Mark shares his regrets about working 12 years as a collection agency lawyer for four of Canada's largest collection agencies, and what he has done since to help Canadians struggling with debt.
Transcript
I worked for collection agencies for 12 years, between 1994 and 2006. I worked for four of the largest collection agencies operating in Canada during that period, and all of them were located in the Greater Toronto Area. I did a lot of different things for them. I think the most important thing I did was send out hundreds of thousands of lawyer's demand letters threatening to sue people if they didn't pay. At one point I also employed about 25 individuals to make collection calls, and they would say they were calling from Mark Silverthorn's law office, demanding money. I would also sue a few files, I would defend my collection agency clients when they were sued, and for some collection agencies I would get them licensed.
Collecting in Canada and the United States
I was licensed to practice law in Ontario, and accordingly I sent out demand letters on my firm's letterhead to residents of Canada in every province and territory. I subsequently successfully wrote the New York State bar exam, and then I started sending out demand letters on my law firm's letterhead to the residents of all 50 U.S. states. So I was sending out lawyer's demand letters to residents not only of Canada but also of the United States, and between 1994 and 2006 I estimate that I was sending out more lawyer's demand letters than any lawyer in Canada.
My regrets
I am definitely not proud of my time as a collection agency lawyer. One of the consequences of my work is that I created a lot of misery for a lot of people. There were individuals who, as a result of getting collection letters or collection calls from my law office, made great sacrifices to come up with money to pay their accounts. Some of these people may have decided to make a consumer proposal or file for personal bankruptcy because they were getting these payment demands, and in some of these circumstances it would have been totally unnecessary. These individuals might have been judgment proof, or the debts may have been old and they may have been able to take advantage of the expiry of a limitation period.
I can remember sending out collection letters on accounts that were 13 years old, and there was absolutely no reason for the people receiving those letters to pay. Number one, the statute of limitations would have expired on these accounts, so if they were sued they could have filed a defense and they would not have had to pay. Furthermore, these accounts would not even have shown up on their credit report. So there was absolutely no reason for these individuals to pay. Essentially, what I was doing was taking advantage of unsophisticated and uneducated people. People who are sophisticated, or who have access to legal advice, would not have paid these accounts. It's like stealing candy from a baby.
Trying to make amends
I will never be able to make amends for the 12 years that I spent working as a collection agency lawyer for four of Canada's largest collection agencies, but I have tried. In 2010 I wrote a book called The Wolf At The Door: What to Do When Collection Agencies Come Calling, published by McClelland & Stewart, and that book was designed to help Canadians struggling with debt. I also worked for nine years as a consumer lawyer representing Canadians struggling with debt. During this period I personally negotiated settlements on behalf of Canadians in debt, and in many instances we were able to settle accounts in circumstances where my clients only paid 15 or 25 cents on the dollar.
I retired from the practice of law in October of 2019, and in 2021 I founded a firm called Debt Coach Silverthorn. On the firm's website there is a boatload of articles that would be helpful to people in debt, and we've been publishing a YouTube video every week, so there are plenty of videos, all designed to help people in debt. For those who would like some one-on-one coaching, I offer 30-minute telephone consultations.