"In connection with the closure of our business, we were faced with a variety of issues and claims from vendors, landlords and other creditors. Unfortunately for us, the proceeds we received from our 'going-out-of business' sale and the successful verdict in our lawsuit against the franchiser of our stores were insufficient to pay off all of the claimants. We went to Winthrop Couchot for assistance in negotiating settlements with vendors, protecting the assets we had from attachment and avoiding claimants forcing an involuntary bankruptcy filing on us.

"We found the attorneys at Winthrop Couchot to be outstanding. Besides being tops in their field, they possess a great deal of common sense. This was extremely helpful in getting the best results in our settlements with creditors. Their work saved us $100 in claims for every dollar we spent on the firm's time. We dealt with four different law firms in resolving the closure of our business and related litigation, and Winthrop Couchot was by far the most cost-efficient and effective firm we employed. We would use their services again without hesitation."

--President of a limited liability company that operated several large retail stores in the western United States

"We had a successful dental practice that we had built up over 16 years. We sold the practice and the buyer sued us because he claimed he couldn't 'make a go of it.' Unfortunately we hooked up with an attorney who gave us bad advice and twice improperly filed our Chapter 7 petition. In fact, the judge threw out the first Chapter 7 filing because it was done so poorly. We ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and eventually lost the case because of poor legal representation.

"The phrase, 'third time's a charm' certainly rang true for us. We retained Winthrop Couchot to handle our Chapter 7. We were able to keep our business and our house. Now our business is thriving again and our legal worries are behind us."

--Owner of a dental practice in Mission Viejo, California

"We filed for Chapter 11 over a note that came due for several million dollars from a development company. Winthrop Couchot helped negotiate a settlement that not only saved us about $5 million but did not cost us the loss of the property we were trying to develop. We have since sold the property at a profit."

--President of a Newport Beach, California real estate development company

"I'm a turnaround consultant. In 1985 a bank called me to help them recover a loan from a small public company. I retained Winthrop Couchot to assist me and have since used them on five different occasions. Most recently, they helped a Japanese client of mine that bought a large chain of office product stores. Winthrop Couchot helped them restructure and did a tremendous job over a four-year period."

-Mission Viejo, California-based crisis management consultant

"Our company had formed five different limited real estate partnerships in the late 1980s and early 1990s that for various unrelated reasons were each foreclosed on by our secured lenders. We retained Winthrop Couchot to put forth a Chapter 11 reorganization plan for each of the partnerships. Over a period of two years, the law firm implemented a very creative and sophisticated reorganization plan that was acceptable to our creditors. The total asset value for the partnerships was approximately $150 million. Without Winthrop Couchot, we would have lost millions of dollars. With the restructuring, we have had the time to lease out and ultimately sell the properties."

--President of a Newport Beach, California real estate investment company