unsuccessful in negotiating a resolution does the case require associating local counsel – i.e. counsel who is licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction where the bankruptcy is filed. If local counsel must be employed, we make every effort not “double up” on legal fees. We provide our work product and other assistance to local counsel. We believe that our work product ultimately results in a net cost savings.
How small a preference claim will you consider defending?
We have represented clients facing bankruptcy preference claims as small as $12,000. We routinely handle preference claims that are under $100,000.
Our focus is less on the size of the bankruptcy preference claim and more on the nature of the client. Our primary market is referred to as the “mid-market”. This means that we represent companies that are not large enough either to maintain in house expertise in defending bankruptcy preference claims or to have a big, multi-discipline firm as counsel.
The size of a preference claim does not change the issues involved in its resolution. However, we focus on handling these smaller cases in a cost effective manner. In most cases, opposing counsel is also aware of the need to resolve the smaller cases efficiently. Our objective is to obtain the best resolution considering both the final settlement amount and the costs and expenses of litigation.
Do you work with general counsel or in-house in connection with defending bankruptcy preference claims?
We routinely consult with general counsel and in-house counsel of companies on defense of preference claims in other jurisdictions and in Georgia.
What are your fees for bankruptcy preference claims resolution?
We conduct an initial interview with you that usually lasts about 30 minutes. There is no charge for this initial interview.
Based on this initial interview, we will provide you a fixed fee quote to analyze the claims and defenses and prepare an initial response to the bankruptcy preference claimant. A fixed fee quote can be as low as $500 and generally runs a range of $750 to $1,250. For more complex matters, the fixed fee quote can be substantially higher. In all events, you will know what it will cost for responding to the demand letter before deciding to go forward with us.
Based on the results of our initial assessment, at the your option, we will quote a combination of a fixed fee and success fee or a pure success fee for handling the matter. The “success fee” is a contingency fee based on the extent to which we are able to reduce or eliminate the bankruptcy preference claim.
What are your fees for consulting, acting as Georgia local counsel and other legal services?
We charge our standard hourly rates to provide consulting services and to act as Georgia, local counsel. The hourly rate for our attorneys is $300 per hour; for paralegals the rate is $75 per hour.
For defined tasks we are willing to quote fixed fees.
How Do I Contact You?
We are located in the heart of Midtown Atlanta in the Colony Square office complex.
You are welcome to contact us by phone, email or fax.
Jesse Burbage: 404 817-8041 email: jsburbage@bwatl.com
Bruce Weddell: 404 817-8071 email: bweddell@bwatl.com
Our fax number is: 404-817-8184
Our address is:
Burbage & Weddell LLC
100 Colony Square, Suite 1825
1175 Peachtree Street N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30361
