About Carol G. Stebbins

Education

I graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University in 1976. I received Honors in my History major. After working for one year, I attended the University of Virginia Law School, where I served as the first woman Editor in Chief of The Virginia Law Review. In 1980 I received my J.D. and was elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honors society for law school graduates.

Legal Experience

Immediately after graduating from law school I was fortunate to clerk for a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, located in Richmond, Virginia. I then became an Associate with Hogan and Hartson, a very large law firm in Washington, D.C. A few years later, my husband accepted a position in the English Department at Trinity College, which is located in Hartford, Connecticut. I left the law firm and taught Civil Procedure and Constitutional Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law. When we moved seven years later to Ohio so my husband could join the faculty at Kenyon College, I joined the Columbus office of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, another very large firm. It was there I began to practice bankruptcy law by representing businesses that were reorganizing under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

I struck out on my own in 1992 and began taking individual consumer bankruptcy cases in 1995. During 2006 through 2008, I worked for the Bankruptcy Court in Akron, Ohio. Except for that two year period and an earlier period in which I assisted as General Counsel to a corporate conglomerate that filed bankruptcy, my practice since 1995 has consisted primarily of bankruptcy representation for individual clients.

My Practice Philosophy: Personal Attention from Experienced Counsel

Mine is a "hands-on" practice: you will communicate directly with me on all matters relating to your case. I do not rely upon paralegals or other staff to handle communications with you. Nor will you face the prospect of attending your administrative hearing without having met the attorney who is covering the hearing. (Surprisingly, many offices do little to ensure that the attorney who has the initial consultation with the client is also the attorney who signs off on the bankruptcy petition and/or the attorney who attends the hearing). Similarly, I will personally prepare your filings rather than simply review filings prepared by staff people.

I do rely quite heavily upon technology in my practice; otherwise I could not personally perform the bankruptcy services and still keep my fees low. Email is absolutely the best way to communicate with me. If you are looking for an office in which a receptionist or secretary will take every call you place, you should probably look elsewhere. I of course try to return phone calls promptly, but I really find that exchanging emails is much more efficient than rounds of phone tag.

In my present practice, I am operating out of my home. This also keeps expenses low. I hope that in addition it creates a more comfortable setting for clients to discuss their financial problems. My home is not, however, the best setting for clients with physical disabilities. If you have such a disability, I can arrange to meet you at your home or at a place that accommodates the disability.

I do request clients to leave their young children (other than infants) at home with a sitter rather than bringing them to appointments with me. You need to be able to concentrate on what I'm saying rather than worrying that your children are getting into something or demanding your attention in some other form. Infants are allowed because I get to hold them while we talk.

All Rights Reserved 2012, Stebbins Bankruptcy Law   |   Affordable web design by Ohio Connect