Do I have a right to be annoyed?

[Confused14]

My attorney went on vacation and didn't notify me!! I signed the papers on 8/12, my attorney electronically filed them 8/13. He could've told me when I was in his office or sent me an email or phone call telling me he would be on vacation from this date to this date and if I needed anything to call him when he gets back, etc.. I emailed him my education certificate on Saturday, then emailed him on Monday because I received my bk papers in the mail and I was unsure what I was supposed to do with them. He emails me this morning telling me he's on vacation. Hello!?

Am I being ridiculous or do I have a right to be a bit annoyed?

[danaf]

Yeah, you are sort of being ridiculous. Attorneys have a right to go on vacation too, don't they? And they don't really need to let you know about it. And hey, at least he was nice enough to email you back that he's on vacation - most other attorneys would not have even done that.

There's nothing pressing in your situation. He will file the certificate when he gets back. And the papers you received were just a notification that everyone who files received. It's all going to be ok!

[Confused14]

Yeah, he has the right to go on vacation, that's no problem. It's just that he could've told me in case I needed to call him for something. In my opinion, it's just common courtesy. Regardless if you're a lawyer or a janitor, if you have clients, it's just the right thing to do.

[HHM]

The attorney knows more than you about BK, he knows that nothing is going to happen and you would have no NEED to call him.

You are being ridiculous. To answer your question, you have absolutely no reason to be annoyed. Your attorney's personal life is none of your business.

Granted, they have a duty to make sure that if anything adverse were to happen, there is coverage for the case, but they don't really need to notify you.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Confused, is it possible that the pre-filing credit counseling certificate is what you received the deficiency notice on, and that there IS an actual deficiency? Because clearly, you mailed it to him AFTER you filed, so there's no way it was included in your original filing: filed 8/13, amended 8/14, emailed certificate to atty 8/16.

Your best bet is to look at PACER and see what has actually been filed, and you can go from there. Beyond that, HHM is right... unless you are this atty's only client, they're not going to give you personal notification that they took some time off. In a way, you're lucky you got the email. Good luck!

[Confused14]

Actually I emailed him the other certificate, the debt management one that is required after you file, on 8/16. Ok, so I'm being ridiculous!! Guess I expect too much of people. Oh well.

[cool33097]

Lol

[Cali]

Now this made me laugh, where does it state that your attorney is required to let you know where they will be at all times? You should be thankful he emailed you at all.

My attorney was in court a lot, so all the questions I had I asked the paralegal.

[fltoo]

IMO, you are not being ridiculous at all. This is why so called "professionals" give such lousy service.

I would never ever go on vacation and not send a generic email to all clients.

When the consumer starts demanding decent service and speaking up, the service industry will improve. The lawyer is working for YOU, not the other way around.

Amazing how little we expect from professionals.

[Flamingo]

IMO, you are not being ridiculous at all. This is why so called "professionals" give such lousy service.

I would never ever go on vacation and not send a generic email to all clients.

When the consumer starts demanding decent service and speaking up, the service industry will improve. The lawyer is working for YOU, not the other way around.

Amazing how little we expect from professionals.

To the OP - your attorney, professionally or ethically, has no reason to notify clients that he/she is on vacation unless there is something pressing/a deadline that will occur during the time he is gone. Then he will have it covered by another attorney or taken care of by his staff. In your situation, all was taken care of before he left on vacation. There is no deadline or pressing point to be handled while he is out as to your situation. You are going through the unknown and are concerned and want to be advised as to what is going on every step of the way and that is understandable. In this circumstance, call your attorney's assistant or paralegal, express that you have concerns that you feel all is not right as to your situation and want to confirm all was/is taken care of while your attorney is out. They will check for you and reassure you that all is fine.

Also, it is possible you were emailed or sent a notice he was on vacation and you just never received it. As fitoo states above, he sends out notifications. When I am out on vacation or anyone in my office, we set up an "out of office" notification that is sent to everyone who sends us an email to notify them we are not in. However, that doesn't mean you will receive it on your end if there is a computer issue.

The same applies as to your doctor or other professional person in your life that provides services (i.e., CPA, etc.). My family doctor has never notified me when he is on vacation; I find out if I call the office and need to be seen or one of my family seen. There is someone else available to take his place if I want to see them.

Filing BK is anxiety-ridden. You will look back on this in a few years and realize what I am stating cause I have been through it.

[fltoo]

Hi Flamingo

But, difference is, you don't have ongoing business with your doc, etc.
If you were in the middle of ongoing business with a CPA, doc, etc., a notification of vacation would probably be forthcoming.

What if you were selling your house, (an ongoing transaction) and the broker left for two weeks vaca without telling you?

Any good pro would notify of vacation and leave the name of a person filling in.
It's not a matter of anxiety, it's just good professional manners.

BTW, Confused....you should expect much of someone you hire and more people should.

[cupcake]

Considering how many clients your attorney has, I think it's unreasonable to expect him to notify every client of his vacation. I don't think you're being "ridiculous" at all, just a bit unreasonable.

[fltoo]

LOL You can notify thousands of people by email in 10 seconds.

[HHM]

I agree, there are levels of professional courtesy, but I think you are off base on this one as your expectations do not reflect reality.

In the big picture, the fee you pay your attorney is rather small and only covers a few basic services. It is not as if this is your "family" go to attorney whenever you need him. A BK attorney is hired to provide a specific service. Also, given the timeline of a BK, almost nothing can happen in the span of a week that would require "immediate" attention (or even in the span of 3 weeks). This attorney unboubtably has staff, so its not as if his clients are high and dry. Most of the work for a BK is performed by the staff anyway.

Also, there is a flip side to this...if this attorney announced to all his clients he was going on vacation, that would probably "increase" the anxiety and create a flood of phone calls. The attorney knows that nothing is going to happen in any case that cannot be addressed by his staff or when he gets back, that is just the nature of BK. So why needlessly increase the anxiety of clients when you don't have to.

[Confused14]