Senior Associate Attorney (Remote Optional)

(Up to $175,000 for well qualified candidate plus benefits and relocation allowance.)

Do you want to help business people and farmers get creditors off their backs, preserve assets, and minimize taxes like no other law firm in the country? Ag & Business Legal Strategies (ABLS) is an entrepreneurial boutique firm that is on track for growth. It needs an experienced SENIOR ASSOCIATE to join its team and work directly with its owner, attorneys, and staff to support the team and help clients.

If the statements below appeal to you, then you may be our next Senior Associate:

• You desire to become a preeminent lawyer advocating for farmers and businesses.
• You abhor mediocrity and strive to consistently improve your work product.
• You are familiar with bankruptcy and taxes related to distressed businesses.
• You are a team player, willing to pitch in if your coworkers are in the weeds.
• You are an awesome task juggler and can change gears quickly.

ABLS provides cutting-edge services in debt restructuring negotiations and bankruptcy. Its client-centric model aims to help farmers and businessmen understand the depth of their problems and explore the opportunities for change available to them, including options they might not initially like. We aim to help our clients find comprehensive solutions to their complex problems, not merely continuing to kick the can down the road without making the business decisions that need to be made to ensure long-term success.

ABLS is a leading authority in its field. The firm championed changes to the Bankruptcy Code in front of Congress and submitted an amicus curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court. ABLS is known for helping its clients emerge from their extreme and stressful situations with the best outcomes possible.

This position will be responsible for:

• Providing excellent legal services
• Maintaining excellent communication with clients, advisors, opposing counsel, courts, and other interested parties.
• Assisting clients in determining realistic goals and designing strategies to accomplish those goals.
• Supervising and assisting the firm’s qualified staff and professionals in evaluating the client’s overall financial, tax, and legal position.
• Representing clients at mediations, negotiations, depositions, and in court, whether state court, federal district court, or bankruptcy court.
• Conducting new client meetings (also called case evaluations or initial consultations) to sell the firm’s legal services.

Experience

A Senior Associate candidate must have experience in bankruptcy and debt restructuring and a work history that demonstrates increasing responsibility in a law firm or corporate legal department. A typical Senior Associate candidate will have confirmed at least five Chapter 11 or Chapter 12 plans (or have equivalent experience on the creditor side) and participated in numerous related activities (motions to lift stay, motions to incur secured debt, motions to assume or reject leases and executory contracts, claim objections, plan objections, adversary proceedings, etc.).

An ideal Senior Associate candidate has subject matter expertise in the following three areas:

• Income tax.
• Bankruptcy & commercial law.
• Knowledge and familiarity with the agricultural industry.

Education

A Senior Associate candidate must have a law degree from an accredited law school and be licensed in the state of Iowa or could be licensed in the state of Iowa within a reasonably short period of time. Attorneys licensed in the state of Illinois are encouraged to apply as the firm has worked for several Illinois farm debtors.

Technical Skills

An ideal Senior Associate candidate has the following core technical skills:

• Ability to determine the priority of liens on real and personal property.
• Negotiation practice.
• Understanding of how income taxes affect businesses struggling to survive and considering partial or complete liquidation.
• Ability to evaluate probable outcomes in bankruptcy scenarios.

Compensation

The target compensation for an ideal Senior Associate is up to $175,000 per year, contingent on experience and hitting clear, defined, benchmarks. It includes a generous benefits package and significant opportunities for professional development. If needed, a relocation allowance can be included to aid the right candidate in moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

How to Apply:

Please submit your resume and cover letter to us. In your cover letter, answer the following questions: What do you enjoy about working with family-owned businesses? What do you find most challenging about this type of client? You should be detailed in your response, but don’t go over two paragraphs. You should also tell us in another paragraph why you think you would be a good fit for this firm. In the last paragraph of your cover letter, tell us what you liked about our ad and what you did not like about our ad. You can be honest; we will not hold it against you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this entire ad. If you decide to apply and follow the instructions, we look forward to following up with you.

Job Type: Full-time

Projected Total Compensation: $120,000.00 - $175,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Relocation assistance
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Hiawatha, IA 52233