Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Why You Should Hire Me And My Law Firm To Represent You

Here are the highlights of why you should hire me and my law firm to represent you in the SSH matter:

1. We are Certified Specialists in Bankruptcy Law and this is a bankruptcy matter. I am Certified as a Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the California Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. My Senior Associate Attorney Gail Higgins is Certified as a Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification. To see my resume, follow this link: http://www.bankruptcypower.com/resume.html.

2. We have substantial experience in bankruptcy law (26 years of experience for me). This includes handling major fraud cases and suing lenders to discharge student loans.

3. We are top rated attorneys. Martindale-Hubbell publishes peer review ratings regarding an attorney’s legal ability and ethics. I have been awarded their highest rating, "AV," A for excellent legal ability and V for very high ethics. My firm and I have had this rating for more than 15 years. This can be independently verified by you by going to Martindale.com or go directly to the webpage with my profile http://www.martindale.com/Michael-J-Berger/77858-lawyer.htm or the web page with my law firm's profile

Here is more information about the Martindale-Hubbell pier review process as posted on the Martindale.com website:
"For over a century, lawyers have relied on the Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directory for authoritative information on the worldwide legal profession. The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ play an integral role in this service to the legal community.
Buyers of legal services, as well as those making referrals, consider Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings invaluable when evaluating a lawyer. Whether choosing between two equally qualified candidates or looking for counsel in another jurisdiction, lawyers and consumers need to have confidence in the individual under consideration. Using ratings, they can select counsel with superior ethics, as well as the desired level of professional experience.
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings attest to a lawyer's legal ability and professional ethics, and reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and Judiciary. They appear in all formats of the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, in the online listings on martindale.com, on the LexisNexis® services, on CD-ROM, and in print.
An objective way to assess a lawyerA Martindale-Hubbell rating guides buyers of legal services and those referring business in making faster, smarter decisions. A rating's third party validation of ethics and legal ability provides that extra level of confidence that the right lawyer or firm has been selected. By combining a rating with a review of other data in a lawyer's Professional Biography - such as practice areas, bar memberships, professional affiliations, education and clients - a person can be certain he or she has made the right choice for that particular legal matter.
A cooperative effort with the legal professionMartindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are established by lawyers. The legal community respects the accuracy of ratings because it knows that its own members — the people best suited to assess their peers — are directly involved in the process"

4. Our clients consistently give us 5 star ratings and tell the world about how we have helped them. To verify this, go to the City Search Los Angeles website and look up Michael Berger in Los Angeles, or go directly to this link:
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/review/41833096?rpp=20&providerSource=cs
These reviews are independent reviews and are posted on an independent website.

5. We are geniuses. Both Gail Higgins and I are members of Mensa, the International High IQ Society.

6. We are compassionate. We enjoy helping people. This is why I chose to be a bankruptcy lawyer. This is why my Senior Associate Attorney Georgeann Nicol does the AIDS ride every year, riding her bicycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles and raising tens of thousands of dollars to fight AIDS in the process.

7. We are high energy people, and we put that energy into helping our clients. I am a 17 time Marathon finisher with a Boston qualifying personal best time of 3:24:18 set at the St. George Marathon on October 7, 2006. I will be going back to Boston this April 21 for my 5th Boston Marathon. Senior Associate Georgeann Nicol paces others in Marathons, teaches spin, and is an Ironman Triathlete.

8. We are the overwhelming choice of the Silver State Helicopter Students. As of today, more than 700 SSH students have hired us to represent them in the SSH case. This is far more than every other law firm combined. The combination of our experience, intelligence, compassion, hard work and reasonable fee has made us the choice of SSH students from every location across the Country. Again and again, students who have done their research and consulted their attorney friends have chosen us.

9. Attorney Peter Lown of Jonesboro, Georgia has given us his unqualified endorsement and referred his SSH clients to us. Mr Lown represented approximately 40 SSH clients, making him the attorney with the third largest group of SSH clients, behind the Law Offices of Michael Berger and the Dan Reed/Harward & Associates firm. On Tuesday, March 18, Mr. Lown sent the following e-mail to all of his SSH clients:"Folks:I have been continuing my investigation and research on the evolving situation with Silver State post bankruptcy. In this vein, I have reviewed and spoken to two other law firms stepping up to represent former Silver State students, the Brown, Dean law firm in Texas and the Berger law firm in California. At this point I feel you will be better represented by one of the other firms and it is my recommendation that you all sign-up with the Berger Law firm without delay. I have reviewed Mr. Berger’s qualifications and discussed his litigation plan with him. I believe Mr. Berger is eminently qualified to handle this litigation and he has now signed up over 400 other students. There is considerable strength in numbers, and Mr. Berger has already made a considerable investment in the case. I also met two of his attorneys at the bankruptcy 341 hearing and they were very aggressive and on target in their questioning. I will be refunding any remaining trust funds and I plan to have the meeting with you scheduled for April 6th at the usual location in Casa Grande.Pete Peter Charles LownHARRINGTON & LOWN9425 South Main StreetJonesboro, GA 30236-6023Tel.: 404-520-0171Fax: 404-506-9149"Earlier that same day, Mr. Lown sent me the following e-mail:"Michael:Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. With the information you have provided regarding your plan for litigation against the various parties involved the Silver State operation and your substantial client base, I am convinced that you are best positioned to represent former Silver State students in attempting to make them whole. I will be recommending that the 40 clients Randall Stone and I represent in Arizona retain your firm to continue their litigation with Silver State. I am very pleased that someone of your ability and determination has come forward to help these people.I am looking forward to working with you.PetePeter Charles LownHARRINGTON & LOWN”

Attorney Steven Sayler of San Diego, with approximately 20 SSH students, has followed suit and has referred all of his SSH clients to us.

10. Our flat fee of $800/SSH client is the only flat fee being offered by any law firm, and is by far the most reasonable fee. There is no hourly fee, no contingent fee, and no chance of us asking you for any more money on this matter, ever.

11. We have already been highly active on this case. For example, when other attorneys stayed home, we sent our 2 Senior Associates to the First Meeting of Creditors in this case, and took a leading role in the questioning of the debtor. For more information about this and our other work on this case, check out my blog http://www.bankruptcypower.blogspot.com/

12. Our 4 part plan of attack makes sense:

A. Assisting with filing a proof of claims and assisting the Trustee and Office of the United States Trustee in actions to recover fraudulent and preferential transfers so that assets can be brought into the SSH bankruptcy estate for the benefit of creditors.

B. Negotiating with AES, Student Loan Xpress, KeyBank and Citibank re discharge/voiding of loans made to our SSH student clients and the filing of one or more Adversary Proceedings in the SSH bankruptcy to accomplish this.

C. Cooperate with all governmental authorities interested in criminally prosecuting and fining all individuals and entities criminally responsible for the disappearance of tens of millions of dollars in student loan funds.

D. Investigating every government program, state and federal, that may provide relief to our clients.

13. We take the time to answer every phone call and every e-mail.

There is much, much more to say, but I think that is enough for now. We are the law firm that is best qualified to represent SSH students.