Debt and Circuses: Protecting Business Owners From Their Enemies, Their Allies, and Themselves

If you read no further or learn nothing else, the point of Debt & Circuses is as follows: the outcome of a dispute, or the solution to a financial problem, doesn’t have to be the way the creditors explain it, nor does it have to be the way your lawyer, accountant, financial advisor, or anyone else explains it. The way disputes work in reality isn’t written in textbooks or newspaper articles, or taught in seminars or executive MBA classes, or explained from a comfortable leather chair in a law office. How many situations can you think of in history where everybody said that because of the laws or the rules of the game, or one side’s overwhelming power, the outcome would never be in doubt, and everybody was wrong? How does it happen? Debt & Circuses is an attempt to explain what you should know, and what we learned, from seven years of loan workouts, lawsuits, and bankruptcies during the Great Recession. This is not an autobiography; while the events recalled are true, my role varied in each case from lead negotiator, to researcher, to brain-stormer, or merely an Observer of Interesting Things. I hope you will enjoy reading Debt & Circuses as much as I enjoyed writing it. --Clay Westbrook Author Bio: After graduating with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law, Clay Westbrook moved to Atlanta with a car load of belongings, a Labrador Retriever, and dreams of wealth and success. After the real world swiftly crushed those dreams, he spent 15 years practicing corporate transactions and real estate law, working with, and learning from, many of the most talented and/or insufferable lawyers this country has ever produced. Clay and the practice of law parted ways for good in 2009. The breakup was amicable, with both Clay and the legal profession drastically improved as a result. Today Clay is a business consultant focusing on financial restructuring, litigation, and bankruptcy. Ascent Consultants helps business owners, attorneys, CPAs and other professionals, providing seminars, training, and consulting on negotiation and dispute resolution. He most enjoys helping people in complicated situations that require original thought, and working with talented professionals who wish to better serve their clients. Clay also enjoys writing, history, sports, and the outdoors. Ideally, he would hike in the mountains all day, and then stay in a nice hotel. He resides in Atlanta with his wife, two sons, and two cats with whom he maintains a fragile truce.