Bankruptsy Fling Attorney Vs Bankruptsy Litigation Attorney

[Atlanta7]

When I searched online on Avvo etc, I see lots of BK attorneys. But if someone needs a litigation attorney to fight in the BK court about BK fraud, denying chapter seven BK under section 727, how do find one who has done lot's on litigation on the behalf of creditor . I am a creditor in this case.

[justbroke]

You could ask during your consultation.

Many bankruptcy attorneys have represented a debtor in an adversary proceeding (AP). Please know that you will be paying $$$$ to retain a bankruptcy litigation attorney. I don't see it happening on contingency when you are the creditor of an ordinary debtor. You should really think about whether recover of the money is worth the expense.

Most creditors do not attempt to go for a general exception to discharge, but attempt to have a specific exception to discharge. In any case, you really need to seek the consultations and let the attorney know all the facts so that they can help you gauge whether it is worth pursuing.

By just running the query below, I immediately saw several firms that do bankruptcy litigation.

https://www.google.com/search?q=atlanta+bankruptcy+attorney+adversary+pro ceeding+%2Bretainer

Here are the fees for one of the lawyers in that search...

The typical retainer for an Adversary Proceeding is between $5,000.00 and $10,000.00. The hourly rate for Senior Associate Attorney ... is $545.00/hour. The hourly rate for my Mid-Level Associate Attorneys ... is $435.00/hour. The hourly rate for my law clerks and paralegals ranges from $200.00 to $250.00/hour. These rates are substantially less than those charged by other bankruptcy attorneys with similar experience.

[despritfreya]

If you truly are a creditor (not the debtor), AND the UST is looking at the same issues you are looking at, why don’t you just let the process unfold? Assuming the UST goes after the debtor in an effort to completely deny the discharge, there would be no reason for you to spend lots of $$ hiring an attorney for such litigation. What you may want to do, is hire an attorney to file a Motion to Extend the 727 deadline (must be filed before the deadline runs) asking for an extension of say 90 days to see how things go with the UST. If you locate an attorney, the attorney may suggest this and may charge a smaller fee to file such a Motion. You will want to hire an attorney to make sure this type of Motion is appropriate under the circumstance and, if it is, is done correctly.

Des.

[justbroke]

As Des wrote, if the United States Trustee is already pursing a general denial of discharge, then why even do this. That's also an excellent suggestion to extend the deadline just in case.

[Atlanta7]

Thank you , Justbroke and Des!

[Atlanta7]

UST has filed the motion to extend the time to file complanit and motion for 2004 rule exam. Both are approved by the BKC. It is my understanding that both panel trustee and UST will be doing 2004 exam. I was just thinking about having an attorney to make sure the AP is filed if UST don't don it. I am little concern that UST does not appear to have made any report to US attorney about this fraud case ( no action from US attorney as of now)

[despritfreya]

The extension of the 727 deadline based upon a Motion filed by the UST and/or the standing Trustee most likely only protects those moving parties. What do the Orders granting the Motions state?

I can tell you that when I deal with this issue, I make sure the extension only covers those asking for it. If the Order granting the extension is limited to the moving parties, and the deadline has passed, the ship probably has sailed for everyone else and is not coming back into port.

When was/is the deadline?

As to the potential criminal referral - In my experience, creditors and even the debtor are not told if and when it happens. The referral is made and then it is up to the Department of Justice to decide if it will seek an indictment.

Des.

[Atlanta7]

Thank you, Des! UST asked for extension for themselves only. Another two weeks for the deadline.