James Montgomery

San Antonio Business Lawyer

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:29:51 +0000

“After taking business transactions apart in the courtroom for more than twenty years, clients (and opponents) began asking me to work on their transactions from the front and prevent the ten most common problems from ever occurring in the first place.”

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James Montgomery

I am the San Antonio business lawyer who works with people in buying and selling businesses, planning for the future, and to get out of financial trouble.

For the last thirty years, I have tried cases for plaintiffs and defendants in State and Federal courts from California to Texas to Delaware. I have been the advocate for individuals and small companies as well as companies in the Fortune 100. Those litigation cases have ranged from representing thousands of homeowners for broken plastic pipe in their homes to oil royalty disputes to breach of confidentiality agreements.

After literally taking business transactions apart in the courtroom for years, clients (and opponents) began asking me to work on the transactions from the beginning to try to prevent the problems from ever occurring. In that stance, I have helped buyers and sellers in the sales of businesses ranging from large retail stores and manufacturing facilities to insurance agencies. I have helped clients buy multi-million dollar, multi-story office buildings and and negotiate commercial lease agreements.

I work to improve the way my clients do business if that fits their goals. I help design corporate structures and business transactions to increase profit, minimize taxes, and make sure that assets are protected from lawsuits. Having filed many suits and obtain judgments, I have learned where the potholes will be.

My business advice programs are based on regular review and meetings in order to get to know the client’s business and plans in more depth than is possible in the normal “hire a lawyer only when in trouble”. It will cost a lot more for me to get you out of trouble than it would cost to keep you out of trouble in the first place.

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I have been named a SuperLawyer in Texas and featured in Texas Monthly.

My lawyer peers have granted me “AV” which is Martindale Hubbell’s (rating agency) highest peer rating for lawyers.

I have presented papers and spoken to audiences that range from service clubs to the State Bar of Texas Continuing Legal Education seminars. I was recently named Individual Finalist, San Antonio Ethics In Business Award, 2009 by the San Antonio Business Journal.

Settlement Credit Card Debt

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:19:00 +0000

Settlement credit card debt negotiation might be the cure for your overwhelming debt problem. If your debt is for the most part unsecured, it can be negotiated and settled.

You may be pressured to take out a home equity loan to pay down your credit card debt. Don’t do it. The credit card debt is unsecured and using home equity creates secured debt.

You will probably find that the credit card company will not negotiate with you as long as your payments are current. Unfortunately, you will probably need to stop making payments in order to get their attention. It should not be that way but that is the way the system works.

Six months from your last payment, the debt becomes worthless on the books of the credit card company. A window will open up around the fourth month when you may be able to negotiate a lump sum or payment schedule with the creditor.

The card company will probably make an offer that seems entirely unreasonable. They are unreasonable for the most part. Your offer must be something that you can actually afford to pay. Never give them your checking account number or allow a draft to be made from your account. Too many unscrupulous creditors then try to take out multiple payments or as much as they can from your account.

In addition, you must be sure that the settlement is confirmed in writing. There are forms available that you can use. One of the primary goals that you must have is to have the payment of the debt reported as “paid as agreed”.

If you were not comfortable negotiating or need advice concerning settlement credit card debt negotiation, call upon an experienced adviser to get advice. Be very careful in using credit card debt settlement negotiators and make sure that you thoroughly check out the background of the company, particularly with the Better Business Bureau.

Don’t hire any debt settlement company unless you have learned the five things no one will tell you but you must know about settling debt. Learn those by clicking here.

Related Blogs

Raise Your Prices

Tue, 25 May 2010 15:45:49 +0000

Your Prices Aren’t High Enough?

OMG! Economy is in the pits. Your sales are down. And your prices aren’t high enough?

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2010, the article “Raise Your Prices” was on page R6. Here is a link

The article talks about the Four Steps in raising your prices:

1. Identify Value Opportunities

2. Set Priorities

3. Align Price and Value

4. Get Cooperation

Unless your product is just simply a commodity, you can differentiate, specialize and charge based on the value to the customer, not the time of production or the value to you.

Remember the plumber who charged not for hitting the water heater with a hammer, but knowing where to hit!

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Use A Credit Card Debt Settlement Company?

Wed, 19 May 2010 23:19:55 +0000

Should you use a credit card debt settlement company?

On http://www.myfinanceblogonline.com/archives/credit-card-debt-seem-impossible-to-repay-if-you-have-over-10k-a-debt-settlement-makes-sense-2/comment-page-1/#comment-5498, the blogger made this comment:

If you have over $10k in unsecured credit debt there is legitimate help out there. Instead of going right to a debt settlement company you might have heard on the radio or television, it would be wise to use a debt relief network. This way you can be assured that you find a legitimate company in your state. Check out the following link for a list of legitimate debt settlement services in your state:

Even with a referral network you have to be very careful. If they want you to pay money into their bank account, start backing up. If it is not a trust account that is insured, start running away.

You can do debt settlement by yourself. If you need help, use an experienced debt negotiator.

Get more information

Related Blogs

Credit card debt dischargeable in bankruptcy?

Wed, 19 May 2010 20:55:10 +0000

I just saw this post at http://www.geekeroo.com/2010/05/bankruptcy-cant-claim-credit-card-debt-reason-for-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-166457

Am I the only one that thinks that when they made that law like 6-8 years ago that people can no longer claim credit card debt, It probably started this crisis. If they could still claim it, they would have a chance to start over and maybe even keep there homes. Why is no-one talking about this?

There is a lot of misinformation out there that credit card debt is not dischargeable. It is. You may have to file a Chapter 13 if you cannot meet the “means” test but usually a 7 can still be filed.

One should also consider debt settlement as an option before filing bankruptcy.

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Credit Card Debt Consolidation – Be Careful!

Sun, 16 May 2010 18:16:58 +0000

Phil Tirone, on his “The Bankruptcy Facts” blog http://thebankruptcyfacts.com/blog/debt-consolidation-companies/, gives some good insight into debt consolidation loans:

1. Some loans require collateral. Others charge sky-high fees but do not disclose these terms explicitly. Read everything—including the fine print—before signing a contract.

2. Some companies may call themselves nonprofits, but do not expect that a nonprofit is the best debt consolidation company. In fact, sometimes these nonprofits have less integrity than their for-profit counterparts. A nonprofit cannot make a profit, but it can pay salaries and bonuses to its employees. And sometimes, these nonprofits exist simply to give their workers an easy paycheck.

3. Never hire a company that does not offer in writing a guarantee to pay your minimum balances on time.

4. Verify the company’s certifications with third-party registrations.

5. Always ask for references.

6. Know the next steps. If you are unclear about what will happen next, don’t sign anything.

There are many issues to consider here. Will the interest be deductible? Will the unsecured debt become secured when that might not be a good idea?

Find out more. Check out the articles on this site under Credit Card Debt Settlement

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My New Book Is On Amazon!

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:31:02 +0000

The Montgomery Letter March 2, 2010

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:32:43 +0000

The tag line that I have on the back of my business cards is “Have Your Fired Yourself”.

If you have been following The Montgomery Letter, you have read the stories and advice about “firing yourself” from your business.

People usually laugh when they read that phrase because they are not really sure what I am asking them.

If you own a business, there are several ways to fire yourself and we are talking about freedom from the 60 to 70 hour weeks that many business owners find themselves doing EVERY week. When I interview prospective client business owners, we go through a series of questions about their involvement in the business. “If you take off a week, what will happen to the income of the business?” “Two weeks” “Three weeks”, etc.

Firing yourself can be implementing systems so that you only have to work 20 hours per week and do quality control rather than being the technician who actually does all of the work. The advantage here is that you keep good cashflow and the asset of your business.

Firing yourself can be preparing your business for sale or for transition to new management.

What “firing yourself” is really about is being able to have the time and the money to do the things that are important to you.

Let’s face it. Most people start careers and businesses to make money every month so they can pay the bills every month. Since the bills never stop, they continue with their careers and businesses. We are fully trained by society that that path is the one everyone follows.

Then you reach retirement age and suddenly you are retired. I was talking with a good friend at dinner the other night who mentioned that he now is facing mandatory retirement at a certain age.

So you are retired, now what do you do?

My point is simple. You need a plan, a business plan if you will, for how you will obtain time and money freedom. After all there is no rule that says that you are only allowed time and money freedom once you reach 55 or 60 or 67.

You cannot wait until then to have a plan anymore than you can suddenly decide you are going to sell your business in the next 60 days without making preparation.

Here is an interview with a financial planner who faced retirement and admits that she really can’t retire.

Read the story.

Hang out with Eagles and watch your business soar!

The Montgomery Letter – February 24, 2010

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:41:11 +0000

Are you using Social Media to get new clients or stay in touch?
It’s all about trust
Find out more here:

http://mashable.com/2010/02/24/social-media-trust/

Have you read the Referral of a Lifetime by Tim Templeton?

It has a roadmap to effective client contact
Buy your own copy here:

http://www.amazon.com/Referral-Lifetime-Networking-Bottom-Line-Blanchard/dp/1576753212/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267034307&sr=8-1

(I get no referral commission)

Settlement Credit Card Debt – Myth Or Real Solution?

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:59:11 +0000

- Myth Or Real Solution?

Experienced credit card debt negotiators will tell you that they deal with individuals who suffer from chronic stress almost every day. Chronic stress shows itself in a number of ways as physical symptoms, severe headache, churning stomach, sleeplessness, and even chest pain.

Settlement, credit card debt, is it feasible? Or is it really a myth circulated by scam debt settlement companies?

It is possible to settle credit card debt.

The financial reporting requirements for financial institutions and credit card companies require them to write off the defaulted debt which is an unsecured loan in 180 days. Now that does not mean that you do not owe the debt any longer. It simply means that the debt is now worthless on the books of the credit card company. That result does give opportunities for you to pay off debt at less than the full amount you owe.

If the debt is not collected in 180 days, most companies sell the debt for pennies on the dollar. When the sale occurs depends on the company. Some try to collect the debt themselves for up to a year and others sell the debt immediately. Experience tells one which company does what.

Once the debt goes to collection usually after three months, contact with the debtor accelerates. The contact can be demand letters, phone calls, etc. Some collectors even lie and tell the debtor that they are sending someone to do an asset investigation and that the debtor is required to produce documents. The range in collectors is very broad and unfortunately there are a few bad apples whose tactics are questionable, if not illegal.

Creditor calls come at any time of day if uncontrolled. Calls can be at home at early morning or during the evening or even on Saturday. Creditors even use automated calling systems to get an answer and then come on the line while the system is looking for another debtor.

What do you do? You can actually restrict contact by a letter to a creditor instructing the creditor not to call or contact you. There is specific language that should be used in the notice.

By restricting access, the stress of the collection process can be significantly reduced.

If you cannot deal with the pressure get someone in between you and the creditor, an experienced debt negotiator. By proper notice, all contact with the creditor will flow through the negotiator who will seek to settle credit card debt

Settlements depend on the company involved. Credit card debt settlement can range anywhere from 25 to 70% of the amount owed, if lump sum.

If you cannot do a lump sum, the settlement will need to be a higher amount.

Alternatively, you may not be in a position to pay even a percentage of the debt and you may need to consider credit card debt bankruptcy. The best advice is for you to seek out a good bankruptcy attorney and get advice on your particular situation.

You can learn more about settlement credit card debt and get a free report at Settlement Credit Card Debt

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