"Learn to speak to lawyers in their own language," says A. Michael Coleman, president of Coleman & Associates (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania).

"Of course, it helps to have a working knowledge of the law. Learn all you can about bad check laws, bankruptcy, and UCC law. Take classes and read all you can. For the cost of a few books and some time," Coleman notes, "you can create new and profitable opportunities for your company. Instead of fearing a debtor's attorney, you can learn to convince that attorney to help you collect a debt."

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, which Credit Today purchased in 2006.

Case in point. "A company owed my client $19,000," Coleman says. "But when I called the debtor to discuss the amount due, he said the company had been sold, the new owners would not absorb the liabilities, and therefore trying to sue for the amount owed would be an exercise in futility. He said if I won a judgment, it would be against a company that no longer existed.

"I didn't take that for the final answer. Instead, I contacted the debtor's attorney and found out that the sale wasn't actually completed. However, he had also discovered a loophole in his client's state law that would allow the sale to go through without following the guidelines set up to protect creditors under the Uniform Commercial Code. He said without those protections, I had no complaint against his client and so the debt would have to be written off.

"I didn't accept this answer, either. Instead, I threatened to take a preliminary injunction against the company and the sale. The attorney wasn't impressed. He simply said that a preliminary injunction wasn't permanent, and the sale would go through eventually, and my client would not be paid .

"Then I found the button that stopped the presses. I said, 'Counselor, do you think that our client is the only creditor left in this vulnerable position?' I told him I had a list of all the other creditors and read them to him. 'An injunction is not our only remedy here. You are forcing me to contact all of these creditors and ask them to join forces with me in an involuntary bankruptcy petition against your client. If we cannot come to terms, I'll have no other choice than to block the sale and force involuntary bankruptcy.'

"The attorney was weakening. I said, 'Counselor, you have the chance to be a hero to your client. You can stand in the way of the sale over a figure of $19,000 or you can come to the table and settle this matter. It seems a small amount to pay to save a 25 million dollar sale.'

Result: "The sale went through and the $19,000 was collected," Coleman says.

Editor's Note: The above article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, a newsletter purchased by Credit Today in 2006. This article originally appeared prior to 2000.

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