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A NOTE TO READERS. This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team. Folks Hess PLLC did not pay for, request, or review this article prior to publication, and placement on Awesome Attorneys’ editorial pages cannot be purchased. Nothing in this article is legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of any future case.
At a Glance
| Firm | Folks Hess PLLC |
| Attorney | Larry O. Folks |
| Office | Phoenix, AZ |
| Focus | Bankruptcy, foreclosure, collection defense, litigation, and loan restructuring and workout matters |
| Education | J.D., Northwestern University School of Law |
| Certification | State Bar of Arizona Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law (since 1998) |
Sources: State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal Specialization roster, Lawyer Legion, firm website. Compiled August 2026.
Origin
A Northwestern Law Degree Applied to Arizona’s Real Estate Downturns
Larry Folks holds a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and has practiced bankruptcy, foreclosure, and loan workout law in Arizona for more than 30 years. He has been a State Bar of Arizona certified bankruptcy specialist since 1998, and his practice grew directly out of the recurring cycles of Arizona real estate distress — a market where foreclosure, default, and bankruptcy work tend to move together.
Practice
Bankruptcy at the Intersection of Real Estate Distress
Folks’s practice covers Arizona bankruptcy filings, foreclosure defense, collection litigation, and loan restructuring and workout negotiations for borrowers and lenders navigating financial distress. That combination — bankruptcy alongside foreclosure and workout work specifically — is a narrower and more real-estate-specific niche than a general consumer bankruptcy practice.
Track Record
Bankruptcy and foreclosure outcomes are governed by court filings and case-specific confidentiality that make a public, itemized results table impractical, and no such compilation was located in the sources reviewed for this profile.
Past-Results Disclaimer: Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
No attributed, independently sourced client reviews were located in the sources reviewed for this profile; that reflects the available public record, not a claim of a flawless history.
Community
No independently verifiable community or civic involvement was located in the sources reviewed for this profile beyond Folks’s professional activity.
Recognition
Folks is a State Bar of Arizona board-certified specialist in bankruptcy law, certified since 1998. This profile uses the word “specialist” advisedly, on the strength of that documented, individually attributed certification.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Arizona is a non-judicial foreclosure state for most residential mortgages, meaning lenders can generally foreclose through a trustee’s sale under a deed of trust without going to court first — a faster process than in judicial-foreclosure states, and one where Arizona’s anti-deficiency statute, A.R.S. § 33-814, can protect certain borrowers from owing the lender the difference between the sale price and the loan balance. Bankruptcy itself is filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona under federal law, and an automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 halts most foreclosure and collection actions the moment a case is filed.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Larry Folks’s differentiator is a practice built specifically around the overlap of bankruptcy and Arizona real estate distress — foreclosure defense and loan workouts alongside bankruptcy filings — rather than bankruptcy as a standalone, generic service. The honest trade-off: that specialization means clients with bankruptcy needs unrelated to real estate or secured debt should confirm the fit before engaging, since it isn’t the firm’s stated core focus.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from the State Bar of Arizona’s Board of Legal Specialization public roster, Lawyer Legion, and the firm’s own website. Folks Hess PLLC did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.