What questions do you WISH you would have asked your attorney?

[Keebler]

I'm quickly approaching the point where I need to retain an attorney and hopefully file in the near future. I've interviewed attornies and picked the one I like best. As of now I've paid him nothing.

Before I go drop off the check, it occurs to me that there has been some people who haven't been real happy with thier attorney. One of the complaints I've seen is that the attorney took forever to file. Another complaint I've seen is attornies that never care to return phone calls.

For those who have been through the process...

What question(s) do you WISH you would have asked your attorney before you paid the retainer?

[lrprn]

Since you listed your two biggest concerns, my advice is to ask this lawyer you are considering straight out how to communicate most effectively with him, how long he typically takes to respond to an email and how long to a phone call, and when to expect your case will be filed once he has all the needed documents.

Here's another good list of questions to go through before retaining a bankruptcy lawyer - it's from http://bankruptcy.lawyers.com/Bankru...-a-Lawyer.html

Questions To Ask Your Potential Lawyer
Prepare a list of questions to take with you to your first meeting. In theory, no question is too silly to ask. Keep in mind, though, that you don't want to scare a lawyer out of representing you. Some questions you might ask a bankruptcy lawyer would include:

Should you file bankruptcy?
What might your other options be?
How many bankruptcy cases has he or she handled?
What percentage of his or her practice is in the area of expertise that you need?
Does the lawyer usually represent debtors or creditors?
What problems does the lawyer foresee with your case?
How would the lawyer go about handling your situation? What is the process?
How long will it take to bring the matter to a conclusion?
How would the lawyer charge for his or her services?
Would the lawyer handle the case personally or would it be passed on to some other lawyer or support staff in the firm? If other lawyers or staff may do some of the work, could you meet them?

Money Matters
You'll want to ask how the lawyer would charge for his or her services:

What is the lawyer's hourly rate?
What would the estimated fees be for your matter?
Would the lawyer consider doing the work for a flat fee?
Would a contingency fee be possible (for creditor's work)?
Does the lawyer advance out of pocket costs?
Would there be a retainer payable up front?
Would any unused portion be refundable?

Ask to be provided with a copy of the lawyer's retainer agreement and have it explained to you before decide on retaining the lawyer or the lawyer's law firm. You may end up paying a lot of money to the lawyer who you retain so make sure you understand what you are signing up for.

[rrockinggramma]

The one question I ask was will you talk to me after confirmation? I had an attorney who believed that once filed, that was it. I was going to be sure that didn't happen again. And guess what, he told me he would follow it to the end and he has.

[gophermn]

Find out if they have one billion files ahead of yours to file. I paid in full August 2007 and the derilict attny said they could not file until 90 days after I paid in full.
Needless to say I fired them.

So make sure they can handle their workload.

[deafbroke]

Ask wht the heck they charge so much. I couldn't find an attorney who would file for under $1700.

I CAN'T AFFORD THAT! I ended up using Bridgeport Bankruptcy service on the internet. Fill out all the information forms and they email you the filled out forms. Juat print them out and sign them, then go file.

Only thing I didn't like is they had short time limits to get it done or you had to pay an additional $60 to access the information or make changes.

But I paid about $200 instead of $1700. I'l lbe ammending a couple things but that is free at the courthouse and lawyers charge extra for it.

DB

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Keeb, seems to me the number one problem I see from posts here are errors on the filings spotted *after* one has gone over the numbers with the atty and signed (what the filer thought was) an error-free petition.

In repeated cases, the atty had SAID to the filer that everything was fine, suggested changes had been made, the numbers provided by the filer had been correctly entered, only for the filer to find it out the hard way, either at the 341 or by looking up the filing in PACER himself. Many times the errors can be attributed to sloppiness on the part of the paralegal actually typing in the numbers, but sometimes it's the atty himself just being lazy or inattentive.

There was even a thread from a guy whose filing was all manner of messed up, and upon further discussion it was revealed that he had, at his atty's request, signed blank forms -- and later in the thread we found out he wasn't the only one who had been asked to do this. I know you're smarter than that, but I figure I'd throw it in as a reminder.

So, assuming you can get your atty to take your calls don't sign anything but a completely correct copy, and ask to be emailed the PDF of your filing *prior* to entering it into ECF. And after it's filed, triple check it. In other words, make damn sure that the numbers you sweated over for so long actually make it into your filing...

You know I'm a pro se filer, so I'm already biased. But honestly, in a straightforward Ch7 where there are no complex issues, what you are in essence paying an attorney for are three things: doing the forms, some personalized general advice, and handholding at the 341. Of these three duties you are paying for, doing the forms is the biggest chunk by far. Make sure, for your own sake, they are correct to your own satisfaction before he files it for you.

That, and question him regarding his preparation style regarding the 341. Does he wait for the 341 for the trustee to tell him what he wants, resulting in stress and a continuance for you? Or is he proactive, already knows what the trustees want, and prepares you well for the 341? You could even find out what days your courthouse holds 341 meetings -- like here it's every Thursday and Friday -- and see if he shows up or sends an underling. If he goes himself, see if his clients look calm and satisfied. Tell him upfront you're thinking about going to see some 341s and ask if you can expect to see him there. Not a big deal... but it could tell you a great deal about your atty, if you watch and listen intently.

But there's one trick I generally use that tells me a lot about a person acting in a professional capacity. Personally -- and this is mainly because I'm a ***** -- I ask a question or two (very innocently and sweetly ) that I already know is going to require a detailed, multipart answer, which of course I already know the answer to. Nothing too hard, just something I would think he *should* know. I ask it just to see if I get a correct, detailed answer or get blown off with a generalization. If I get blown off, I throw in a gentle, "Oh, but I heard..." and toss him hint. If he still blows me off with generalities, I know it isn't going to work. I haven't used it with an atty before, but I have many times in work related situations. In any situation where I need to know the quality of info I am going to receive from a person before I entrust them with responsibility, yeah, it works like a charm. If I were ever to retain an atty for any reason, I would definitely throw a test like this in, because it would give me a good idea of his patience and willingness to answer in full, as well as an idea of his general knowledge. It also tells me upfront whether he really needs me to be a pushover for a professional relationship to work (it happens).

Good luck!!!