|
Related
links:
- Big firms are getting bigger
— can 'Law-Mart' be far behind?
- Business Law: Allen
C. Goolsby III
- Civil Litigation: James
C. Roberts
- Criminal Law: Anthony F.
Anderson
- Environmental Law: Paul
R. Thomson Jr.
- Family/Domestic Relations: Andrea
R. Stiles
- Health Law: Patrick C.
Devine Jr.
- Intellectual Property: James
R. Creekmore
- Labor/Employment: Harris
D. Butler III
- Legislative/Regulatory: Anthony
F. Troy
- Real Estate/Construction: Joseph
W. Richmond Jr.
- Taxes/Estates/Trusts: Timothy
H. Guare
by
Brett Lieberman
For
Virginia Business
December,
2003
Linda
Taylor Chappell and Barbara Taylor Creech couldn’t
agree on much in a family spat over their mother’s
estate. One thing that wasn’t an issue was that
both sisters trusted Chesapeake attorney Frank J. Santoro
to fairly oversee the bankruptcy proceedings, which
threatened to lead to foreclosure on some of their mother’s
personal assets.
Frank J. Santoro |
Few
people relish the need to hire an attorney and even
fewer look forward to walking through Santoro’s
door. Yet his bankruptcy practice at Marcus Santoro
& Kozak is flourishing because of his knack of earning
the trust of clients and a keen business sense that’s
helped many clients and creditors choose more favorable
alternatives than filing for Chapter 11.
Instead
of viewing a pending bankruptcy as a legal proceeding,
Santoro sees a financial problem, one that often can
be solved without seeking bankruptcy protection. “Doing
bankruptcy law you have to be not only proficient in
the legal theories, but you also have to understand
a great deal about how businesses are structured, how
they are financed and how to read a balance sheet,”
he says.
Santoro
does it better than most because he is a quick study
and is interested in how different businesses or industries
work, say colleagues and attorneys who have worked with
him. “Some lawyers are quick to pop them into bankruptcy,”
says Richmond attorney Everette G. “Buddy”
Allen Jr., who enjoys working with Santoro these days
instead of opposing him and regularly solicits his advice.
“Frank has helped to work out problems without
going to bankruptcy.”
When
it’s not possible to avoid bankruptcy, Santoro
works to maximize what’s available to creditors
and company owners. His reputation for fairness and
forthrightness is a major reason clients turn to him.
“The most important thing I’ve found is people
can deal with anything except uncertainty. That’s
what scares a lot of people or causes them to be uncomfortable,”
he says.
Bringing
order to a chaotic and frequently adversarial situation
is a key element of Santoro’s approach. It’s
also something that he tries to incorporate throughout
his life. From simple things, such as clearing his desk
of all work each day or setting aside two weeks for
a family vacation uninterrupted by work calls or e-mails
each summer, Santoro says his life is based on simple
discipline.
He
credits such discipline for helping to balance his life.
Santoro said he always attended his three children’s
athletic events — often coaching their soccer or
basketball teams. “The thing that’s fundamental
about being a lawyer for me is the variety and the ability
to help people. But it’s got to be kept in balance,”
he says.
Santoro
did not also envision specializing in bankruptcy. After
graduating law school at the College of William and
Mary in 1979, he clerked for a federal bankruptcy judge
just after the federal bankruptcy law was revamped.
During this period he realized the variety of legal
issues that crop up in bankruptcy cases. For Santoro,
bankruptcy law presented two significant opportunities:
It played to his long-standing interest in problem solving
and a desire to own his own business. He quickly hung
out his shingle.
Business
hasn’t always been good, but one benefit of specializing
in bankruptcies is steady work, because businesses are
always failing. And a weak economy can cause an uptick
in business. “Being a bankruptcy lawyer in a down
economy you tend to be busy,” he says.
Return
to Virginia Business - December 2003
|
