From: St. Louis, Missouri

Our distinguished January Member of the Month, Wendell J. Sherk – known for his sage postings and good humor to all NACBA members who frequent the listserv - has been a tireless advocate on behalf consumer debtors. Wendell is a partner in the firm of Sherk & Swope, a two-attorney firm that focuses almost exclusively on consumer bankruptcies in Eastern Missouri, predominantly in the metropolitan St. Louis area.

In addition to being an active participant on NACBA’s listserv, Wendell also participates in NACBA’s Amicus Brief Project. He is local counsel on the NACBA amicus brief in the Pyatt case in the 8th Circuit.  And he and fellow NACBA member Jim Haller filed an amicus brief on 910-day car interest rates in their district and obtained a pro-consumer result. NACBA members can view the amicus brief in In re Fleming (Bankr.E.D.Mo.2006) on the CWE.
 
Wendell has been lead attorney on several published decisions, including In re Mitchell, 177 B.R. 900 (Bankr.E.D.Mo.1994), which established in his District the right to strip-off an unsecured mortgage in Chapter 13 cases. Wendell notes that while this principle is almost universal now, it was, in 1994, still controversial. For Wendell the case was particularly satisfying because it allowed an elderly woman to save her home from GreenTree Financial, which she could not otherwise have managed.

Wendell feels that his most productive work in the past few years has been in his service on committees drafting local rules and procedures, local forms, and the evolving General Order implementing BAPCPA. For example, he helped draft and lobby for exemptions legislation, which was passed in 2003 by the Missouri Legislature.  The bill – the product of great collaboration and persuasion – was sponsored by a conservative Republican who had previously represented mostly creditors in bankruptcy court and championed in the Bar by Chapter 7 Trustee Rob Blackwell.

Wendell also finds the time to author articles for publication on a range of topics including Chapter 20 cases, joint ownership issues, and consumer issues in bankruptcy.  His personal favorite is “Putting the Fear of God into Bankruptcy Creditors: A Reply,” in which he defended tithing and charitable giving as an allowable expense in bankruptcy cases.  See 7 ABI.L.Rev. 625 (1999).  (Wendell wants to give credit for the excellent footnote research to the uncredited staffers at St. John’s Law School.)

Wendell received his B.A. magna cum laude in 1986 and his J.D. in 1989 from Washington University.   Reflecting on his law school days, Wendell recalls that his favorite areas of study were the ABCs -- antitrust, bankruptcy and copyright, but wryly notes, “in an on-going effort to avoid the terrible burdens of wealth, I chose the least profitable field to practice.”

In 2005 Wendell was jointly awarded with David Warfield, chair of their Local Rules Committee, the first-ever Bankruptcy Practice Memorial Fund’s Judge Brauer Innovations in Bankruptcy Award.  The BPMF is a local non-profit that provides education and support to the local bankruptcy bar, as well as assistance to Chapter 13 debtors who have difficulty funding their plans to conclusion.

Wendell is a devoted and enthusiastic member of NACBA and has attended all of the Annual Conventions since becoming a member in 2001.  “I find the listserv and on-line document collection invaluable to practice and, of course, it has fostered many new friendships.  Being able to consult with hundreds of practitioners and be kept current on developments in other districts has been the only way to survive BAPCPA for me.  And any ‘innovation’ was inspired by – or stolen outright from – the work of fellow NACBA members.” 

Wendell has a special message for NACBA members who do not participate in the listserv or CWE:  “Participating in the listserv is like belonging to a boutique national law firm with hundreds of members who share your specialty but never collaborating with colleagues.”

He has rave reviews for the annual meetings as well: “Annual Conventions are our nearest thing to a spiritual experience.  It is an annual Revival Tent, providing time to recharge your batteries, reconnect with friends, and be inspired to better work in the next year. I hope folks who joined to prepare for implementation of BAPCPA, as well as long-time members, will stick with the organization and help roll-back a bad law.  Rebuilding the Code, brick-by-brick.”

Asked to share a “colorful” story for this Member of the Month Profile, Wendell related the following:

“The most unusual personal/professional story I can relate is about my marriage.  I fell in love with a paralegal at a previous firm and, in lieu of facing sexual harassment complaints, I proposed.  The ceremony was performed by Bankruptcy Judge Barry Schermer at my wife’s church.  So we had a Jewish federal judge preside at the civil marriage of a beautiful young woman, a cheapskate nominally-Episcopalian man, together with his agnostic best man, in a side-chapel of a Presbyterian church.   As my extended family are Amish and I grew up with a Catholic mother, atheist father and Jewish godparents, this seemed perfectly natural to me, though.”

Wendell’s wife Rebecca works part-time in the law office, “translating lawyer-babble into normal human language” for his clients.  Avowed dog-lovers, most of their non-legal time is devoted to dog-related activities.