Three attorney consults, each one quotes less...??

[nickifan]

Okay, this post may seem odd, but I do have sort of a Groucho Marx mindset about any club that would accept me as a member....

So far I have done the free consult with three attorneys about possible Ch 7.
The first guy (part of a two-atty firm) quoted $2400, including filing fees ($299) but not the pre/post credit counseling.

Second attorney, solo practitioner, gave me a paper listing the "regular" Ch 7 fee as $2800, but an "adjustment" to $1800, plus the $299 filing plus $50 for a credit report fee, for a total of $2149.

Third attorney, in a 3-atty firm but she's the BK-only specialist, quotes "below median" Ch 7 for $1750, INCLUDING filing fee (paper used to say PLUS filing fee, but she crossed it out and wrote "including".) She also wants $950 at time agreement is signed, then full balance paid prior to filing (latter part is common.) (I should be below median no prob as I have no income...if I were "above median" she'd charge $2250.)

I guess I'm just wondering why this is all over the place in terms of fees. I actually liked the third atty the best (though I liked #2 too...she told me at the end of the consult that she's been thru BK herself so knows both sides of it personally.) All seem to be respected...though the first guy's firm also does personal injury and he came across a bit "slick" to me, if you know what I mean.

But...I almost want to ask the cheapest one WHY they are charging that, and what the others quoted me. Am I nuts? Should I not try to overanalyze why a competent-sounding lawyer offers the best price?

Could it be as simple as they don't have enough clients right now? But I wouldn't be filing possibly until April, though I'd like to file tomorrow! I'm still using some CCs for gas, health insurance premium, groceries, etc. All of the lawyers did cite the "stop using for 90 days" rule, but I don't know if I will be able to do that. Right now I am still paying everyone, but largely that's because I just do not want to deal with the phone calls....

Back to the original question here re their fees...I'm in metro Houston (Southern District court would be the one.) How do they sound? Which would you choose?

Thanks!

[StartingOver08]

Make sure to ask the attorneys if they charge you for each phone call, communication, letter, meeting etc. Usually the base fee includes all commuication but does not include things like AP's. I have seen some BK attorneys charge extra for all the "extras" like letters, emails etc and they run the normal BK fee up by charging for these extras. To be fair, this seems to occur with attorney's that do not exclusively practice BK.

[whipster1]

The normal fee here is between 1300 and 2000 plus filing fee, I'm in S TX/S Dist but further south than you. The higher end guys sound like they don't do many BK's...I would lean towards the specialist.

[HakunaMatata]

Here is a helpful link HHM shared with me when I was engaged in the selection process:

http://askmethner.com/?p=609

The fees I was quoted ranged from $1400-$2500 (all including the filing fee and none included pre-filing or post-filing certification). The highest quote was from a mill-esque, paralegal fueled firm. The lowest was from an independent attorney. I asked the lowest cost attorney about her fees (while comparing them to others I had been quoted). She explained fees commonly differ based on overhead. She didn't have a fancy office and had a meager staff. She did the majority of the work herself (and had been doing it for years). The two lowest cost attorneys stated they would be present at my 341. The high cost likely would have sent a paralegal.