Question re Pacer and amending petition

[PaKettle]

Pa, I'm really glad he FINALLY got back to you, but definitely keep on his ass about *what* forms, *when* will I see them, etc. There's no deadline, but depending on the trustee and the docs needed, the trustee may not be able to issue his final report needed for discharge and eventually closure of your case.

Also, attorneys are supposed to have procedures in place to cover any unavailability. They get a lot of latitude (especially single attorney offices) and that coverage may be slipshod, but they are supposed to have at least that much, and I saw a good number of admonishments and worse handed to lawyers who left their clients in the lurch. (I was looking at a bunch of attorney disciplinary actions in Minnesota and got caught up in reading them all.) This one guy took a two year trip overseas -- Lawyers Without Boundaries or something like that -- but failed to take care of a client's pending lawsuit before leaving, or at least give her back her files, or even notify her that he was taking off for two years. She had no contact number, the office was closed, and she ended up losing (by default) a very significant lawsuit because she no longer had the documents needed to continue with it even if she had found another attorney. The judge was very, very unamused. I can't remember what the punishment was, but it was severe.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that what you are upset with, Pa, is something that their own Rules of Professional Conduct say you should be upset about. I have a lot of compassion for genuinely ill people, but... he should be having someone -- anyone -- help him during this time, not only for your sake but his own. *sigh* Keep your eye on it, Pa.

I have an appointment with my attorney next week. I will ask to see the actual letter from the trustee so that I know what needs to be filed and make sure it gets filed. I assume these new or amended documents will turn up on pacer?

Right after I hired this guy I realized he wasn't easy to reach by phone, had no email address, and his paperwork was sloppy. He handed me back someone else's tax returns one time, too. One thing an attorney should not be is sloppy with paperwork!

In the case you quoted above, I would think the client could have sued for damages. I had a friend who had a suit against a car company re forcing him out of employment without cause or something like that. Anyway, the attorney he hired to fight it did not file the proper paperwork to win the case. My friend found out, sued the attorney, won, and got way more than he would have from the original lawsuit!

Filing bankruptcy is so relatively easy compared to other aspects of the law, there is just no excuse for them not doing a good job of it, imho.