A dynamic duo.

David Levene and Joe Eisenberg represent the yin and yang of the legal world.

These two are among the most prominent and successful bankruptcy lawyers in Los Angeles. And while they discount the idea that the recession has had a particularly positive impact on their business, their snazzy new Century City offices testify to their big scores. Levene and Eisenberg have handled some of the most promising bankruptcy cases in L.A.'s recent history, including those of C&R Clothiers, Susie's Deals and Judy's Inc.

"David is known as a lover. I'm a fighter," Eisenberg, 47, says. "People think we're a peculiar match because we're so different."

"Joe can be very intimidating, (and he) can be as tough as anyone I have seen," Levene, 48, says, referring to himself as a peacemaker.

"But both of us have the common vision that we want to turn out a quality legal product," Eisenberg says.

Some cases the Century City-based bankruptcy law firm Levene & Eisenberg take on require an "aggressive, street-fighter style," while others need a more conciliatory attorney, Eisenberg explains.

Levene says that once in a while one of them may be handling a particular case, and decide to hand it over to the other because it requires a different approach.

A case in which results can best be obtained "through sheer intimidation and dominance" would most likely land in Eisenberg's lap, whereas Levene might handle a case that involves diffusing creditors' anger and winning their support, Levene explains.

The seemingly ill-suited attorney up has proven to be a successful one. Levene and Eisenberg bill their time at $385 an hour. The duo wouldn't disclose the firm's total billings.

The 20-lawyer firm represented Culver City-based C&R Clothiers when the apparel retailer fell into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 1992. C&R emerged successfully eight months later.

The case started out simple enough, Levene says, but soon a minority shareholder, Jack Roth, became hostile. The attorneys succeeded in C&R's restructuring, he adds, by managing to anticipate Roth's tactics. They also hired financial advisors to present projections and analyses of the company's future operations to reassure concerned unsecured creditors and lender Wells Fargo Bank, Levene says.

Levene & Eisenberg also represented City of Industry-based Susie's Deals when it slipped into Chapter 11 in December 1992.

The firm helped the owners of Susie's, which sells manufacturers' leftovers of women's clothing, close their unprofitable stores and negotiate lower rents with the landlords for the remaining shops. The retailer emerged from Chapter 11 in August.

Levene & Eisenberg's success prompted the firm to move into larger offices last January. It vacated 15,000 square feet at one Century City address to occupy 24,000 square feet, or one half-the-16th floor at a highrise across the street at 1901 Avenue of the Stars.

Levene occupies the northwest corner office, with a view of the Wilshire corridor and the ocean, on a clear day. Eisenberg resides in the northeast corner, with a view of downtown. The two often communicate by electronic mail.

And they both drive Porsche convertibles. Eisenberg's is white, Levene's red.

Some might tend to attribute the bankruptcy firm's skyrocketing business solely to the recession but Levene is quick to point out that other economic events during the past decade, the length of time the firm has been in business, have been just as important in bringing business to their doorstep.

During the early 1980s, for instance, interest rates soared above 20 percent, "and almost every business that depends upon financing for its survival was in trouble," Levene says.

Then the federal Tax Reform Act was enacted during the mid-1980s, and L.A.-area investors started forming real estate limited partnerships left and right. Many of them invested in real estate in the Midwest and Southwest "Oil Belt."

When the Oil Belt went bust, so did many of the partnerships. Hundreds of syndicators, or general partners, came knocking on the firm's door, Levene says. "It was almost like a production line handling these (bankrupties)."

Now it's the 1990s and consumers are spending less, causing retailer to go bankrupt, he explains.

Levene and Eisenberg don't gloat when the economy turns sour, they both insist.

"I believe our business is better in good times than in bad times," Eisenberg asserts, explaining that "it's more difficult to achieve success (with restructuring companies) in an adverse climate."

In bad times, there is less investment capital available and creditors are more demanding. In contrast, during good times capital is available, the creditors are more patient and willing to negotiate, Eisenberg says.

Business bankruptcies tend to trigger personal crises as well. And, as one might predict, each of the two attorneys takes a different approach with clients who are having such crises.

Levene says he sometimes plays the role of a psychologist. He says he wants to inspire confidence in his clients and show them that he cares. He tells them that getting sick or divorced won't solve their business problems, and encourages them to make a special effort to take care of themselves, physically and emotionally.

Eisenberg, on the other hand, says he's "a lawyer, not a shrink.

"We (lawyers) provide the objectivity necessary to discern between the emotional crisis and the things that need to be done," he adds.

Both attorney chose to practice bankruptcy law because they "get to do everything lawyers get to do," Eisenberg says.

They meet with clients, analyze documents, try cases and do appellate work, he elaborates.

Eisenberg graduated with a degree in American History from UC Berkeley in 1968 and went to law school there because he didn't know what else to do, he says.

Likewise Levene "just kind of did it," enrolling in law school at the spur of the moment, he says. He originally graduated with an undergraduate degree in business from USC in 1967 and earned an MBA from there one year later.

Levene got a job as a financial analyst at Century City-based Teledyne Inc., and then attended Loyola Marymount law school at night. He graduated No. 1 in his class from Loyola Marymount University in 1974.

Levene and Eisenberg met as adversaries. Levene was representing banks and creditors as an attorney at the downtown L.A.-based law firm Buchalter, Nemer, Field & Younger. Eisenberg was representing debtors for the Mid-Wilshire-based firm Quittner, Stutman, Treister & Glatt, now known as Stutman, Treister & Glatt.

"When we were baby lawyers, we were matched against each other. Then, when we matured, we were still matched against each othe," Eisenberg notes.

They learned to respect each other's work, and often ended up solving cases constructively before they ever ended up in court, they say.

Then, in 1983, Eisenberg reached "the manifestation of a mid-life crises."

"It was time to do something else," he said.

At the same time, Levene's firm was deemphasizing its bankruptcy work. Levene and Eisenberg decided to hook up and launch their own shop.

They opened an office at 1900 Avenue of the Stars in Century City, with one associate, two paralegals and a small staff.

The day the firm opened, the two partners got a case in which a public company, Tustin-based General Terminal Corp., was having financial difficulty. They have never had a shortage of cases since then, Levene says.

Yet every "marriage," as Eisenberg refers to the partnership, has its rocky moments. Levene & Eisenberg has had its share, as evidenced by a July 12, 1992 article in the Los Angeles Times announcing that Levene planned to resign from the firm.

Levene rescinded that announced resignation a few days later, and neither attorney will elaborate on what caused the firm's near breakup.

"David and I are very different people," Eisenberg says, "All is warm and fuzzy again."

Snapshots

David Levene

Native of: Tarzana

Resident of: Santa Monica 

Age: 48

Education: B.A. in business and M.B.A. from USC; Law degree from Loyola Law School.

Joseph Eisenberg

Native of: Fontana

Resident of: Benedict Canyon 

Age: 47

Education: B.A. in American history from U.C. Berkeley; law degree from UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law.