Catch the Podcast of the February 4, 2012 – Word of the Day – “Irrational – Current News, New Foreclosure Rules; Uptick on the Economy and Real Issues Affecting Small Business

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Is Our Nation’s Future in Jeopardy?

Nation’s Future 10.13.11DetroitJewishNews-1 (Column appearing in Jewish News – 10-13-11)

Is Our Nation’s Future In Jeopardy?

Ken Gross

October 13, 2011

Many of us marvel at and are frustrated by the troubling economic problems of the era. Without question, these are serious problems and the prospect of a short-term solution is dim. We have suffered horrific losses to our net worth — by virtue of the real estate freefall and a recession that, for all intents and purposes, is starting its third year. We wonder and debate — what should we do as individuals and as a nation?

In recent weeks, I’ve pondered the future of our nation as I witness a deploable commitment to partisan politics and deadlock among our elected representatives. I say to myself,“As a nation we are only 235 years in existence. The Roman Empire lasted more than 2,000 years before its arrogance claimed its lifeline. What chance do we have?” At first blush — my conclusion — “It’s not looking good.” Last week, I happened to watch the newly released miniseries The Kennedys and gained a different perspective. I was reminded of the turbulent ’60s — the fight against communism, the battle over civil rights, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam and our loss of cherished leaders who stood for principle beyond economics — Jack, Bobby and Dr. King. I realized that other than the era beginning post-Vietnam and abruptly ending on Sept. 11, 2011, we have been at war, on its verge or just beyond its conclusion, or in the midst of some form of economic trauma or civil rights controversy for our entire history. Ultimately, we face and overcome these problems, and it is usually because leaders emerge that have the guts to stand for what is right and are able to overcome those who seek to perpetuate the mistakes of the past.

As we age, we gain the benefit of experi-ence, as well as the knowledge that our insight and what we know is limited by our experience — which also applies to our elected representatives and pro-claimed political leaders. So what do these revelations mean and how to they bear upon the financial crisis? Since controversy is part of our American way of life, we should embrace it rather than fear it. We must question those in authority that demonstrate an unwillingness to seek new solutions and simply continue to preach unsupported claims of the past. We need to take such action that we can to improve our situation — and we need to take such action based upon the current times without regard to what others think is the right thing to do. Individually, this means looking at opportunities to recoup the losses sustained as a result of the economic disaster that has ensued, by shedding debt and seizing opportunity. As a country, the time is now for leadership — for someone to emerge that fears not what to say because of political expediency — a leader who can reach to our nation’s soul and carve a path that addresses what is best for our future.

Ken Gross is an attorney with Thav Gross and host of the Financial Crisis Talk Center, a radio program that airs weekly at 10 a.m. Saturdays on WXYT 1270 “Talk Radio.”

The Opportunity Exists – Ken Gross Column – Jewish News – Sept 8, 2011

This applies to so many — but you need to recognize it and act on it!

The Opportunity Exists AL (9.8.2011)

Podcast of May 28st Show – Word of the Day – "Uneasy" – Why you should not use a National Tax Service

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Ken Gross named Michigan Leaders in the Law 2011

http://milawyersweekly.com/news/2011/02/28/kenneth-l-gross-leaders-in-the-law-2011/

Michigan Lawyers Weekly

Kenneth L. Gross – Leaders in the Law 2011

POSTED: 02:16 PM Monday, February 28, 2011
BY: Edward Wesoloski, Esq.
TAGS: 2011 Leaders in the Law

Kenneth L. Gross
photo by Mark Bialek

Thav, Gross, Steinway & Bennett, P.C., Bingham Farms
Education: Wayne State University Law School, 1982
Specialty: Financial crisis management, business law, estate planning

Kenneth L. Gross, co-founding shareholder of Thav, Gross, Steinway & Bennett, P.C., puts a lot of people back on their feet after they’ve had the financial rug pulled from underneath them.

In the process, he’s evolved the law practice that he and Charles Thav founded 29 years ago, the day after Gross graduated from law school.

For many years, he said, Thav Gross “was a normal business practice.” The bulk of the work was mergers, new companies, contracts and commercial disputes.

Then, in 2008, the national economy melted down, unemployment shot up, and the real estate market crashed.

“A lot of people connected to the real estate market were put out of work,” Gross said.

In response, he led the firm to a new type of practice: financial crisis management.

“We had a tax collection defense and bankruptcy practice, so we rechanneled the focus and expanded it from a standpoint of what’s going on the economy,” he explained.

“The real estate developers, the mortgage brokers, the trade workers, the suppliers — all those people have suffered horrendous losses as a result of the housing crisis. They’re fighting for survival. They’re trying to save their homes. They’re trying to figure out how to put food on the table.”

This troubled Gross. He also was frustrated by “the arrogance and the lack of practically the banking industry has displayed with regard to the mortgage crisis.”

When homeowners are underwater with their mortgage and their income drops, “it would make more sense to renegotiate the principal and let the people stay in there,” he said.

“But the lending market and the banking industry absolutely refuses to recognize any concept of principal reduction.”

So Gross views his advocacy as if “it’s almost a war, an ‘us versus them’ mentality in terms of the banking industry.”

But, he added, “what’s incredibly interesting is all of the possible ways to improve a bad situation that we’ve learned by doing.”

Gross’ approach is to assess a client’s particular circumstances and determine which creative combination of the available tools — bankruptcy, debt settlement, loan modification, short sale tax relief — will work best to resolve the client’s problems.

This approach has worked well for his clients in many instances.

Gross’ business strategy has worked well for his firm.

Due to the slow economy, fewer clients seek “pure” business services and many more clients seek help with their personal financial circumstances.

Gross is invigorated by the shift in focus, saying, “I used sit there sometimes and say, ‘Is there any good that I do as a lawyer?’

“When I’m engaged from a pure business standpoint, I’m doing good for my client. But when you start moving into this financial crisis area, where you’re trying to help and solve people’s problems on a long-term basis, it is more inspiring and in some respects it’s more fun.

“I think I’m more charged-up about practicing law now than I’ve ever been,” he said.

Though he admitted feeling guilty at times about being too impatient to bring about the result he’s after, “I’ve learned over the course of time that you need some level of impatience to stay on track.”
By Ed Wesoloski, Esq.

Ken Gross to appear on Detroit Wants to Know – WADL TV 38 – Xmas Day

Ken Gross along with Robin Thompson, from Budge Wise Consulting are guests Christmas Day  on  Steve Hood’s new hot show Detroit Wants to Know. Tune in at 7:30 PM on Saturday, December 25th – Channel 38 – WADL TV Detroit

Catch Ken Gross Interviewed by Alisa Zee from Sunday 12/3 Radio FM/AM

Listen here  to Aliza Zee – The Alisa Zee Fan Club ‘s interview of  Ken Gross from The Financial Crisis Talk Center on the current state of the Financial Crisis – Banks, houses underwater and credit card debt are covered.  This interview aired on Sunday, December 5, 2010 on on WOMC, WYCD, WXYT-AM, 97.1 and 98.7 AMP – Part 1 Part 2

Ken Gross Interviewed by the Examiner.com – Detroit

Check out Lori William’s interview of Ken Gross in the Examiner – Will Santa Bring an end to the Housing Crisis for Christmas?

Thav Gross in the Wall Street Journal ..

By ROB JOHNSON

For many entrepreneurs, phoning an attorney summons images of a ticking clock and mounting bills. Now law firms are trying to win new customers by offering deep discounts for start-ups.

Some firms are offering small businesses a flat monthly fee rather than charging them by the hour. Others offer flat rates for certain services, such as handling the paperwork for starting a company.

Many small companies say the discounts are a big help at a time when budgets are tighter than ever. Ray Case, a plumbing contractor in Ann Arbor, Mich., says flat fees from attorney Ken Gross proved precious as he journeyed through bankruptcy court, folding one company and forming another. He paid $10,000 total for at least 100 hours of work, and estimates he saved at least $15,000 over typical hourly rates.

“When you’re basically out of money,” says Mr. Case, “you can’t give an attorney a blank check.”

Born of Necessity

The impetus for these deals is simple: Lawyers need to drum up more business, but many entrepreneurs can’t afford traditional payment plans these days. “The economy has melted down, and a lot of work we’re doing is for people on a tight financial budget who can’t commit to an hourly fee schedule,” says Mr. Gross, managing partner at Thav, Gross, Steinway & Bennett PC in suburban Detroit.

Mr. Gross, whose firm started offering flat rates to small businesses in 2005, says his small-business clientele in the first half of 2010 was quadruple that in the same period of 2005. “You have situations where people got buyouts and had little nest eggs of money,” he explains. “They’re trying to replace income from the jobs they lost.”

Sadly, he says, there’s another reason demand is booming: Many small-business clients, like Mr. Case, need help with debt resolution and bankruptcy-related matters, rather than with starting up.

The deals are springing up across the country. In New York, MasurLaw offers small businesses a flat rate, starting at $500, for services such as help with launching a company. Senior partner Steven Masur says that “when the recession hit, we felt that predictable pricing would take the guesswork out of legal fees,” raising the comfort level of potential clients and fostering continuing relationships with them through their early days.

In Blacksburg, Va., Creekmore Law Firm PC introduced a plan last year that charges small businesses a flat rate of $75 a month, after an initial fee of $750. “Some small-business owners would come in for an initial consultation, find out our hourly fees and wouldn’t come back,” says Keith Finch, an associate at Creekmore. “They’d just disappear.”

Proceed With Caution

To be sure, there are some potential hazards for small businesses in going this route. Joseph DeWoskin, chair of the American Bar Association division that specializes in issues facing small law firms, advises entrepreneurs to check references and get promises in writing. Be careful, he says, of “the bait and switch, where they tell you they can do it for this price and then say they can’t.”

What’s more, you can’t expect attorneys to do everything for a flat rate. Most lawyers who offer these deals set limits for what the discounts cover. For example, Mr. Finch excludes some potentially time-consuming legal work from his small-business price, such as suing or defending against litigation, and giving tax advice.

Further, some law firms insist that their discounted services for entrepreneurs be conducted on the phone, rather than consultations in their offices, to speed up the conversations. Others want much of the work to be done via email. That might make for a distant relationship between lawyers and clients.

Some entrepreneurs, however, say that they don’t mind, since they’ve gotten used to dealing with customers that way to save time. Rafe Steinhauer, president of Benefeast LLC, a White Plains, N.Y., company that raises funds for nonprofit organizations, says long-distance contact works fine once a sound relationship is established.

“You don’t have to keep making special trips to the lawyer’s office,” he says.

Mr. Johnson is a writer in Roanoke County, Va. He can be reached at reports@wsj.com.

Ken Gross on Fox 2 News with Robin Schwartz on the latest announcement of help for homeowners …