Jacob Decker

Jacob Decker

• Introduction
• Inspired by Business Tycoons
• Rooting for the Underdog
• Areas of Practice
• Bar Admissions
• Education
• Professional Associations and Memberships

When it comes to protecting his clients’ assets with zeal, determination, and lots of legal savvy, the ball is firmly in Jacob Decker’s court.

Puns aside, the bankruptcy attorney’s self-avowed mission is to champion the underdog – the “little” people who find themselves on the verge of financial ruin.

“I am the type of person who always fights for what is right,” Decker explains. “I can’t stand to see injustice inflicted on good folks who go through tough times.”

The current economic crisis, which has claimed a staggering number of bankruptcies and foreclosures, has given Decker plenty of opportunities to live up to that noble goal. In fact, Allmand Law, the Dallas law firm Decker works for, specializes in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcies. It has become the largest filer of bankruptcies in DFW, and among the top 10 nationwide for the volume of filing. By using a federal law called the “bankruptcy stay,” which forces creditors to cease all collections, Decker and the firm’s other attorneys have successfully saved numerous homes from foreclosure and other assets from seizure.

“I feel that working for this firm is allowing me to accomplish what I had set out to do – protect my clients from losing all that they own,” Decker says.

Inspired by business tycoons

At least in part, Decker became a bankruptcy attorney thanks to the strict, by-the-rule upbringing he received while growing up in Houston with his parents, both of whom work in the oil industry. “I have always been fascinated with the world of business and the ability to build great economies based on capitalism,” he notes.

As a matter of fact, at an age when most boys are interested in sports or action figures and don’t care much about the principles of capitalism, Decker’s unlikely childhood heroes were John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.

“In a way, these interests, coupled with my strict upbringing, made me the person I am today,” Decker relates. “I became interested in discovering what the rules were and how to challenge them within confines of the law. This is how and why I became an attorney.”

At Oklahoma City University School of Law, from which he received a Juris Doctorate degree in 2007, Decker developed an interest in bankruptcy, as well as in related fields of real estate and mortgage law, a niche that fits in well with his current job at Allmand Law.

“I often litigate and negotiate complex contested cases against large mortgage companies, and I feel this is my forte,” he says. “The mortgage aspect comes into play because most contested matters in a bankruptcy revolve around a client losing a home or a car. For most individuals, this is their most valuable asset or investment, so the clients and the mortgage companies are more willing to litigate.”

Decker’s expertise and dexterity in the courtroom do not go unnoticed by his boss. Reed Allmand, owner of the law firm, says Decker has what it takes to successfully handle even the most complicated cases. “He has developed a reputation around the Dallas area for being an especially sharp and calculating attorney, who will leave no stone unturned in bringing justice for his clients,” Allmand notes.

Rooting for the underdog

As an example of his results-driven approach, Decker cites two recent cases.

In one, “I had a client who adamantly refused to file a bankruptcy, thinking he had no chances of winning. I persuaded him to file, and employed a few negotiating tactics to talk a creditor out of $70,000 just by making a couple phone calls and writing a couple letters,” Decker recounts. “In the end, the client was able to settle for less than $6,000. He sure was happy that I didn’t give up on him!”

Another example is a client who invested a significant amount of money into restoring his rental properties; when he lost his job and was late with a mortgage payment, the mortgage company wasted no time in starting foreclosure proceedings. “This person was late by only a couple of days but stood to lose almost $100,000 in equity,” Decker says. “I saw blatant injustice in how the mortgage company was treating him, and that fueled my determination to help him. We had a long trial and I was able to paint the mortgage company as an overbearing, opportunistic creditor preying on my client. I won the case and the client kept all his rental properties. The lawyers for the mortgage company stormed out of the courtroom in a huff.”

Cases like these, Decker says, validate his decision to keep helping the underdog.

“This job allows me to stick up for the ‘little guy’ and fight large corporations in court,” Decker points out. “To me, that’s a very gratifying feeling.”

Areas of Practice:

• Bankruptcy

Bar Admissions:

• Texas, May 2008

Education:

• Oklahoma City University School of Law, 2007
• Texas A&M University 2003
  • Major: Economics
  • Minor: Business Administration

Professional Associations and Memberships:

• North Dallas Bar Association
• Dallas Bar Association
• Tarrant County Bar Association
• NACBA