Larry O. Folks
Member
Areas of Practice
Commercial Bankruptcy
Foreclosure
Civil Litigation
Creditors’ Rights
Collection Litigation
Consumer Bankruptcy
Loan Restructuring and Workouts
Bankruptcy Mediation and
Civil Mediation
Education
J.D., Northwestern University, 1988
B.S., summa cum laude, Arizona State University, 1985
Court Admissions
Superior Court of Arizona
District Court of Arizona
United States Bankruptcy Court of the District of Arizona
Professional Affiliations
Certified Specialist in Business Bankruptcy, American Board of Certification
Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law, State Bar of Arizona
Judge Pro Tem, Superior Court of Arizona
Court Appointed Panel Mediator, United States Bankruptcy Court of the District
of Arizona
State Bar of Arizona: Chairman, Bankruptcy Section, 2009-2010;
Member, Board of Legal Specialization, 2006-2010
Arizona Trustee Association
Super Lawyers®
(2007 and 2010)
American Legal & Financial Network
Bankruptcy Law Profile
Mr. Folks has over two decades of experience in
commercial bankruptcy,
consumer bankruptcy,
foreclosure,
creditors' rights, collection,
civil litigation and loan restructuring and workout matters. His primary area of
concentration has been in representing banks,
financial institutions and other creditors. Mr. Folks also has significant
experience as a foreclosure trustee and is a trained neutral in
bankruptcy mediation and other civil disputes.
Prior to founding Folks & O’Connor, PLLC, Larry Folks practiced for several
years with the bankruptcy department at Snell & Wilmer, LLP, Arizona's largest
law firm, and was a partner in the bankruptcy, foreclosure and creditors' rights
department of Kutak Rock, LLP, which is a national law firm.
Mr. Folks has extensive experience in all facets of prosecuting bankruptcy
claims in Chapter 7, 11 and 13 proceedings, obtaining the appointment of
judicial receivers, pursuing provisional remedies, obtaining money judgments in
collection proceedings against borrowers and guarantors, serving as a
foreclosure trustee and litigating judicial foreclosure actions. He has
represented bondholder committees and a debtor in significant Chapter 9
bankruptcies, has prosecuted creditor claims in Chapter 12 bankruptcies, and
occasionally represents commercial debtors-in-possession in Chapter 11. More
specifically, during the past 10 years, a significant portion of Mr. Folks’
practice has been devoted to representing several of the nation’s largest
commercial banks concerning high-dollar commercial and routine consumer cases
including, but not limited to:
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prosecuting Chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcy unsecured and secured claims;
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pursuing suits on defaulted promissory notes and guaranties;
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obtaining writs of attachment, replevin and garnishment;
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documenting promissory note sales;
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negotiating and documenting loan workouts;
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completing judicial foreclosures;
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completing quiet title actions;
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serving as a foreclosure trustee;
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defending against lending and foreclosure related claims by borrowers; and
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conducting Uniform Commercial Code personal property sales.
Mr. Folks has significant experience as a substitute trustee under defaulted
deeds of trust conducting non-judicial trustee’s sales of commercial and
residential real property in Arizona. He currently represents several national
banks as a foreclosure trustee on a high-volume basis in every county of
Arizona. He and his staff have successfully completed thousands of non-judicial
trustee’s sales over the past ten years. They also represent clients concerning
all other aspects of the foreclosure process including:
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monitoring and bidding at senior lienholder foreclosure sales;
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applying for excess foreclosure sale proceeds;
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pursuing mortgage deficiency claims; and
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prosecuting evictions.
Mr. Folks has represented clients in a number of very significant bankruptcy
proceedings. Examples of such bankruptcy proceedings include America West
Airlines, American Continental Corporation, Central Arizona Irrigation &
Drainage District, New Magma Irrigation and Drainage District, Superstition
Mountain Community Facilities District, Megafoods, WGI Inc., International
Fibercom, Inc. and Smith Bros. Motors, Inc.
Finally, Mr. Folks serves parties as a neutral and has completed the STAR-A
Systematic Approach to Mediation Resolution through the
Straus Institute for
Dispute Resolution
at Pepperdine University School of Law. He is currently serving – and has served
for several years – as a Judge Pro Tem of the Superior Court of Arizona
in and for Maricopa County, which has allowed him to gain significant mediation
experience by mediating a wide range of civil disputes on an ongoing monthly
basis. He is also a court-appointed panel mediator of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
of the District of Arizona, with particular expertise in mediating bankruptcy
disputes. |
