Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Minchella.
Erica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started practicing law with a concentration in Bankruptcy law. I married and had children after I was licensed, and in 1999, my children were old enough to need a part-time chauffeur to be shuffled to their various after-school activities. My husband, who is an entrepreneur, and I looked at our respective businesses and realized that if he provided me with office space and I re-built my practice as a real estate practice (because I could tell clients and opposing clients when I could schedule closings – I couldn’t tell judges when to schedule hearings), we should be able to make my career fit better with raising our children.
In 2008, we moved our office to Skokie and I waited for the phone to ring. There were no real estate sales. I started handling foreclosure defense cases and short sales. In 2010, realizing that the developments in foreclosure were moving faster than I could learn, being a sole practitioner, I started pulling defense lawyers out of the courtroom asking them if they would have any interest in forming a bar association specific to sharing the information regarding changes in foreclosure law. In October, 2010 about a dozen defense lawyers got together, started our Association, and I was named President – a position I have been unable to pass on to any other member. However, that position gave me some notoriety in real estate law community and I was named to the Illinois State Bar Association Real Estate Section Council, which I chaired and to the Board of Directors of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association.
With that credibility, I have built my practice helping to find solutions for clients all over the Chicago metropolitan area who have or are struggling with real estate issues. We defend foreclosures, and even in this improved economy help people with short sales, and with strategies for dealing with their real estate and credit challenges, so that they can move on to what I refer to as their “next life”. Assuring that clients leave working with me with a plan for how they will repair their credit and that they will have a place to live, as well as giving hope of owning property again is a key tenant of our practice.
From my start in 1999, I have grown from myself and a part-time high school senior to a 3-attorney, 2 person clerical staff office. We continue to handle foreclosures and short sales, but also help people who are buying and selling residential and commercial real estate.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Every day is a new challenge. I try to make sure that my staff is well-paid for the hard and high-level work they do, which puts a burden on me to generate sufficient revenue while trying hard not to be the “next problem” for my clients who are struggling.
Also, being a small business, my hiring needs are often immediate, and I have often hired in a panic and with my heart, not my head. There is nothing worse than working with an employee who is disrespectful of other employees and is a bad team player.
Minchella & Associates, Ltd. – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Minchella & Associates, Ltd., is a boutique Real Estate transaction and litigation law firm. We are known most for helping people buy or sell troubled real estate – to a point where we are approached by buyers and sellers to the same transaction for representation.
Because we are litigators, we are that much more attentive to the details of real estate transaction, assuring that our clients can avoid other forms of real estate litigation (other than foreclosure) that might arise out of improperly filled out documentation or lack of documentation.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for me is getting clients the results THEY are looking for and assuring that they have the best solutions for the issues they came to us to resolve.
Contact Info:
- Address: 7538 St. Louis Ave., Skokie, IL 60076
- Website: www.ericaminchellalaw.com
- Phone: 8476776772
- Email: erica@ecminchellalaw.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/minchellaandassociates/insights/?referrer=email
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/erica-crohn-minchella-skokie?osq=Erica+crohn+minchella
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericaminchella/
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