Personal bankruptcies almost always fall into one of two categories - Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.  As I know from having helped write the latest version of Indiana bankruptcy exemption law, these two types are, in a way, like the two sides of the income coin.  Simply put, consumers who have income might have the means to repay most or all of their debts over time.  Those who don't have income, either because they can't work or because they were laid off and haven't been able to find new employment, obviously can't repay their debts, and so they file Chapter 7 bankruptcy under which some of their debt can be discharged, or forgiven. 

In fact, during the more than twenty years I've been a bankruptcy lawyer in Indiana, one of the truly important functions of my work with clients is understanding the ins and outs of the "bankruptcy means test" so that I can advise clients which chapter of bankruptcy is most appropriate given all their circumstances.  While some clients have income from veterans' benefits or other government programs, it's fair to say that income and jobs are very, very closely related. And while most personal bankruptcies are the result of a combination of factors building up over time, job layoffs are certainly one of the big causes leading to bankruptcy along with medical costs and divorce.  The job market itself is changing, and finding new employment can be very challenging, as I wrote in It's Not Your Daddy's Job Market.

Some newspaper and magazine articles I've been reading lately talk about entrepreneurship in Indiana being up because of job layoffs - the idea being that people lose jobs, then start their own businesses.  Needless to say, it's not that easy; most people who lost jobs don't have enough money saved up to launch a business, and getting credit is a lot harder these days as well.  Sharon O'Donahue, executive director of Business Ownership Initiative of Indiana, interviewed for an Indianapolis Business Journal feature, advises getting creative.  "Today, it's about patchworking income - threading together sources of income that meet household needs."  I know one thing for sure: - clients emerging from bankruptcy will need to be especially creative as they work on rebuilding their financial lives, so the phrase "patchworking income" is likely to become an integral part of my discussions with my Indiana bankruptcy clients.

Always on the alert for good news about jobs in Indiana, I was happy to read about three developments in Indianapolis and neighboring Plainfield.  After almost twenty-five years of helping clients through the process of filing bankruptcy and then through the process of rebuilding their financial lives, I appreciate the high importance of job opportunities for these clients.

Wireless distributor Brightpoint Inc., I learned, is moving its headquarters from Plainfield to northwest Indianapolis.  The company will be occupying twice the space it now has in its new headquarters in Indy, while keeping its distribution and logistics facilities back in Plainfield.  More than 100 new workers will be hired. The great irony here is that Brightpoint was occupies space in Premier Properties, whose owner has filed bankruptcy (I wrote about this in Bankruptcy Auctions Scheduled For ATA And Premier Properties).

Just as Brightpoint is moving east, construction is beginning on a gigantic bulk warehouse facility in Plainfield in the AllPoints Midwest Park.  This is especially welcome news, given that the credit crunch nationally has made it difficult for many commercial developers to finance projects.  Even though there are no official tenants as yet, Duke and Browning already have financing in place for the twelve million square foot facility. 

Also in Plainfield, Amazon.com is in the process of leasing extensive warehousing space and is expected to employer 1200 workers during the coming two years.

I'll tell you, news like this brings a smile to the face of this Indiana bankruptcy attorney!

An Arizona company owns Tuchman Cleaners now, but most people around Indianapolis still think of the dry cleaning chain as a native son.  I know I do.  Tuchman has been laundering and dry cleaning clothes here for more than sixty years.  It was sad learning that Tuchman's owner, National Dry Cleaners, has filed bankruptcy in Phoenix.  Tuchman, with its 30 Indianapolis locations, is being put up for sale as part of the bankruptcy plan.

In my bankruptcy blog ATA Business Bankruptcy Plan Blown To Bits, I explained that, in a business bankruptcy, debts are not discharged by the court.  Instead, assets are sold to raise funds with which to pay creditors. Part of the reason for any business to file bankruptcy is to "buy time", enough time to sell some of its assets.  In the case of ATA, the efforts to sell assets while keeping the business running did not work.  In More Companies Coming Out The Other Side of Bankruptcy, I talked about three companies which were able to reorganize through the bankruptcy process and continue to do business with their customers.  I'm hoping the National Dry Cleaners story will end that way as well.  Meanwhile, I'm rooting for Tuchman stores to keep open, perhaps under new ownership. National Dry Cleaners CEO Ken Lyng remarked that daily operations at Tuchman will not be interrupted.

Having served as a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana for more than twenty years, I've helped clients through each of these steps of the bankruptcy process.  As part of that process, a company or individual will file a statement about the reasons they chose to turn to the bankruptcy courts for help.  National Dry Cleaners lists increased energy costs, environment cleanup costs, and the general economic downturn as factors that hurt their business.  Although my work concentrates on personal bankruptcy and small business bankruptcy (rather than on national chains), there are many elements common to all cases of bankruptcy.  You'll notice that the three main causes cited by National Dry Cleaners have nothing to do with mismanagement, theft, or scandal.  In other words, the problems were not due to mistakes made by the leaders or employees of the company.  All the causes originated outside the company and were powerful enough to impact the company negatively.

I see this very often when I work with small business owners who are forced into bankruptcy through circumstances basically beyond their control.  Whatever the size of a business, even with dedicated efforts to run it well, it can be overwhelmed by outside forces. It's so apropos, in a way, for us, particularly those of us in Indiana who think of Tuchman as uniquely Hoosier,  to hope is that the bankruptcy process will help National Dry Cleaners make a "clean" start.

In my earlier bankruptcy blog, Affordable Housing At Mapleton Park, I highlighted an affordable housing project in the Fall Creek area of Indianapolis.  I explained that, as a bankruptcy lawyer in Indiana, I take an interest in all news that affects my clients.  I'm especially interested in news about two topics: housing and jobs.  You might even say those are the twin pillars of the rebuilding process after bankruptcy.  In my work with the bankruptcy system for the past twenty-plus years, I often find myself dealing with job loss and with housing loss through foreclosure actions.  As I help my clients rebuild their financial lives after bankruptcy, we'll be working on gains.  And that’s when those two factors will serve as keys to success: the availability of good jobs and the availability of affordable housing.  That's why I was glad to read in the North Indy Star last week that another affordable housing project is planned, this one in the South Broad Ripple area.

Carreau Design has already gained city land-use approval for an $18 million development project in the 4900 block of North College Avenue, to be called the Uptown.  The building will include street level businesses, with three stories holding 72 apartments.   Meanwhile, a neighborhood association has been organized called College Avenue Neighborhood Development Organization - CAN DO! for short.  Resident Susan Smith, who helped get this organization together, says, "We aren't talkers.  We're doers."  What a great motto that is for redevelopment in general, don't you think?  Those words, and this Uptown project really resonate with me as a bankruptcy lawyer.  After all, isn't that what bankruptcy is designed to do?  Redevelop people's lives, that is.  I'm proud to say, together with my bankruptcy clients, we CAN DO that!

Part of the bankruptcy court process with which I have been dealing for the past twenty-plus years involves auctions. People usually associate auctions with estates, but often a bankruptcy trustee will convert assets into cash to pay creditors by holding an auction.  Two local companies have assets put up for auction within past weeks.  The first, ATA Airlines, closed back in April (seeATA Bankruptcy Plan Blown To Bits), but it took until a couple of weeks ago to wind up the loose ends in the company's headquarters.  Hundreds of ATA items are being auctioned off to the public here in Indianapolis at the headquarters on the west side of the city, but also in ATA's former Chicago office, all under order of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.  The items include office furniture and equipment, but also specialty aviation equipment. 

More recently, Premier Properties, the retail development company that owned the Metropolis mall in Plainfield, changed their plan to reorganize into a liquidation bankruptcy.  In this case, the auction will be held at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds.  The Premier auction will include assets of the business owner, such as scooters, electronic theater equipment, and exercise equipment.

As a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana for more than two decades, I've seen many different situations in which business assets are liquidated to satisfy debts.  As I explained in Yes, Your Business Can File Bankruptcy Without You, unlike personal bankruptcy, in which certain debts may be discharged (meaning legally forgiven in part or in full), the law does not provide for a business' debts to be discharged. All available assets must go towards repaying the creditors of the business.  With ATA, a publicly held corporation, the personal assets of business owners (in this case the shareholders) are not involved.  In the case of Premier Properties, where there was one principal owner, (developer Christopher White), the owner's assets may be involved as well.

The overriding principles behind the bankruptcy system are to provide a safety net that encourages entrepreneurs to take business risks and keep the economy moving, while at the same time fairly protecting the creditors who themselves took risks by lending money to those businesses.

Always alert for news that can be of use to my Indiana bankruptcy and foreclosure clients, I was very interested to learn about a tax provision spearheaded by Indiana Representative Baron Hill and Indiana senator Evan Bayh as part of the new housing bill.  In my earlier bankruptcy blog, Housing Bill Offers Help Avoiding Foreclosure, I explained the national housing bill just passed by Congress, which focuses on first time home buyers and on refinancing of mortgages.  In working on the tax break as part of the housing bill, Bayh and Hill wanted to help Hoosiers who are coping with declining home values and rising property taxes by adding a tax break for property taxes paid..

In order to understand this tax break, you need to know that up until now, only those folks who itemized their deductions on their federal tax returns were able to take a deduction for property taxes paid.  That meant that those people who claimed just the standard deduction couldn't get any advantage from having paid property tax.   Under this new provision, non-itemizers can deduct up to $500 of their property tax from federal taxes (families can deduct up to $1000).  It may seem like a small thing, but actually almost one million Indiana homeowners will be able to benefit from this break.

I talk with thousands of people in my bankruptcy law offices in Anderson, Bloomington, Columbus, and Indianapolis.  For some of these people, the new tax break will be "too little, too late".  In other words, the tax break will not provide them with enough savings to help them avoid foreclosure on their home or to stave off bankruptcy.  The way I see it, though, any financial benefit that can offer help to homeowners is an effort in the right direction.

Scanning the entertainment section of the paper the other day, I noticed that the Broadway hit "The Wiz" is playing in Indianapolis.  Now, I was not yet born when this story began, but as a consumer bankruptcy specialist in Indiana, I know the very interesting and sad saga behind the show. It all started with the book upon which this wildly popular play "The Wiz" is based, "The Wizard of Oz", which was first published in the year 1900.  The then 44-year old author was L. Frank Baum, and he enjoyed enormous success with his book - for a time.  In fact, within the first two weeks of publication, the book sold 10,000 copies, and the first year sales totaled 90,000. Then Frank Baum decided to expand upon his success, producing a very expensive slide show with an orchestra based on Oz.  Unfortunately, neither of those ventures was well-accepted, and when that show closed, Baum was forced to file bankruptcy.

The supreme irony about this tale is that, several years after Baum died, Samuel Goldwyn bought the movie rights to The Wizard of Oz for $40,000.  Today, more than a century later, you and I can attend the new Indianapolis showing of "The Wiz", which has delivered millions of dollars in profits, but of course too late to benefit even the descendants  of the imaginative author of Oz.

Even though the seeds of this bankruptcy were sown several generations before my time, as the adviser to many small businesses that file bankruptcy in Indiana, I understand only too well what happened.  Business owners - all business owners - take risks.  They invest their time, their expertise, and often their life savings in ventures which they believe have a good chance of success.  But sometimes, factors beyond their control undermine their chances.  It might be a general downturn in the economy or in their particular field.  It might be a medical problem that struck the business owner or a family member, or even an expensive divorce.  Quite often, decisions that you and I, in hindsight, might agree were solid at the time, turned out not have been so good given later circumstances that could not have been predicted.  The bankruptcy court system is there to serve as a safety net for just those reasons.

Every month or so, I like to keep my bankruptcy blog readers up to date on the job market in our state.  As a bankruptcy attorney serving clients in 38 Indiana counties with offices in Bloomington, Columbus, Anderson, and Indianapolis, I’m always on the lookout for news that has to do with the availability of jobs.  That’s because, as I’ve often explained, having a regular source of income and benefits is extremely important to my clients who are rebuilding their financial lives following a bankruptcy filing.  Clients who have filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy probably already have regular jobs, or at least sources of regular income, but it’s important that layoffs not derail their bankruptcy debt repayment plans.  Clients who have filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, on the other hand, need to gain control of their regular finances and keep bills paid.

Overall, Indiana has lost about 12,000 manufacturing jobs this year.  To put our situation in perspective, however, it’s important to mention that the 5.8% unemployment rate in Indiana is lower than that in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, or Ohio.

Negative news during the past month included the bankruptcy filing by Steve & Barry’s, a discount retailer in Washington Square and Lafayette Square shopping malls. Logistics companies, one of our strong suits in Indiana, are suffering from high fuel costs.  Two trucking companies have filed bankruptcy, Tradewinds (in Arcadia) and Icon Transportation (in Indianapolis).  Chrysler announced a plan to cut 1000 jobs.  (While they say most of the effect will be on jobs in Michigan, the cut could affect Chrysler's 670 salaried workers in Kokomo.) Indianapolis-based Davis Homes closed down for good, affecting not only their own employees, but possibly construction workers and suppliers from other firms as well.

On the good news front, Nestle is expanding its Anderson plant by 260,000 square feet, while Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is moving into a new building in the Franklin Tech Park.  Meanwhile, in Terre Haute, N.E.W. Customer Service announced it would create 480 new jobs by 1011.  In northern Indiana, Zimmer Corporation announced it will be needing at least 100 new workers. Right near where I live and shop, Nordstrom at Keystone Crossing Fashion Mall announced it will be hiring 250 workers to staff its new store.

Bankruptcy is all about rebuilding and fresh starts.  Observing all the changes in the job market in Indiana, I need to remind myself that sometimes demolition needs to be done before new structures can rise.  The advice I offer my clients - keep learning, seek training, plan the work and work the plan.

When it comes to jobs in Indiana (a subject in which I have an intense interest as I help my Indiana bankruptcy clients rebuild their finances), the president of the Fishers Town Council, Scott Faultless, hit the proverbial nail on the head:  "Businesses are looking to come to a site where they can find employees with the requisite level of education and the ability to get additional education close by" (Indianapolis Business Journal, July 14-20). 

The past couple of months, I've been writing in these bankruptcy blogs about new jobs that are being created all over Indiana.  The crucial thing, though, for people who've suffered job layoffs and are trying to avoid bankruptcy and foreclosure, as well as for people emerging after bankruptcy and trying to get their finances back on track, is that they must be able to qualify for these newer, high skill/ high tech jobs that are coming to our state.  I'm especially thinking of the folks who filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy, taking on a three to five year repayment plan.  Well-paid jobs are essential if these plans are to succeed.

Fishers, Indiana just hired Mark Long, who built I.U.'s Energy Technology Center, to spearhead the development of a new Research and Technology campus in Fishers.  Meanwhile Indiana has been adding bioscience jobs faster than all other types, in fields including medical devices, agriculture, medical research, and pharmaceuticals. Indiana now has almost 50,000 bioscience jobs.

The challenge will be to fill those jobs, not only with new graduates, but with retrained mature employees from manufacturing and other industries.  Training will be the byword for our state.  Training will certainly be the key for many of my Indiana bankruptcy clients as well as for those I'm helping avoid bankruptcy or foreclosure.

In my Indiana bankruptcy blogs, I've been sharing both good news and bad about the job market in different parts of the state.  As a bankruptcy lawyer, I have a very intense interest in jobs, which are a key factor for my clients as they rebuild their financial lives following bankruptcy.  While we Hoosiers have enjoyed quite a lot of excellent news on the economic development front, the airline industry has delivered another bad news blow.

In earlier blogs, (see ATA Business Bankruptcy Plan Blown To BIts and More On The ATA Business Bankruptcy Story), I noted that 560 Indianapolis workers lost their jobs when ATA shut down.  Now we learn that Republic Airways will eliminate 500 jobs in the next few months.  Republic focuses on a business sector different from the one ATA served.  ATA transported supplies and troops via FedEx for the Pentagon, while Republic flies on contract for big airlines (Continental Connection, Delta Express, American Connection, U.S. Airways Express, etc.).  These big airlines are reducing operations, hence the reductions at Republic.

Having served as a consumer bankruptcy attorney for close to twenty-five years,
I know all too well that job layoffs are one of the three leading causes of bankruptcy.  I also know that airline jobs tend a)to be on the higher end of the pay scale and b) to require skills not easily transferable to other industries (think about all the pilots, for example - Republic had hired 670 new ones not longer than a year ago!)

It's hard to keep planes soaring when oil prices are doing that.

With many of the financial woes I hear about (particularly in my Indianapolis bankruptcy law office) having to do with housing problems, it's nice to learn about a very successful Indianapolis affordable housing option.

Mapleton Park is a 25-unit apartment building in the Fall Creek area of Indianapolis.  This location provides affordable housing plus support services for homeless and very low-income families, including veterans.

The sponsor of Mapleton Park is Partners in Housing Development Corporation.  This group purchases buildings that are largely unoccupied and turns them into housing.  The funding for this particular project came from a Federal Home Loan Bank grant.

In my Indiana bankruptcy blogs, I always stress that the most important chapter of any bankruptcy story is the sequel, because that's the stage at which I help people rebuild their financial lives after emerging from bankruptcy.  I was happy to hear that Partners in Housing has the same idea.  Working together with the Homeless Initiative Program, Partners in Housing helps the homeless with employment and training opportunities so that those folks can become productive citizens again. As a bankruptcy attorney in Indianapolis and around the state of Indiana, I applaud initiatives like this one at Mapleton Park.

Just last month, the Pew Charitable Trust announced a new project.  The goal – to promote bank accounts for moderate-to-low income households.  Pew wants to help new, young depositors get started in banking, as well as people who’ve had trouble affording bank fees, stay away from check-cashing establishments and stop taking out payday loans.

In an earlier blog, Who Really Gets Paid On Payday Loans?, I explained that these loans are extraordinarily expensive for borrowers.  The Pew study estimates that “alternative financial services businesses”, including check-cashing establishments and payday lenders, are estimated to charge full-time workers an average of $800 per year in interest and fees, (often on a rotating balance not more than that number!).

As a bankruptcy attorney and consumer bankruptcy specialist for close to twenty five years in Indianapolis, I applaud the Pew effort.  Promoting safe financial services is more important than ever today. I see that people are having trouble covering food and gas prices and can’t spare money for fees to cash their paychecks!   In my bankruptcy law offices, I deal with people’s income and expenses every day.  One important part of my work in helping clients prepare to file bankruptcy through the Indiana court system is to assist them in organizing all their financial records, showing all their income and each category of expense.  Overall financial counseling and specifically debt counseling are an everyday aspect of my interaction with people in my four bankruptcy law offices.

I always advise people, when they pass signs advertising payday loans, to drive on by.    Once the Pew Safe Banking Opportunities Project is complete, I’ll be able to add, “Keep driving all the way to the bank!”

Since one of my Indiana bankruptcy law offices is located in Bloomington, I was particularly interested to read an Indianapolis Star editorial by Nate Feltman, Indiana Secretary of Commerce about the Cook Pharmica company centered in Bloomington.  Cook, a biotechnology company, has doubled in size, creating many hundreds of new jobs in our state.  This is partly the result of Governor Mitch Daniels' efforts, through the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, to "aggressively seek new job-creating investment in the life sciences," explains Feltman.  In addition to Cook Pharmica, a number of other life sciences companies have made thousands of new job commitments around our state.

In earlier bankruptcy blogs, I've explained that, as a bankruptcy lawyer in Indiana, I am vitally interested in our job market.  First of all, job loss is one of the leading factors in bankruptcy, Then, after the bankruptcy process, when my clients are working to rebuild their financial lives, it's crucial that they be able to qualify for what Gov. Daniels calls the newer "high-skill, high promise" jobs.  Of course, life sciences business in our state can lead to many other aspects of increased business.  As Cook Pharmica continues to expand its employee force, for example, there will be more people who have the money to eat in the local restaurants and purchase all kinds of products and services.  The entire area could feel the benefits of the success of this one major local company.

For clients filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy, their ability to qualify for higher paying jobs will be an especially important factor in their success.  That's because, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy involves a repayment plan.  The individual who has filed bankruptcy commits to a system of payments to creditors, spread over a number of years, under court supervision.  Having a regular, above average income will make this repayment plan easier to complete.  Once the repayment plan has been fulfilled, the debtor truly has the opportunity for a fresh financial start.  Directly or indirectly, life sciences business in Bloomington could be the beginning of a new life for many Bloomington debtors.

In several earlier bankruptcy blogs, I explained that one of the reasons I am such an avid reader of business and economic news has to do the job situation in Indiana. First of all, job loss is one of the big three factors that lead to bankruptcy.  Sometimes individuals or families are already stretched thin financially.  Perhaps it’s because of medical expenses or divorce.  Perhaps, along with those factors, their mortgage rate has just reset and their monthly payment is much higher.  Or perhaps their property was hit with the awful flooding we’ve had in the southern part of the state.  On top of one or more of these bad things, if they’re laid off from work, it can overwhelm the most financially responsible people.  Since I live in the state of Indiana and practice bankruptcy law here, I’m particularly alert for stories that have to do with the automotive industry, which has been such a central part of the Indiana’s economy.

While headquartered in Detroit, GM has, over the years, provided thousands of jobs for Indiana workers.  Just a few weeks ago, as I mentioned in Bad News Can “Wheel” Better News To Indiana, I caught a good news piece about the fact that one of GM’s Pittsburgh plants is closing, and GM is moving equipment from there to a stamping plant here on the west side of Indianapolis, possibly saving the jobs of the 900 workers there.

Then, just about two and half weeks ago, GM announced that a quarter of its U.S. hourly workers,  19,000 people, have agreed to take the company’s buyout offer or early retirement offer.  These workers will all be leaving by next week!   Now the company says it may hire up to 16,000 non-assembly workers at half the old wage (which was $28 an hour).  All three big auto companies have been restructuring their work force.  A month ago 4,200 Ford Motor Company hourly workers accepted buyout offers, and more offers are being made by both Ford and Chrysler. 

It’s interesting that each of these items could present both good and bad news to individual workers.  As I mentioned above, with already overstretched finances, many families will be dealt a terrible blow by having a breadwinner being laid off work.  On the other hand, lower paying jobs are opening up that can provide income for people who are now out of work altogether.   The ability for one of my bankruptcy clients to get a new job after a layoff, or for a single parent to re-enter the work force following a divorce, the process of re-establishing credit  after a bankruptcy – all these things depend on a healthy job market in our state. I advise everyone to get as much training as possible, to be flexible, and to stay hopeful.

When it comes to cars and trucks, it seems bad news has been wheeling into Indiana in force in recent months.  In the past two weeks alone, I found two rather pessimistic items in my issue of the Indianapolis Star having to do with vehicle manufacturing.

 First, Navistar announced it was temporarily closing its diesel engine plant on the east side of Indianapolis, which means 500 workers will be idled, and will receive paychecks 30% lower than normal during the time the plant is closed.  As a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana who reads and listens to news very carefully, I understand that sales of pickup diesel trucks have fallen as the price of diesel fuel has risen. Many people who had used pickups to tow RVs are cutting back on this type of travel. I also understand that even temporary layoffs will mean that hundreds of families are going to have a very hard time keeping the bills paid. 

The second bad news item I caught in the Indianapolis Star had to do with Ford Motor Company. The automaker announced it no longer expects to reach profitability in 2009.  Like Navistar, the company was hit with greatly reduced demand for pickups, plus SUV sales are way down with higher gas prices. And, like Navistar, Ford announced job cuts, including jobs for both white-collar and hourly workers.  Once again, I'm especially alert for employment news.  Job layoffs are one of the main causes of bankruptcy, along with medical bills and divorce problems.

In a happier twist, the Star had news about a third auto company, GM.  One of GM's plans in Pittsburgh is closing, and some very expensive large equipment from that plant is set to be moved here to a stamping plant GM has on the west side of Indianapolis.  This Indianapolis plant has cut its production in half in recent years, and the transfer of equipment could mean new life for this 2.1 million-square foot plant.  I am very, very interested in the fate of this GM plant.  There are still 900 workers there (down from 5000 in the 1980's), and to me that means 900 or more families might be given more of a chance to keep up financially.

In an earlier bankruptcy blog, Yet More Good News In Indiana, I explained that a healthy job market in our state is a very important factor in the work I do with bankruptcy clients.  The ability for a Hoosier to get a new job after a layoff, the opportunity for a single moms to reenter the work force following a divorce, and the chance for families to stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure - all these things depend on the employment market in our state" wheeling" along!   

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the ATA Airlines bankruptcy that completely shut down the company.  As a small business bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, I have an intense interest in stories about bankruptcy filings by Indiana companies.  As I counsel my small business bankruptcy clients, it's important to draw lessons from other companies that can help my clients avoid mistakes as they rebuild their businesses. Then, too, any time a company closes its doors, my individual bankruptcy clients can be affected.  Some may be laid off because they worked for ATA or perhaps for a company that was a supplier or customer of ATA. The decrease in employment opportunities will have an effect on how quickly my clients can get back on their feet financially following a personal bankruptcy. 

Here's the situation right now with ATA:  At the end of last month, a 341 meeting was held.  This is a special meeting, part of all bankruptcy cases, at which executives of the company are questioned about what caused the company to fail.  In my work as a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, I am involved in the bankruptcy process.  I use that word "process" by design, because, despite the myths, bankruptcy is not a one-day "event", but an orderly legal process with different stages.  I was personally involved in drafting changes to the Indiana bankruptcy statutes, and I know that the process, while certainly not perfect, is designed to have the courts arrive at as fair a settlement as possible.  That means trying to be fair to both the business owner(s) and the creditors who are owed money.  It also means, in many cases, trying to "save" a business and allow it to continue to operate to retain as many of its workers as possible, and to serve its customers.

The ATA story is an especially sad one, in a way, because the company was founded right here in Indianapolis thirty-five years ago.  Many attempts were made to keep the company going.  These strategies included selling ATA to Georgia-based Global Aero Logistics, and taking on government contracts to transport troops. Then, along with other airlines, ATA was hit with spiking fuel prices.  When it lost its government contracts, the airline simply could not keep going. 

I think one lesson small business owners can learn from ATA is to start working on strategies at the very first signs of trouble.  Sometimes a sale or merger can improve the situation dramatically.  With ATA, it just wasn't enough.  When consumer travel began to fall off, ATA diversified into other areas of business, another good lesson for all small business owners.  Again, with ATA, it just wasn't enough. Adverse market conditions just proved too strong for the company to keep flying.  And that's exactly where the Indiana bankruptcy process comes in as a safety net.

I've been writing a lot lately about the changing jobs market around the state of Indiana.  As a bankruptcy lawyer in Indiana for more than twenty years, I see a job market today that is very different from how things were when I first went into practice.  Nowadays, as I counsel with my bankruptcy clients, it is crucial for them, as they begin the process of rebuilding their financial lives, to be flexible.  That means many will need to be trained for the new types of jobs - in technology and distribution and life science more than manufacturing - that our employers will have to offer.  My main bankruptcy law office is in Indianapolis, but I have offices in Anderson, Bloomington, and Columbus, and I always stay alert for developments in the economy.  One of the ways in which I stay current is reading - newspapers, magazines, books, and other people's blogs.  I need to arm myself with information in order to provide up-to-date, meaningful advice to my Indiana bankruptcy clients.  Being a "news worm" is a way to do that, along with talking to lots of people and listening carefully to what they have to say.

Since the job market is a topic never far from my mind, I was fascinated to find an article in Esquire Magazine, called "You'd Make A Good President".  Apparently, in Great Britain, there was a nationwide appeal in the press for "tall people with athletic potential". The purpose of the ads was to recruit Olympic athletes for the 2012 London games.  The Esquire reporter comments that what fascinated him about this appeal was that it "eradicated self-selection from the process of achievement".  In other words, the project of recruiting athletes through a general ad operated from the belief that the average tall person might not realize he was perfectly designed to be an athlete!  The same logic might apply to jobs and careers in general, the author points out - most people don't know what they might be good at!  "People select careers that seem interesting or lucrative, but they enjoy only jobs for which they have an aptitude."  So, asks writer Chuck Klosterman in Esquire, what if instead of having people attempt to select and pursue careers, employers analyzed the nature of jobs, figured out which qualities were most central to success at those jobs, then recruited people who had those qualities?

"Neat!" was the word that came to my mind when considering Klosterman's job recruitment plan.  On a more serious note that relates to my work, I realized that many of my bankruptcy clients had actually chosen work for which they were personally well-suited.  Despite this fact, many clients became victims of changes in the economy that made their jobs obsolete or at least unsustainable.  In a way, these clients are being forced to re-evaluate their suitability for new careers they had never before considered.  Very much like the bankruptcy process itself, the changing economy offers people a fresh start.  Maybe it isn't exactly the sort of fresh start a person would have chosen.  But, hey, this is the way things are right now, and we all need to keep facing forward….

In earlier bankruptcy blogs, I wrote about the changing jobs market around the state of Indiana.  I explained why my Indiana bankruptcy clients, as they begin the process of rebuilding their financial lives, will need to be flexible and to get training for the new types of jobs that the state will have to offer.  As an attorney in Indianapolis (with offices in Anderson, Columbus, and Bloomington as well), I’ve watched our capitol city turn into a center for new technology.  The other day, in a magazine published by Indy Partnership, I read some impressive statistics about Indianapolis business.  The city and its suburbs serve as home to almost 2,000 information technology companies.  In fact, one of the fastest super-computers in the world is co-managed by Purdue and Indiana University.  Word is spreading that Indianapolis, which used to be known for manufacturing, is becoming a heartland for modern technology.  (While I love communicating through my blogs, some might call me technologically challenged; still, I know an important trend when I see one.)

As an avid reader of all business-related news, I was also very, very encouraged to read about a company called ANGEL Learning, a developer and marketer of online learning systems.  This company has been so successful in Indianapolis, according to the Indy Partnership article, it plans to double its workforce in the next two years.  News like that about job opportunities is music to my ears. Online learning can provide a way for my Indiana bankruptcy clients to train themselves for the new job opportunities that will be available for them as they re-enter the work force or make needed career changes. 

And, while there’s no plan for any career changes in my life, it looks as if I’m going to need to brush up on my technology skills if I’m to “get with the program” and participate in all the excitement to come.

Besides catching up with my spouse and kids, I try to use some part of each weekend to catch up on my reading.  A couple of weekends ago, I found food for thought on the editorial page of Indianapolis Business Journal.  As a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, I try my hardest to stay on top of economic news around the world and especially developments here in our state (as you know if you’ve been a follower of this bankruptcy blog).  Knowing all I can about what’s going on helps me give very useful, individualized legal and financial advice to all my bankruptcy clients. 

Every so often in my reading, I come across a tidbit of wisdom that isn’t so much news, as it is a new way of viewing the news.  That kind of reading helps me as well, because it opens my mind to new approaches to current problems and different ways to view the future.  The IBJ editorial was one of those thought-provoking, new-way-to-see-it, kind of articles.  It was titled “Pricy fuel isn’t all bad”.

The editorial talked about all the ways in which Hoosiers are “getting with the program”, meaning how they are accepting the unpleasant realities of rising fuel costs, but then striking out to find new opportunities to solve the problem. For example, a $100 million venture capital fund is being started to invest in “clean” technology, meaning alternative energy and “green” (environmentally-friendly) research.  When some technologies turned out to be disappointing, in particular corn and soybean based fuels, Indiana research teams went to work on other solutions.  An aviation fuel is being made from plant byproducts.  Fuels are being made from animal waste.  A plant is opening to turn wind into electricity, and Indianapolis Power and Light recently struck a deal to buy wind power.  A plant in Greenwood is being completed to make auto parts that improve fuel efficiency in cars.  These businesses, plus many others, are creating new jobs in Indiana.

As I processed all this information, the thought that came to my mind was that, when facing challenges, we can choose to channel our thoughts in one of three ways. We can keep avoiding the issue, running from the facts.  Second, we can cry and moan to everyone about how terrible things are, throw blame around or, worse, get bogged down in self-blame.  Last – and here’s why I found the article inspiring – we can roll up our sleeves and start focusing on the “OK, so now what?”  Working every day with folks facing bankruptcy, I know that their choices are almost always these same three.  Running away from looming financial issues, whether business or personal or both, doesn’t help solve anybody’s problems.  Blaming problems on the economy, on employment problems, on politicians, on partners, or on oneself – none of this helps.  Whether it is Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, whether it’s personal bankruptcy or small business bankruptcy, the purpose is offering a fresh start.  The real focus needs to be on the future, and on the solution rather than the problems.  In other words: “OK, so now what?”  

As I remarked in an earlier bankruptcy blog, this first third of 2008  has been a really mixed bag of news, with good and bad news coming from every direction.  As a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, it's important for me to stay on top of happenings in our state that can affect not only my own family, but all my bankruptcy clients from different parts of Indiana.  Happily, when it comes to the job market in the past two weeks, I've been hearing a lot more good news than bad.

In Plainfield, the news has to do with MD Logistics, which is a warehousing, distribution, and transportation company.  MD announced recently that it will be hiring 80 new workers to help handle its newest client Audiovox.

On the northwest side of Indianapolis, DCL Medical Laboratories announced some good news of its own.  The company plans to hire an additional 125 workers, to help keep up with demand from doctors' offices and pharmaceutical company customer needs. DCL formed a strategic partnership with Third Wave, a molecular diagnostics products manufacturer in Wisconsin.  Third Wave will keep a research lab at DCL's facility in Indianapolis and do joint research with DCL..

There was good news to savor from Michigan City, Indiana as well.  (With four offices serving 68 counties, I'm always on the lookout for economic news in all parts of our state.)  Trainor Glass, an Illinois-based company that manufactures and installs custom glass doors and storefronts, is expanding its national drafting center in Michigan City, which will mean as many as 25 new jobs there.

A growing job market in our state is a very important piece of the work I do with bankruptcy clients.  The ability to get a new job after a layoff is key in deciding whether a Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan will succeeds for a client. The opportunity for a single mom who has been a homemaker for the past few years to get back into the work force following a divorce is an important key to what options will be open to her following bankruptcy.  Whether it is possible for families to stay in their home and avoid foreclosure in large part depends on the job market.  So, as you can tell, this was a good news two weeks for me as a consumer bankruptcy specialist and bankruptcy attorney in Indiana. We could all use more news items like these!