Tomatoes, Creditors & The Bermuda Triangle: Wisconsin Creditors' Rights Attorney Sam Wisotzkey

In this episode of The Pivot Playbook, host Salene Mazur Kraemer sits down with Sam Wisotzkey, head of the Business & Financial Services Group at Kohner, Mann & Kailas, S.C. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  https://kmksc.com/samuel-c-wisotzkey/ 
Sam shares his journey from Arizona’s desert to the Great Lakes, how he became one of the Midwest’s top creditors’ rights and business bankruptcy attorneys, and why timing, preparation, and relationships matter most in complex financial workouts.

From tomato contracts in California to his great-uncle’s mysterious Bermuda Triangle disappearance, this conversation blends insight, history, and humanity — reminding us that even in law and finance, stories connect us all.

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🧾 Show Notes

Guest: Sam Wisotzkey
Firm: Kohner, Mann & Kailas, S.C. (Milwaukee, WI)
Role: Shareholder; Chair of Business & Financial Services Practice Group
Specialty: Creditors’ Rights, Business Bankruptcy, Commercial Litigation
Certification: Board Certified – Business Bankruptcy Law (American Board of Certification)

🔹 Highlights

• Sam’s career path from Phoenix to Milwaukee, and how geography shaped his practice

• His 21-year tenure with the firm and leadership in business bankruptcy and creditors’ rights

• The story behind a national client and a tomato supply chain — and how quick thinking in a Chapter 11 saved operations nationwide

• Board service on the American Board of Certification, including work on the Faculty Committee grading exams and developing new content

• The importance of acting early in distressed situations — and how “strike while the iron is hot” applies in collections and bankruptcy

• His deep ties to Pittsburgh, where he grew up in the North Hills before heading west

• A fascinating family mystery: his great-uncle’s disappearance on the USS Cyclops in the Bermuda Triangle

• Reflections on hiking, family, and storytelling as balancing forces in a demanding practice

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💡 Key Takeaways

• For Creditors: Engage experienced counsel early — delays reduce leverage and recovery.

• For Professionals: Certification adds credibility and connects you to a national network of experts.

• For Everyone: Approach challenges with curiosity and calm — “hindsight makes even chaos meaningful.”

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💬 Notable Quotes

“Things don’t get better with time. Strike while the iron is hot.”
“The Bermuda Triangle may be unsolved — but there’s nothing mysterious about the value of acting early.”
“Relationships, integrity, and timing: that’s the real formula for a successful bankruptcy practice.”

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⚡️ Rapid Fire Highlights

• Law School: University of Michigan (Go Blue!)

• Favorite Show: The Bear (Hulu)

• Movie: The Shawshank Redemption

• Vacations: Grand Canyon hike to Phantom Ranch; Glacier National Park

• Dessert: Chocolate mousse or any chocolate cake

• Best Gift: His two daughters

• Music: 80s & 90s playlists

• Podcast: Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! (NPR)

• Favorite City: Amsterdam (and, of course, Milwaukee!)

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🎧 Listen & Subscribe

➡️ The Pivot Playbook hosted by Salene Mazur Kraemer
Fresh starts. Turnarounds. Reinvention in business and life.
📍 www.MazurKraemer.com
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