Attorney Profiles

Carol Weinflash Kopelman, ESQ.

Carol Weinflash Kopelman has practiced law since 1994. She has her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Rutgers School of LawNewark. She interned for the Hon. Peter Boggia in Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County. Prior to her partnership with Kopelman & Kopelman LLP, she had experience representing banks as creditors in bankruptcy and in foreclosure matters.
She has also had extensive experience in estate and probate matters and as a result, understands the complexities and issues that often arise in and can complicate bankruptcy matters. Her patience with, keen understanding of and empathy towards individuals who are going through financial crises results in clients revealing issues which give a more complete picture to their legal matters with an eye towards optimizing outcomes.

Michael S. Kopelman, Esq.

Michael S. Kopelman earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens College in 1968, majoring in philosophy. He defended his senior thesis regarding Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico – Philosophicus before the faculty of the Department of Philosophy. Among the notable alumnae of Queens College include Marvin Hamlisch, Carole King, and Paul Simon.

Michael graduated from Rutgers Law School in 1972. While at Rutgers, he was Notes and Comments Editor of the Rutgers Law Review. While other law students were coasting in their third year, he realized he could master the study of law and intensified his studies as he found he loved the law and had an unquenchable thirst to learn more and more about it.

He won a prize at graduation for "most improved student of the class of 1972". Upon graduation, he proudly clerked for a year for Honorable Leon Leonard, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey: Appellate Division in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

After his clerkship, he joined the premier insolvency law firm in New Jersey, Okin, Pressler, and Shapiro, as an associate attorney. One of the partners of the firm, later Honorable Sylvia B. Pressler, another Queens College graduate, was the commentator and annotator of the Gann Law Books edition of the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey, which is the most commonly used edition of the Court Rules in New Jersey. Since her death in 2010, Judge Pressler's duties have been taken over by New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Peter Verniero, but Judge Pressler is still credited in new editions. In 1978, Mr. Kopelman was honored to become a partner in the firm. He formed his law firm in 1979, which his wife, Carol, joined in 1996. He has been successfully practicing insolvency law for over 48years.

He was founding secretary of the Bergen County Fee Dispute Committee. He served for many years as Chairman of the Bergen County Bar Association Debtor-Creditor section. He has represented the Borough of Ridgewood, Borough of Ridgefield, the Township of North Bergen, National Community Bank before it was sold, and Oritani Bank before it went public in complex bankruptcy litigation with 100% client satisfaction. He has lectured frequently to lawyers, including the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He has authored scholarly articles, including a seminal one published in the New Jersey Law Journal at 128 N.J.L. 94 (1991), regarding the intersection between family and bankruptcy law. There are many published opinions in cases in which he appeared as counsel of record, the most recent one of which is In re Gianninoto, 539 B.R. 452 (District of NJ 2015).

He is a member in good standing of the bars of the States of New Jersey and New York, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Kopelman is a member of the Bergen County and New Jersey State Bar Associations.

The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019:

A boon for Korean businesses?

by Michael S. Kopelman, Esq.

In August 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, effective February 19, 2020 ("Act"). This law is a useful tool to quickly and effectively reorganize small businesses through the bankruptcy process, especially small businesses financed by a loan on the family home. Prior to the Act, such a mortgage could not be altered. Now, with the Act's passage, that has radically changed. The bankruptcy court now has the power to extend, change the interest rate and even reduce the principal amount of the mortgage provided the mortgage loan proceeds were primarily used in connection with the business. Other sections of the Act are extremely beneficial to small business owners. The Act streamlines the bankruptcy process by eliminating the need for a cumbersome disclosure statement to explain a repayment plan which must be filed 90 days from the bankruptcy filing. Such a plan permits as long as a 5 year period out to pay creditors, including the professional fees incurred in connection with the case. The Act permits all debts to be discharged upon approval of the plan by the bankruptcy court and does not require creditor approval so long as the disposable income of the debtor is devoted to the repayment plan, typically5 years. This means that debts don't even need to be paid in full, provided the plan is filed in good faith. When originally passed, the Act's benefits only extended to businesses whose debts were under $2,725,625.00. However, because of COVID-19, for the next year, the cap has been enlarged to $7,500,000.00.In the right hands, the Act is a lifeline to owners of small businesses. Michael S. Kopelman, Esq. has been successfully practicing bankruptcy law for over 47 years. His office is located at 90 Main Street, Suite 205, Hackensack, NJ 07601, and its phone number is 201 489-5500. An office member is fluent in Korean. Initial consultation is free.