From: Paramus, New Jersey

Our October 2008 Member of the Month, New Jersey State Chair Marvin Wolf, is a solo practitioner with a debtor bankruptcy practice operating in both New Jersey and New York.  Marvin has two main offices in New Jersey - one in Newark and the other in Paramus - and several part-time satellite offices located elsewhere in New York and New Jersey in order to meet clients locally.  Marvin’s motto is: “have laptop – will travel.”  About five percent of his practice is corporate.  Marvin had worked for a larger bankruptcy law firm in the past, but prefers the solo life, which enables him to spend more time on each case: “I believe that fewer cases equal higher quality work, and that post-BAPCPA, debtors need more hand-holding.”

Marvin has written extensively on the new bankruptcy law for his local paper to educate the public that bankruptcy is not dead, and has helped fellow attorneys deal with panel trustee abuses. He also litigates in state Chancery Court for clients unable to file bankruptcy, providing them time to arrange for short sales.  Marvin  assists union members as an affiliated attorney with various union programs.    As a barrister member of New Jersey’s Bankruptcy Inn of Court, Marvin often meets with local judges and informs them of NACBA’s positions on bankruptcy issues.  He also belongs to the Essex County Bar Association, the Middlesex County Bar Association, and the Brooklyn Bar Association.

Marvin got into law through acting.  As an actor, he studied with Stella Adler and got his union cards very quickly (AFTRA, SAG, Actor’s Equity Association).  However, finding steady acting work proved a little more difficult.  To support himself during his acting years, he worked at various large law firms as a temp where, at first, he got into trouble for correcting the associates.  However, soon thereafter, the partners realized he was right and started to request his services because of his eye for detail and the ability to catch their mistakes.  Before long, he found himself doing some work for them, including drafting securities prospectuses.  Realizing that acting and law were not all that different, he pursued a paralegal degree at New York University and then obtained his JD at Brooklyn Law School.   Quips Marvin, “I suppose that makes me a method lawyer.”

Marvin joined NACBA in 2004, became a regular listserv participant and finds it to be “a skills library for everyday practice.”   Marvin has also participated in our annual Capitol Hill Day in Washington, DC, and is a regular at NACBA’s Conventions. Reflecting on his NACBA membership, Marvin commented that “The best thing about NACBA is, with NACBA, no solo is alone.”

Many NACBA listserv users know Marvin for his great wit, which was evident during NACBA’s logowear slogan contest.  Marvin submitted all of the slogan ideas listed here.  The top three were selected, earning him the distinction of having the greatest number of winning entries:

• NACBA: Ask Me About Bankruptcy (available on NACBA t-shirts)
• NACBA: Because Debt is Bad and Creditors Are Worse (available on NACBA t-shirts)
• NACBA: Why, yes, we do want to make a federal case out of it (available on NACBA t-shirts)
• In brightest day, in darkest night No creditor shall escape our sight. Let those who worship evil’s might  Beware our power – NACBA’s bite!
• NACBA: Because Bankruptcy Is Not a Dirty Word
• NACBA: Because debts won’t go away by themselves
• NACBA: Eat Steel and Die
• NACBA: Helping Debtors Get Better
• NACBA: Keeping Bankruptcy Alive
• NACBA: The Antidote to Financial Slavery
• NACBA: We Fight to the Debt

NACBA members who wish to purchase one of Marvin’s winning t-shirts (or other NACBA memorabilia) can do so at https://www.nacba.org/ecomm/user/merchandise.

In his spare time, Marvin writes a popular weekly commentary column for two of Essex County’s local newspapers – Local Talk News and Local Talk Newark – which have a combined circulation of about 50,000.

Marvin’s wife, Mila, often joins him at NACBA conferences.  Marvin’s son, Lenny, is a brilliant commercial photographer who shoots expensive weddings in exotic locations around the world. You can see his work at  www.lennywolfphotography.com (and also check out his blog).  

Marvin graduated in 1973 from the Stella Adler Theatrical Conservatory (1973), received a BBA cum laude from Baruch College, CUNY in 1974. In 1990, he received a paralegal diploma from NYU, graduating first in class, and then in 1995, his JD from Brooklyn Law School, where he participated in the Evening Session Moot Court Honor Society, was an Evening Session Vice Magister for Phi Delta Phi Legal Ethics Fraternity, and received an Am Jur Award for Legal Writing.  Marvin was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1995, the New York bar in 1997, and to U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. 

Marvin’s advice to fellow NACBA members: “Don’t give up.  Every time I’ve found myself over my head or thinking I didn’t know enough (or even know what I was doing), it turns out the other side wasn’t that much better off and I was able to make up for it with hard work.  In law school, they taught me that “big doesn’t mean smart” when it came to fighting tall tower law firms.  They were right.  Every fight is a roller coaster – sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down – just hang on for the whole ride, sweat the details and you’ll usually come out okay.  Fighting for the good guys doesn’t pay nearly as much as it should, but emotionally, it’s more rewarding.  When I look in a mirror, I like who I see – and that’s my definition for success.”