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Weiland, Golden, Smiley, Wang Ekvall & Strok LLP - Costa Mesa Lawyers Write Bankruptcy for Businesses Book, and It's Needed More Than Ever!

COSTA MESA, Calif., July 22 PRNewswire — With real estate-related bankruptcy filings reaching record numbers, businesses have turned to the largest specialty bankruptcy firm in Orange County, Costa Mesa-based Weiland, Golden, Smiley, Wang Ekvall & Strok LLP, and the firm is the busiest it's ever been.

The firm's legal expertise has earned its reputation, locally and nationally, as an authoritative voice on all issues of business bankruptcy. As a result, Entrepreneur Media, Inc. approached Evan D. Smiley and Lei Lei Wang Ekvall, attorneys and partners at the firm, to co-author Bankruptcy for Businesses, The Benefits, Pitfalls and Alternatives.

"We saw a void in the books and sources available for business owners to go to for answers to common questions about bankruptcy," according to Wang Ekvall. "So, when the publisher approached us, and asked if we would be interested in authoring this book, saying yes was an easy decision."

Bankruptcy for Businesses, The Benefits, Pitfalls and Alternatives is a must-read for small to medium-size business owners considering bankruptcy relief. Written to the average business owner, it provides an overview of the general perils and benefits of bankruptcy, enabling business owners to gain an understanding of the process before choosing to enter into it.

"Having a general awareness of the bankruptcy process allows a business owner and management team to better prepare for, and gain advantage from, what can be a costly, time-consuming, labor-intensive and distracting endeavor," said Smiley. "I'm pleased that the book is out at this juncture, and believe that the timing is right."

Published by Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 2007 and distributed by McGraw-Hill, with a CD-ROM package, the book details bankruptcy procedures, alternatives, and prevention strategies for small to medium-sized businesses (It is assumed that the business is a corporation, partnership, or some other formal legal entity).

Wang Ekvall and Smiley give information on how to survive, if the core business is sound and may benefit from the assistance of bankruptcy. On the other hand, if a business needs to wind down and potentially close, they offer methods to orderly liquidate assets.

"They take on an extremely technical, complex and continually evolving area of law and correct some of the popular misconceptions associated with it," according to Rick Chance, a Managing Director and Group Head of the Special Situations Advisory Group at KPMG Corporate Finance LLC, based in Costa Mesa, CA. "In my every day practice as an investment banker, I see business owners who are contemplating bankruptcy. The book provides answers for these individuals to assess whether it is time to see a bankruptcy attorney to pursue such an action."

Bankruptcy for Businesses, The Benefits, Pitfalls and Alternatives is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and wherever business books are commonly sold.

Evan D. Smiley

Evan D. Smiley focuses his practice on bankruptcy/insolvency matters and complex business litigation. Smiley is a former President and Director of the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum. He is certified as a specialist in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Bankruptcy Institute. In 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, Mr. Smiley was selected by the publishers of Los Angeles magazine as a Super Lawyer, representing the top 5 percent of the practicing attorneys in Southern California.

Lei Lei Wang Ekvall

Lei Lei Wang Ekvall concentrates her practice on bankruptcy-related matters including business reorganizations, creditors' rights, and trustee representation. She is the treasurer of the Orange County Bar Association. A past president and director of the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum and the Orange County Asian American Bar Association, Wang Ekvall has served as a co-chair and member of the Central District of California Lawyer Representatives of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. She is recognized by Los Angeles magazine as a Super Lawyer, representing the top 5 percent of practicing attorneys in Southern California.

Firm Background

Weiland, Golden, Smiley, Wang Ekvall & Strok, LLP has confirmed chapter 11 plans for a wide variety of businesses. This includes representation of debtors, creditors, creditors' committees, trustees, asset purchasers and other parties in bankruptcy cases, receiverships, private workouts and settlement negotiations. Its transactional attorneys are skilled in business acquisitions and mergers, secured lending transactions, the acquisition, financing, development, subdivision, leasing and sale of real property, and general corporate and business matters. When necessary, the firm's highly experienced litigators guide clients through the complex discovery, trial and appellate process.

Its impressive attorney list has included bankruptcy trustees, a former Assistant United States Attorney, and a retired Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court. The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory awarded Weiland, Golden, Smiley, Wang Ekvall & Strok LLP, as well as Smiley and Wang Ekvall, individually, an "AV" rating, the highest professional rating awarded by that publication. The firm also appears in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

SOURCE Weiland, Golden, Smiley, Wang Ekvall & Strok, LLP

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