Hoiw to find a good lawyer?

[contemplate]

Hi again all. Okay so we met w/ one lawyer for a free consultation. He was recommended by a co-worker who filed 7 (we make too much & would have to do 13.) Now we want to meet w/ 1 or 2 more per BKforum's advice. We will probably ask for a recommendation from our church? How do we know which one to pick if we persue this? The first one seemed ok. He didn't give us an estimated amount that we would have to live on but he did provide a lot of good basic info. as we were/are pretty clueless about how bk & ch 13 works.

TIA

[lrprn]

Now we want to meet w/ 1 or 2 more per BKforum's advice. ... How do we know which one to pick if we persue this?

Word of mouth is always good, but shouldn't be the ONLY way you get names because you don't know whether your financial situation matches well with the recommender's.

We do allow you to post a thread asking members who live in your area to share the name of their lawyer by PM (private message) only - no names are to be posted in the open forums.

Another reliable method is to contact your state's bar association and ask for bk lawyer referrals in your local area. While you have them on the phone, ask if the recommended lawyers have any complaints filed against them. Here's the link to all the state bar associations - http://www.abanet.org/barserv/stlobar.html - just click on your state.

You can also do searches for experienced bk lawyers in your area right here at BK Forum, on www.lawyers.com or www.martindale.com.

One last option to consider - many local bk court trustees also take private cases. Check here to see the names of the trustees in your area - for Ch 7 trustees http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/privat.../locator/7.htm. Don't contact every one of them because in case you can file Ch 7, that taints the trustee pool and an outside trustee will have to be brought in - not a good way to start. Also there's typically just one Ch 13 trustee in every court, so don't contact the Ch 13 trustee for the same reason.

Here's several good links that explain how to find a good bk lawyer and what to ask during your interviews:

http://bankruptcy.lawyers.com/Bankruptcy-Selecting-a-Good-Lawyer.html

http://moranlaw.net/selecting.htm

http://bankruptcy.lawyers.com/Preparing-to-Meet-with-a-Bankruptcy-Lawyer.html

http://moranlaw.net/interview.html

Hope this helps! Finding the right lawyer to file Ch 13 for you is crucial and truly can make the difference between success and failure of your 13.

Since you said you didn't understand a lot about Ch 13, here's a few links to learn more about how Ch 13 works compared to Ch 7:

http://www.abanet.org/publiced/practical/books/family_legal_guide/bankruptcy_7_13.pdf

http://www.mroselaw.com/CM/Custom/Chapter-7-13-Comparison.asp

Here's how Ch 13 works - http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcyco...chapter13.html

And here's how Ch 7 works - http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcyco.../chapter7.html

Again, hope this helps! Good luck with your interviews!

[NoTomatoCan]

lrprn provides some great advice!

One other item that I would add is to make sure you ask any potential lawyer if they have experience in the area specific to YOU. Maybe you have a 2nd mortgage you want to lien strip... Or a 401k that you want to keep contributing to... Or some other special circumstance that makes your case different from the myriad other BK cases one particular attorney has handled.

While a good attorney can handle most typical BK scenarios, it is always reassuring to know that your attorney has dealt with your particular issues before.

Not a deal breaker, but just another item to consider.

[justbroke]

All excellent advice! Best of luck to you!