What has been your experience with your BK atty?

[vleisme]

I am really beginning to believe that BK atty's are the bottom of the barrel as far as atty's go. My experience has been horrible and I see a lot of ppl in here mentioning some of the same issues I have had ,not calling back, mistakes on the BK paperwork, etc.I saw almost every atty at my 341 representing ppl make stupid simple mistakes , including mine. What is with these attys? I know they are not getting rich off of our BK's but please, if you are going to accept a case why can't they do the work to the best of their ability. They had to pass the BAR they must have some intelligence.

[tallberry]

I with you...vleisme. My attorney from the get-go has wanted to push us into a 13 even though we qualify for a 7 and are not trying to keep our home. We are filing this Thursday and I am coming all of the paperwork because I could see him making a huge mistake (on purpose) just to somehow force me into the 13 he craves. This forum has been my saving grace....we probably would have been talked into a 13 if it wasn't for the great ppl here in the form. My biggest mistake....going with the first attorney I met with!!

[SANRA308]

mine has been pretty good compared to alot of what I've read. find one that primarily does BK and has done them for a while 14 years, I went to the BK court calenders looked for the one listed most, he has another partner that does other types of law . but he primarily does BK individual and corperate, and some tax law. Always calls right back if in the office ,if not usually in a day or two. He seemed very knowlegable at our 341 meeting a couple of the other lawyers were asking him questions about thier own cases. He's not perfect and did make a few minor mistakes on paperwork, but he said thats why he wanted to give me a day or two to look it over, so any corrections could be made. however the first guy we started with OMG what a idiot I spoke with 4 before I ended up with our guy.

[jnjw]

Well, we had some serious issues starting out - serious issues. We're still trying to do damage control on that, but I saw a shift in our attorney after I threw...well, my husband calls it "a fit." I had had enough of not feeling like I could trust him, him dropping the ball on several occasions and making costly mistakes that were just common sense bankruptcy stuff that I picked up off this forum and pointed out to him (which he's the atty, shouldn't he already know more than me?), and just an overall feeling that he wasn't "on our side" and didn't give a crap one way or the other. I mean he treated us with respect, but I just didn't feel like he was looking out for OUR well-being.

Needless to say, after my "fit," our relationship has improved greatly. I hated to resort to that, but you do what you got to do, I guess.

I wish I had talked to more than one, too. I know everyone here recommends it, but I was in such a hurry because we were on the verge of getting sued that I just didn't feel I had the time. By the time I figured out that he wasn't "the one," it was too late and I didn't have the money to hire another attorney. I had to borrow the money to pay him, so firing him and getting another was out of the question.

[GettinBy]

I'll take it one step farther. I consider attorneys in general to be on the bottom rung of humanity. My experience with our BK attorney has left me with the impression that BK attorneys are at the bottom of the attorney barrel. That's pretty low.

I've gotten conflicting information, gross procedural mistakes made, and stupid math errors made multiple times (buy a calculator for Pete's sake) from our attorney's office since day 1. Gross incompetence as far as I'm concerned. If I did my job that poorly, I'd be selling pencils on the street.

On the brighter side, we're now 39 months into a 36 month plan (old law) so it has to be ending soon even though the payroll deductions are still being withheld and 13 Data Center shows everyone paid. The attorney's office is absolutely useless at this point but hopefully it will soon be history.

Good luck and hang in there.

[vleisme]

jnjw
I know what you mean about throwing a fit, I am about to that point only one problem, my atty is on a 2 week vacation. He is really a nice person and if he was not my atty I would find him amusing but he is the biggest air headed dingdong I have ever met! If there were any way I could finish my case on my own and fire him I surely would because I am already doing his work for him and every thing he has done has been incorrect in some way.I look at PACER every day (practically) that has informed me more than he ever has and I can call him and tell him he has something incorrect and he will file an amendment and it is wrong AGAIN .I am just dumbfounded by him.Our confirmation keeps getting pushed back becuase the amendments for corrections. We filed Nov 1st. I went with the 2nd atty I talked to becuase he did not require payment in full up front. Boy, I am paying for that mistake now in stress and aggravation.

[jnjw]

Well, wait until he gets back and then throw a fit

I completely understand. I do. We were so screwed up (and I'll admit, we have a unique situation that doesn't help and we also have the trustee from hell), that we are withdrawing our 13 petition next month, waiting 6 months and going to file a 7.

YES - the stress of it all was the worst (I was actually on meds for a bit until they made me start hallucinating...) because I felt like *I* could do better than him if I wanted it done "right," and I just didn't know the process of how I could do it, especially after having started with an attorney. And I was just beyond anxious over every little thing, whether it was a big "thing" or a small "thing" and my health started to suffer (and I'm young!). It shouldn't be that way. It really shouldn't.

The best advice I can give you, because it seems you are like us and kind of stuck with your atty, is stay on top of it (which you're doing), educate yourself as much as you can, and stay on his butt, even if that means calling his office incessantly. And if all else fails, throw a fit

And I am not now biased against attys because of all of this, unbelievably. I don't think they're the bottom of the barrel or scum of the earth or anything like that. I honestly think that they take too much on sometimes and have their heads up their butts. I can't imagine what kind of stress and pressure they are under, especially if they have more than one client that's like me....lol.

[helpless]

I consider myself lucky. We filed in April 2005 and anytime I email me attorney about anything, she always replies within the day. Last time, it was withing 5 minutes!!

[klux]

I've been waiting for a response from my attorney since March 14th. I call and all I do is get a run around, I've never been able to talk with my actual attorney

[luvHm]

this maybe a stupid question... but what paper work are you looking over? I have filed and I dont have any paperwork. I have all my original copies, (debts) but actual paperwork? no. my atty had a hugh file when we went to our signing meeting but we did not get anything. Im not to worried. he was referred by someone we trust, but on the other hand we cant afford a mistake. Im worried we are gonna meet Ch7 as it is! would this Pacer help me see anything? I might have put to much trust in atty, I dont even know much about these schedules we filled out!

[Flamingo]

I am really beginning to believe that BK atty's are the bottom of the barrel as far as atty's go. My experience has been horrible and I see a lot of ppl in here mentioning some of the same issues I have had ,not calling back, mistakes on the BK paperwork, etc.I saw almost every atty at my 341 representing ppl make stupid simple mistakes , including mine. What is with these attys? I know they are not getting rich off of our BK's but please, if you are going to accept a case why can't they do the work to the best of their ability. They had to pass the BAR they must have some intelligence.

It is so easy to get a referral for a good BK attorney; all one has to do is call their State Bar Association and ask for the top BK lawyers in their area. You cannot go wrong with a lawyer with a good reputation and he/she wants to keep it that way. We used the top BK attorney in our area and I don't have one regret. Any question we had was answered within 24 hours via phone or email; a paralegal was always at our disposal if the attorney was in court, etc. I cringe when I read some of the postings on here. Just because they have good reputations doesn't mean they cost top dollar. We paid maybe $200 more than what Discount Legal on the corner of Broad and Main would charge us for our 5 year Chapter 13.

[$$only4ever]

No complaints with my attorney. Always responds within 24 hours. I ended up with a plan that is do-able and wriggle room in my budget.

Actually I like his paralegal. About 6 months ago, she called Chrysler Financial and took them to task

[qwertysue]

Great experience so far with our attorney. He was recommended 3rd hand--an attorney friend recommended someone who, as it turned out left BK, and the one who left BK recommended our attorney. At the 341 we realized that he is well respected and liked by the trustee, which put us immediately at ease.

There were some clerical errors, but we read through every single document and every line of every schedule. We simply faxed over the pages that had errors on them and within 2 days they were sent back, corrected. He had a real dingdong paralegal / assistant who left mid-way through the paper gathering phase, she was gone by time the paperwork was finalized.

We've found that emailing is the best and quickest way to get a hold of him.

I thank our lucky stars for him every time I read a BK attorney horror story on here.

[MajorMike]

I with you...vleisme. My attorney from the get-go has wanted to push us into a 13 even though we qualify for a 7 and are not trying to keep our home. We are filing this Thursday and I am coming all of the paperwork because I could see him making a huge mistake (on purpose) just to somehow force me into the 13 he craves. This forum has been my saving grace....we probably would have been talked into a 13 if it wasn't for the great ppl here in the form. My biggest mistake....going with the first attorney I met with!!

I have to admit, I'd never go with a 7 even if I qualified!
I owe the money, I feel better about myself paying back some of the debt. I don't have anything worth keeping. I was put into a 13 due to income. It'll be off my credit reports 3 years earlier then with a 7 as well and my credit score should be much healthier when I'm done. Also, when you're in a 7, you're much more easily led down the credit path once again, too soon after discharge. I say, no thanks. I'm glad i'm in a 13.
My atty on the other hand is about the same as most of you mentioned, lazy, doesn't return calls...and I'm just a number to him.

[jgarton244]

Our attorney was great. He is a one man show, but has 40 years experience. He had our plan worked out with the trustee in advance, to our satisfaction. He returned all calls and emails within two hours. We had to adjust our plan, he handled, no extra charge. We refinanced our mortgage while in BK 13 plan, and he handled, no extra charge. When we finished our plan, both my wife and I had wills, living wills, power of attorney drawn up by him. Charged us both a total of $125. for that job. He had compassion and was understanding. He and his wife also take time each year to work in third world counties helping those in need. We were most fortunate in finding this attorney.

I also find a blind statement that all attorneys are at bottom feeders. My best friend is an attorney. I met her when I was 18 and a bartender. She was 24, a waitress, and a legal secretary. She was marrued at 17, divoriced at 20. Had a young son. At age 25 she went back to college. She graduated law school at 34. She worked two jobs, went to school full time, raised a son as a sinfle mom. I remember when she could not buy a 25 cent beer. She went into divorice law, to help ensure others didn;t get screwed in their divorice as she did. She has helped many, and I have seen her in tears over children in custody cases. She has spent 24 hours to 48 hours 16 times in a holding cell due to contempt of court, when she told the judge they were wrong in very strong language, in some cases. She has fought hard, and given 200% to every client she represents. She donates significant sums of money and time to charaties. Like any profession, there are the very good (few) the average, abd the bad. Attornies are no exception.