Lars Svendsen

OUTSMARTING THE OPPOSITION EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

In the spring of 2004, Lars Svendsen, a Midwestern­-based businessman, was winding down a lucrative career. Most recently, he had sold a publishing company for a tidy profit and was looking forward to his retirement. Out of the blue, an old friend reached out to him and asked for Lars’ guidance with a new business venture arranging high school reunions, he agreed to do so—since this only consulting.

Several months pass and Mr. Svendsen had been persuaded to invest $50,000 to grow the business. Because of his long­standing relationship with his friend that he trusted implicitly, Lars recruited two other business acquaintances to invest in the growing business (who conducted only minimal due diligence). Unfortunately even the best of friends can let people down. And, as it turned out, investing with this long lost friend turned out to be serious mistake. To top it off, the friend, who once claimed a net worth in the millions, was penniless, squandering all the investment funds to date—leaving the partners responsible for the mounting debt that he had incurred.

“We were in deep,” Mr. Svendsen says. The only option was to sell the business assets to a restaurateur in New Orleans at a considerable loss.

Then the unthinkable happened. A week after the sale closed, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, wiping the new owner out and causing him to flee to Houston. To make maters worse, the restaurateur refused to pay Mr. Svendsen the money he owed him. Mr. Svendsen needed the best legal representation possible in Louisiana, and he needed them fast – He was fortunate to be referred to the Babcock Partners.

In the fall of 2005, Babcock Partners started legal action against the new owner. It was by no means an easy case. Far from it, it was complicated with multiple people involved not to mention one the worst natural disasters known to man, and an opposition launching counterattack after counterattack—at one point suing Mr. Svendsen personally for purposely mismanaging the company.

Throughout it all, Stephen Babcock, who handled the matter, never wavered. He repeatedly out­maneuvered and bested the other side. Consequently, the case settled the Friday before trial. “Stephen Babcock was amazing to watch,” Mr. Svendsen says. “He kept them on the run the entire time, countering every move they made with incredible skill. I can thank him and his excellent team for bringing this sad event to an honorable conclusion. I don’t know what I would have done without the Babcock Partners.”