DeMarb Brophy: Your Business Has Options – Really

The revenue of small businesses – and especially restaurants, hotels, gyms and entertainment venues – is at all-time lows. This is not news.  The same small businesses have fixed costs and expenses, even if they are not operating, like rent, licensing, and equipment loans.  This is also not news.  What may be newsworthy, though, is what a bankruptcy lawyer can do for these businesses, especially now.

Common Bankruptcy Misconceptions

Let’s correct some common misconceptions about bankruptcy before we get started.  Bankruptcy does not mean that your business will stop operating, and it does not mean that your equipment will be auctioned off farm-style.  The kind of bankruptcies that keep businesses operating are not just for United Airlines and Guitar Center.  They can work for small businesses.  Bankruptcy will not drive away all of your customers or your vendors.  This is a common concern but largely unfounded.  Your bank will not necessarily hate the idea of you filing bankruptcy.  Almost always, they end up working with us and not against us.

So, How Can a Bankruptcy Help Small Businesses and their Owners Alleviate their Financial Troubles?

Bankruptcy can allow you to reorganize your business to make it stronger.  If you are ready to step away from operating your business, bankruptcy can give you a way to sell your business while it continues to operate.

In a reorganization, you can actually reduce the amount of your mortgage or equipment loans, permanently.  Your business would propose and get court approval of a plan of reorganization.  That plan could provide for the “cram down” of your secured creditors’ debt. 

For example, if your equipment loans have a balance of $200,000, but the equipment is only worth $125,000, then the plan could reduce the amount of the equipment loan to $125,000.  The plan could modify the interest rate, too, but it can actually decrease the amount of the secured debt.  How do we get to the value of the equipment?  It would need to be appraised. When is the value of equipment for restaurants, hotels, bars, gyms and the like likely to be at its lowest?  Now.  So, by filing for bankruptcy now, you may be able to reduce the amount of your monthly payments most drastically and permanently.

Why Would Your Lender Not Hate the Idea?

If you just default and turnover the keys to your lender, they are going to be stuck selling their collateral.  Lenders are in the business of making loans, not selling empty restaurants or gym equipment.  Like in 2008 when lenders found themselves in the real estate business because of the foreclosures, lenders are going to be overwhelmed with restaurant equipment, for example, in the coming months.  The market for that restaurant equipment will be flooded and, therefore, the value for that equipment will decrease.  The costs of selling the equipment are high.  Even if you reduce the amount of their secured debt in a bankruptcy, the value of the equipment is the highest in use and in place – in your business.  Lenders prefer to keep your equipment with you, and take your payments over time.

Filing the bankruptcy automatically imposes a stay on collection.  It gives you the breathing room to put this plan together.  It gives you relief from past due rent, past due collections.  It allows you to deal with only your obligations going forward and gives you space to avoid with past due amounts. 

Why Do You Need a Bankruptcy Lawyer to Help with the Process?

These are just a few of the ways that filing a bankruptcy can help you.  The analysis is more complicated than this, of course, and you need a lawyer experienced in the process.  You also need some cash to stay afloat during the process.  This cash can come from a variety of sources, including some stimulus money.  You should not assume that a reorganization will not work for you.  Many business bankruptcy attorneys will not charge you for the initial call if decide not to hire them, and they will discuss fees at that initial call.  You should talk with a bankruptcy lawyer who files Chapter 11 cases before you give in to your landlord or turn the keys over.  You have options.

Alternatives to Reorganizing

As an alternative to reorganizing, a bankruptcy can allow you to sell your business while it is operating.  This option looks different than the reorganization because the goal is to actually sell the business as an operating business. 

For example, last summer my firm filed a Chapter 11 case the day before the business’s eviction hearing. The owners knew they wanted to head toward a sale, and that’s what we did. Filing the Chapter 11 allowed the company to do three things. First, it stopped the eviction process and gave the company some breathing room. Second, it allowed the company to continue operating and paying its employees.  Because the company was not paying its past due debts, it had the breathing room to stay current going forward.  Third, it signaled to the market of buyers for the business that there would, in fact, be a sale in a structured process.

After a couple of months, a buyer who would start the sale process came forward. This buyer put in an offer to purchase, which we then got approved by the court. From there, other parties interested in operating the company decided to join the process, and then the auction of the operating business was scheduled from there. The auction worked exactly as intended. Two parties participated and, at the end of the day, the sale price increased by 70% over the initial offer.  More importantly, the company will pay its creditors five or six times more than it would have if the eviction had continued and the Chapter 11 had never been filed.   In the process, the owners of the company reduced the amount they owe on their personal guarantees.

Going forward, the owners of the company are staying on with the buyer as employees. The buyer will keep operating in the same space. They will keep using local vendors. The business will stay in Madison. 

Now is a good time to move forward with a bankruptcy that will lead us to a sale.  In six months, we expect that there will be more businesses for sale inside of bankruptcies than there will be buyers for those businesses.  If you are ready to be done having the sole responsibility for operating your business, now is the time to consider this sale option.

Protect Yourself

Whatever you do, do not bury your head in the sand right now.  Reach out to a bankruptcy lawyer, not just your regular business lawyer.  The reorganization and sale options might not work for every business, but they will work for many.  It would be a mistake to spend your last dollar, cash in your retirement, or turn over your keys to your landlord or lender without fully exploring all of your options.

DeWitt Elects New President and Office Managing Partners Effective January 1, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2020

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle M. Friedman
mmf@dewittllp.com / 262-754-2877

DEWITT ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT AND OFFICE MANAGING PARTNERS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2021

MADISON | MILWAUKEE | MINNEAPOLIS – DeWitt LLP announced it has elected a new firm President & Managing Partner, Timothy L. Stewart, who is also currently the Managing Partner of its Brookfield office.  Michele L. Perreault was also named the Managing Partner for its Madison office.  James D. Kremer will continue his role as Managing Partner of the firm’s Minneapolis office.  The firm’s long-time leader, Bradley C. Fulton, announced this past summer his intention to transition back to full-time practice at the end of 2020. Both Stewart and Perreault will continue their law practices while moving to these new roles on January 1, 2021.

“We are excited Tim and Michele have accepted these leadership roles. They both are well respected by their colleagues and clients and have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities over the years. It has been a privilege to serve such a fantastic firm for the past six plus years and I now look forward to a robust and full-time focus on taking care of our clients,” said Fulton.

“I am grateful to have this opportunity to serve DeWitt as its President and Managing Partner and look forward to building upon the momentum Brad created within the firm during his tenure,” said Stewart.  Perreault said of her new role, “I am honored to receive the trust of my colleagues in the firm in which I started as a law clerk 20 years ago, and looking forward to contributing to the ongoing, successful management and growth of our firm.”

Stewart, who joined DeWitt in 2005, is an employee benefits and ESOP attorney.   Working closely with business owners and executives over the years has helped him learn how successful businesses operate. Stewart plans to use this experience to help the firm continue to retain and develop great attorneys and provide excellent legal services to its clients.  He earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Perreault chairs the firm’s Family Law Group and has an appellate practice representing clients in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.  She has represented thousands of clients in cases ranging from very personal issues related to children and families to representing clients in cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. She specializes in complex cases throughout the State of Wisconsin.  In addition to her family law litigation experience, she is also an experienced mediator, helping parties resolve cases without the need for court intervention. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School, a master’s degree in Counseling from UW-Oshkosh, and her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Lawrence University.

About DeWitt

DeWitt LLP was founded in 1903 and is one of the ten largest law firms based in Wisconsin, with an additional presence in Minnesota. It has nearly 140 attorneys practicing in Madison and Metropolitan Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a variety of legal areas and has the experience to service clients of all scopes and sizes. The firm is known for its work in several areas, including intellectual property, patents, trademarks and copyright law, construction litigation, corporate law, employment, environmental, employee benefits, estate planning, family business, family law, government relations, health care, litigation, real estate, and tax law.  More information is available at dewittllp.com.

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The North Shore Experience

North Shore Property Management Inc. of Madison has developed a revolutionary concept for the property management industry. Our new and bold mission statement now centers not only on just the bottom line but giving back to our community.  At North Shore Property Management, starting on January 1, 2021, we are excited to announce that we have created the NORTH SHORE ExperienceⓇ . We know that its not just your home, its a lifestyle.

The NORTH SHORE Experience started with a vision.  We’ve seen COVID change our lives forever in so many ways.  It doesn’t take much to look around and realize the devastation this virus has caused to so many people financially as well as emotionally.  North Shore Property Management has developed the NORTH SHORE Experience.  The NORTH SHORE Experience offers all our tenants opportunities to give back to their community in many different ways.

Once a month we offer our tenants, during our ZOOM social and game night, a forum to present their not-so-random acts of kindness. Not-so-random acts of kindness include volunteering for their community, church or just helping others.  Each resident will have the same opportunity and a public forum to show what they have done to give back to their community.  We believe that we are here to serve each other, to try to make each of our lives better and we believe the NORTH SHORE Experience encourages that.

Here’s how it works; during our monthly zoom party with our tenants, they will be given an opportunity to present to other members of their community their not-so-random act of kindness. As a result, they will automatically receive an opportunity to get entered into drawings for rent credits, prizes and other incentives.  But more importantly they will get a chance to let everyone know what they are doing to help others. Each participant will be recognized of their achievements.  Our Zoom meetings will be hosted by our full-time events coordinator.

As fellow Chamber of Commerce members and area businesses, we need your help to make this program a success.  The NORTH SHORE Experience is self-funded.  In other words, we don’t charge our customers for this but rely on contributions from our community and specifically business owners and private donations.  We also would like to encourage your business to participate in the NORTH SHORE Experience in that we can help set this up for your business as well!

Please contact us to learn more about the NORTH SHORE Experience and ways you can help. The NORTH SHORE Experience transcends not just community but we’ve also developed a PROPERTY MANAGEMENT PACKAGE for multi-family communities which includes utilizing the NORTH SHORE Experience for your housing community.  Please contact us at cory@northshorepropertymgt.com to learn more about us or simply call us at 920-395-4684.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Oak Bank Selected as In Business Executive Choice Award Finalist

For Immediate Release

Contact: Karen Virnoche
608.441.6000
kvirnoche@oakbankonline.com

Oak Bank Selected as In Business Executive Choice Award Finalist

Fitchburg, WI – Oak Bank is honored to announce it has once again been named as an In Business magazine Executive Choice Award finalist in the banking for business category.

Area business leaders identify organizations they feel excel in their industry in 37 business-related categories, which means companies have achieved top-of-mind awareness in the business community to be named as Executive Choice Award recipients.

“We are honored to be recognized as an industry leader by the business community that we serve,” said Terry Taylor, Oak Bank President. “Our people make this recognition possible. Our associates work tirelessly with enthusiasm and integrity to create a great experience with each client interaction. Supporting our community is also a top priority and is accomplished through generous donations of time, talent and monetary contributions.”  

This recognition is particularly special this year. Oak Bank started 2020 off with a celebration of 20 years in business. The focus of the year pivoted quickly as COVID-19 took aim at partner businesses.

“2020 has been equal parts challenge and reward,” said Jim McNulty, Oak Bank, SVP Business Banking. “Everything we do is centered around helping businesses grow year over year. COVID-19 put that in jeopardy. All of us here were proud to find the path to PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loans to provide our partner businesses the much-needed support.”

About Oak Bank

Oak Bank has been deeply rooted in the Fitchburg community and Madison area for 20 years, meeting the financial needs of homeowners and businesses by offering top-notch service, quick answers and unique solutions, all while supporting over 125 local nonprofits each year. Visit oakbankonline.com to learn more.

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CEC Helps Healthcare Organizations Prepare to Safely and Confidently Store COVID-19 Vaccines

Temperature-monitoring technology ensures vaccine effectiveness and automates compliance reporting

Hiawatha, IA (Dec. 9, 2020) – CEC (Communications Engineering Company), a nationally recognized technology solutions provider and systems integrator in the Midwest, stands ready to help hospitals, pharmacies, and medical clinics prepare to store vital COVID-19 vaccines as they make their way across the country.

CEC’s team of in-house healthcare technology experts—including engineers, clinical application specialists, installers and technicians, and account executives—have the skills, expertise, and resources needed to help healthcare organizations prepare to safely and confidently maintain extremely cold storage temperatures (as low as -94 degrees F) to preserve the vaccine’s active ingredients.

Through a partnership with Primex, CEC staff members are trained to deploy and integrate OneVue Sense temperature-monitoring technology. This technology helps hospitals, pharmacies, and medical clinics maintain proper vaccine storage temperatures, detect any temperature variations, and alert staff when temperature levels fall outside parameters so action can be taken quickly. This technology also frees healthcare staff from having to continuously monitor and log temperatures each day per CDC guidelines.

“To support healthcare organizations as they protect individuals and communities, Primex’s temperature-monitoring technology ensures vaccine effectiveness and automates compliance reporting,” says Kim Lehrman, CEC chief executive officer. “CEC is ready to help healthcare organizations adopt OneVue Sense now so they’re ready when vaccines start to arrive.”

OneVue Sense technology can also monitor temperature, humidity, and air pressure in patient care areas to ensure that isolation rooms are kept at proper levels to limit virus spread.

To learn more, visit https://www.cecinfo.com/about-cec/our-partners/primex/.

About CEC

With offices in the Midwest serving local and national customers, CEC offers solution design, integration, and technical services specializing in audio/video, fire and security, healthcare communications, IT, and two-way communications. Focused on creating world class technology experiences, the CEC team partners with clients to understand their businesses, tailor solutions, and plan for future technology needs. To learn more, visit www.cecinfo.com.

Media Contact: Angie Worrell – aworrell@cecinfo.com