The “Getting to Know” series is sponsored by Applied Innovation. Applied Innovation is helping to shape the future of accounts receivable management. Product development is driven by customer feedback, agency profitability and compliance and includes platforms addressing client portal access, document management, payment negotiation, Regulation E focused electronic payment authorizations and TCPA communication authorization platforms. Partner with a company who understands your business challenges and evolves to provide cutting edge technology to overcome those challenges and achieve success.
As far as the ARM industry is concerned, it’s a good thing that Bill Marohn didn’t stand up in 9th grade and say he wanted to be a ditch digger or rodeo clown. He said he wanted to be a lawyer that day, and the rest is history. For more than two decades, Bill has dedicated himself to creditor’s rights and has established himself as one of the most respected minds in the industry. Read on to learn more about Bill and how he finds the time to be at the office before the crack of dawn, work a full day, and then coach three sports teams at night.
Name: Bill Marohn (it is pronounced like the Italian name Marrone, but most people pronounce it as Maron or Moron – which is always fun for my kids on their first day of school)
Job Title: Managing Partner
Company: Tobin & Marohn
Length of Time at Current Company: Going on 21 years
Length of Time in Industry: Going on 21 years
How did you get your start in the industry?
Prior to starting law school I was given an opportunity to work for our firm’s progeny, Tobin & Melien, to see if creditor’s rights would be an area of law that would interest me. That was almost 21 years ago at this point, so it is safe to say that creditor’s rights law has interested me.
What is your career highlight so far?
I do not know if it is a highlight but my Appellate wins extending Account Stated to asset purchasers and winning a seminal decision from our State Supreme Court on contractual interest are the cases I am most frequently asked about.
When or how are you most productive?
I arrive at my office between 5:40-5:50 AM. I have a defined morning routine that I try to execute daily during those quiet hours. This time is specifically designed to complete tasks and build positive momentum for the day. I try to work to clear enough of my to-do list before 8 AM so that I can be swept away by the day and still feel like I have accomplished what needs to get done.
Which industry professional do you admire most?
My mentor and law partner Joe Tobin is who I admire most in the industry. He was the YODA of creditor’s rights law. Even though he passed away in 2014, a day does not go by that I do not employ a lesson he taught me.
What is one thing you do better than everyone else?
I do not know that I do this better than anyone else but I feel I do a pretty good job at case evaluation and projecting the likely outcomes. This allows me to have a direct and frank discussion with my clients early in a case to help them make the appropriate business/legal decision.
What do you like most about this industry?
Spreadsheet reporting (just kidding). Here is a secret – I LOVE being a lawyer. It is geeky but I get excited anytime I have a chance to dig into a complex legal issue and distill it to its elements and argue on behalf of my clients. We had no lawyers in my family and I did not know any lawyers growing up, but for some reason during my 9th grade career day I said I wanted to be a lawyer. Fast forward all these years later I still love being a lawyer.
What is one thing you wish you could change about this industry?
I wish the good and compliant actors in the industry were not painted with the same brush as the truly bad actors who purport to be in the same industry as us.
Describe a typical work day.
I arrive at the office between 5:40 and 5:50 AM. I begin by completing daily administrative tasks. I then move to drafting and pleadings, motions, memorandums that need to be completed. I find this to be an early morning task for me. When my team arrives at the office we typically do a quick debrief and then the day starts. Each day in our industry is like a night at the Improv; you never know what will happen. I have created a daily window, typically between 1-2PM, that I use to refresh/recalibrate for the rest of the day. Typically I will attend an AccountsRecovery.net or other educational webinar and then when the second half of my day comes I hit the ground running.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
Hands down a High School Football Coach. I currently coach three youth sports and there is nothing more fun than helping a player to have a breakthrough moment. Once they crack the code on a new skill there is no turning back and to know you played a part in that is very rewarding.
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What is your guilty pleasure?
Sitting on the couch with my wife every evening and watching bad reality TV.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
What are you currently reading?
Regulation F (it is a page turner – I can’t get enough).
What is one fact you’d like everyone in the industry to know about you?
I study and try to learn something new about our industry every day. The one blessing of the pandemic lockdown that will stay with me is building into my schedule a daily window for professional growth, education, and self-improvement. It has been a game changer.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?
Sonia Gibson, Encore Capital (she and I worked together this legislative session and she is a rock star)
The “Getting to Know” series is sponsored by Applied Innovation. Applied Innovation is helping to shape the future of accounts receivable management. Product development is driven by customer feedback, agency profitability and compliance and includes platforms addressing client portal access, document management, payment negotiation, Regulation E focused electronic payment authorizations and TCPA communication authorization platforms. Partner with a company who understands your business challenges and evolves to provide cutting edge technology to overcome those challenges and achieve success.
