Communication strategies, financial crisis management, negotiation techniques, and litigation and bankruptcy tactics told through the stories of a loan workout and financial restructuring consultant. How do you protect yourself, or your clients, or your family and friends from aggressive creditors, lawsuits, and bureaucracy? When do you need protection from the advice of your own advisors and friends? Debt & Circuses is a true story of seven years of loan workouts, lawsuits, and bankruptcies during the Great Recession (2009-2015) and beyond. Debt & Circuses explains real-world negotiation strategy and courtroom tactics through the true stories of finance and accounting advisors, lawyers, and courageous entrepreneurs who followed the counter-intuitive, asymmetrical, and risky advice of a few creative consultants. Debt & Circuses demonstrates, through first-hand experiences, effective methods of: Preparing the mind (and your assets) for conflict. Coping with emotional pressure tactics. Responding to unreasonable demands constructively. Understanding why victory or defeat in court can be irrelevant. Preventing the two things that produce an unfavorable outcome. Negotiating with inferior bargaining power. Going on offense against an opponent with unlimited resources. Capitalizing on bureaucratic failures. Avoiding the big mistake made by all companies in financial distress. Clay Westbrook is an attorney and consultant who spent six years involved with over 100 loan workout cases, dozens of lawsuits and business bankruptcies, and $100s of millions of bad debts. He advises clients on business breakups, litigation and bankruptcy strategy, and negotiating with taxing authorities and governmental entities. He saw many spectacular wins in unlikely circumstances, learned valuable lessons from a few disappointing losses, and drew inspiration to tell the story from one woman’s experiences with debt collectors that destroyed her family and her future. “‘The mortgage company told us that we weren’t allowed to file for bankruptcy. They said it wasn’t an option,’ Maria explained. She didn’t realize what this meant. The mortgage company didn’t just lie to them; they violated state and federal laws in doing so. We might have had a case, or at least an issue to run with, which is usually enough. But it was too late.” The consultants quickly learn that to save their clients, they have to forget about “doing the right thing,”forget about the legal merits of the case, and forget about logic. The solutions come from psychology and math, human nature, and realizing neither side understands (nor cares) what the other side is saying. “After witnessing it firsthand many times, accomplishing the impossible takes specific knowledge, character, and action. As simple as it sounds, you rarely see all three when the cards are down. If they don’t have all three, they lose.” Achieving success against long odds is more than “when to stop paying,” or “if the bank files a lawsuit,cut your settlement offer,” or remembering to stash the Ferrari at a covered garage in Reno if the bank gets a judgment. Debt & Circuses shows: How to know and have the confidence to trust your instincts under pressure. How human nature affects the strategies and results conflicts are never “just business” and are always personal. Ways to identify and avoid traps lawyers, advisors, and others miss. The one principle that explains the entire process. Through the experiences of business owners and advisors, and the entertaining, if not ridiculous,stranger-than- fiction situations in which these people found themselves, Debt & Circuses provides essential knowledge and skills for surviving financial distress, and serving clients whose future depends upon your advice. “You are not alone. Don’t be frightened, and don’t feel hopeless. We will never, ever give up.”

Do you know that millions of dollars of debt are collected illegally every year? Do you know that it may be possible for you to receive a payment from a debt collector or creditor for legal damages? The Secret World of Debt Collection shows readers how they can reduce their personal debt and possibly win thousands in legal compensation. I wrote this book because it’s only fair that you find out what you’re really up against when it comes to consumer credit, finance, and collections.

Attorney and former debt collections CEO, Mike Cardoza wants you to know that what you might think is an impossible situation is not. Mike Cardoza is the most senior executive from the consumer credit and finance industry to publish such a comprehensive account on the vulnerabilities and shortcomings of American consumer credit and debt collection companies. A former CEO and Executive Vice President in debt collections, he lays bare the economic realities of the U.S. credit and collections system that virtually ensures that millions of dollars of debt are collected illegally every year.

College students are facing many issues today and the main one being student loan debt! Student loan debt is at $1.2 trillion and growing! Debt Sucks! is for the college student who is looking to win with money so they can pursue their dreams! Ja’Net Adams shows the reader step by step how she paid off nearly $50,000 of debt in 2 1/2 years! In Debt Sucks! there are tips on how pay off student loans and other debt quickly while in college and after. The book also encourages college students to stand out from the crowd so that they can land internships while they are in school and valuable careers once they graduate.

This casebook introduces students to the major instruments issued by corporations for funding and risk-management, including money market instruments, bonds and notes, junior and senior equity, government securities, futures, options, swaps, and other financial derivatives. Moving beyond the issuance market and instrument design, the book situates these instruments in their trading markets, giving students a comprehensive understanding of financial markets. The selected cases and materials highlight financial history, market structure, accounting standards, and a lawyer’s professional standards. Chapter objectives help students to track their progress. This edition has been updated to reflect recent financial reforms.