Will BK Attorneys Consult by Hour for Pay?

[ApresMoi]

If I don't have the funds to hire an Atty when the time comes, Plan B would be to do the paperwork myself, then consult with a BK Atty for a final 'review' of my efforts to make sure all is in order (and/or to address any areas of remaining doubt). Does anyone know whether BK Attys will do consultations on an hourly basis in such instances? My preference would be to hire an Atty for the BK, but I may not have a choice in the matter. Thanks.

[JRScott]

You could look in your area and see if any bk attorneys do pro bono work.

[MSbklawyer]

I've been approached to do that a number of times -- to just look over a pro se bk and make sure it was done right. I've never taken up the offer because frankly, it would be just as much if not more work to make sure it was done right by someone else as it would be to just do it.

[Flamingo]

BK attorneys usually do not do hourly consultation work to review your completed papers. However, that does not mean they are not out there but finding them, if they exist, would take a lot of phone calls on your part to BK attorneys/firms in your area. Or call your State Bar Association and see if they can help you in the event they may have a listing of that sort on hand. If you have stopped making your credit card and/or other payments over the past several months, you could have saved part of those now freed up funds to save to pay for an attorney - were you able to do any of that?

[HHM]

It is pretty much all or nothing with Bankruptcy attorneys (and most other areas of law too; would you consult with a DUI attorney for 1 hour to make sure your trial material is accurate?).

The issue is more about the state local rules of ethics and certain provisions of the BK code. The liability the attorney creates by reviewing your paperwork and saying "that is fine" is practically the same as if the attorney represented you. Thus, from the attorneys perspective it is better to get paid and do the work then not. Sorry to say.

[mtbc]

it would be just as much if not more work to make sure it was done right by someone else as it would be to just do it

-- that's partly why I went pro se. (-: It's my butt on the line more than it is a lawyer's, after all, and it's some effort to find a truly competent and meticulous one. (It helped that my case seemed fairly clear cut, though -- I'm not trying to get through chapter 7 with plenty of assets still in hand, and I planned our payments to people a couple of years before filing to make sure there were no recent suspicious transactions. I've been "ready to file" for a while, just trying to make my case look increasingly plausible while creditors were still leaving breathing room.)

I wonder if you could pay a bankruptcy attorney with panel trustee experience to look at your case as if they were a trustee -- look through it, ask you stuff, tell you what arguments they'd consider making in the trustee's place! So, you're not asking them to say that your paperwork and case are okay, just to look for ways in which it might not be.

[ApresMoi]

I think I knew the answer to this question before I asked it. :-). Thanks all.

Probably my best bet is through Legal Aid (pro bono).

Yes, now that I am not paying CC, I am saving and will have enough to hire an Atty. if I can find someone that charges a grand or so. Most here are asking $2, plus filing fee. If it turns out I cannot postpone the car repair, then I won't have the 2K, period.