My Atty laughed about me having a PACER acct !!! *LOL*

[kawimominPA]

Wait Wait..... Our atty is an AWESOME guy, takes loads of time with us, and is VERY thorough and honest. We were actually shocked to meet an atty like this. He is always available to us at the drop of a hat, by email or phone, and we have enjoyed some interesting discussions with him about alot of topics other than BK. You have to understand this particular area......alot of rural folks who are not very educated or advanced in technology. It's not that he DOESN'T understand about technology; he is just very very good at what he does and knows his stuff forwards and backwards and is very confident. He wouldn't let me sign anything until he, we, and all of us had gone through it with a fine-toothed comb. He knows that I've been an emotional basket-case through this whole thing and has done nothing but try to encourage me and put my mind at ease. He has even reviewed the trustee questions with us in a "mock 341" and wants to meet with us again just before the 341 to review them again and any possible additional questions to make sure I am prepared. He just doesn't use the internet himself very much and prefers the good old fashioned pen and paper and just didn't know there were so many resources out there on this (and other) subject.

[shark66]

If he knows what he's doing, he should've explained to you that "yes" and "no" is pretty much all you'll get to say at your 341.

While I thoroughly understand how backwards some areas of *The Commonwealth* are, my reaction to his observations of PACER, forum etc. would have not been as accommodating as yours...

I guess that's why I ended up being "pro se"...

Good luck.

[LadyInTheRed]

I didn't see anything wrong with the attorney's reactions. He was surprised a client would sign up for Pacer and surprised that there is a place on the internet where people go for information and support in bankruptcy. It was his honest reaction in what sounds like a pretty informal conversation. KawimominPA, it sounds like you were much more educated than most of your attorney's his clients, and he was surprised and amused to find out why.

Unlike many people who have had bad experiences with attorneys, I come from the perspective of somebody who has worked with attorneys for about 20 years. Nobody is perfect, but most attorneys I've encountered have a lot of integrity and work hard to produce the best results possible for their clients. The ones who don't are not respected by most of their peers. There are bad examples that give the others a bad name. The bad experiences are the ones we are likely to hear about the most because the people with lousy attorneys are the ones who are out looking for help. And guess what? Even the best attorneys occasionally wind up with unhappy clients. It isn't always the attorney's fault.

I understand that people who have been burned by lousy attorneys are skeptical. Everybody should maintain a healthy skepticism when hiring any professional, whether it be an attorney, a doctor or a plumber. We all are our own best advocates and should not blindly follow the advice of an attorney or anyone else. You need to understand the issues in order to make informed decisions. In my experience, informed clients who ask lots of questions are the best clients.

[fiona]

Well, I would not have known about PACER had it not been for you fine folks on the forum. And I had training as a legal librarian.....(am not working as a librarian now).
There are many good attorneys out there....having said that, there are also those who think rather too highly of themselves because they have a JD and the rest of us, well we are mere mortals. Working with and for attorneys had taught me otherwise. Some are brilliant, true, but I knew that I was as smart as many I had dealt with--I chose not to become a lawyer.
So they guard PACER like a secret handshake. But baby, knowlege is power.

[AngelinaCat]

I am pleased that the OP's attorney does take so much time with them. I am concerned that he (the attorney) *may* be a little intimidated by an informed client.

With all of the legal dealings we have had over the years with various attorneys--especially with the cyberstaking stuff--it has amazed us that all of these attorneys did not want to listen to us explain in full the details of our situations. Granted, 99% of what we would say may never be needed, and was totally extraneous.

But let me tell you, if one of those attorneys who refused to listen to us--and a fact came up in the course of the case that he/she did NOT know about, the first people that attorney would be clawing all over, would be us.

Attorney: "Why did you not tell me this?"

TheCatHousehold: "We tried. YOU didn't want to hear it."

Another instance with a different attorney: 'Hub was doing computer upgrades and software training for this law office as part of our payment for the attorney services. Two of them are in the office. One handled our Estate Planning, and the other handled our other business. One individual was so non-technical and anti-computer--though he had to use one--that as late as 2009, we could NOT persuade this person that he really DID need to upgrade his composition software from WordPerfect 6.0 to something newer....

*Sigh*.....

[lillymarlene]

I found this forum shortly before my 341, and thank goodness! I had no idea about a lot of things, for example, what a 341 is. My attorney had mailed me a letter stating that I had to appear at this meeting, he'd meet me there, and if I had questions feel free to ask. But, of course how would I have known what to ask!?

Then thanks to all you folks here, I have been able to start educating myself. Some things my attorney may have told me, but there is just so much to this process. It sure is good to have this wonderful source of help and information.

[kawimominPA]

LadyInTheRed described it perfectly. And yes, our atty listens to us, lets us ask as many questions as we need to ask, and takes whatever time is necessary to come to an answer or solution. LITR put it exactly in the right perspective. He is not at all intimidated by our knowledge and resourcefulness and actually finds it refreshingly amusing compared to most of his clientele, which has led us to enjoy many interesting discussions with him on alot of varied subjects. He really likes it when we come in to see him and at our last meeting, he said - "Man, I'm going to miss you guys!" My husband promised we would come in to see him for a visit as long as he didn't charge us. *LOL* But he actually does a wide variety of law and we will DEFINITELY be using him in the future for anything else that he is able to help us with - Preparing our wills, New Home closure, and anything else we might need him for. He was very honest with us and said he would help with anything anyone needs, but that if he feels it is out of his field of expertise or knowledge, he would not take on the task.

The first lawyer we consulted-with told us we would definitely NOT qualify for Chapter 13 and had no choice, but to go Chap 7. He gave us NO time whatsoever. We didn't know any better and ALMOST went with 13, until my husband wisely said he wanted a second opinion. A friend of his highly recommended this lawyer (the one we have now), and we were quite happy with his dedication to our case (and I'm sure his other clients). He worked and re-worked and re-worked our paperwork to make sure we fit under the means test in every LEGAL possible way.......even taking the paperwork home with him to work on it during the night!! We got emails from him the next day with VERY LATE HOURS showing on the time-stamp!! He was careful to make sure we didn't "double-dip" with our expenses, but worked the paperwork for it to logically, truthfully, and legally bring us under the means test to qualify for Chapter 7. The other lawyer looked at our complicated situation and just brushed it off as an automatic 13.

We've been very blessed with this atty and are very thankful so far with his handling of my case.