wihch lawyer?

[bkonyx]

Hello,

I've known for awhile now that i was going to file chapter 7 but didn't have the lawyer fees and things have been crazy. I've got a friend who will loan me the money now so I want to get started.

I live/work in a small town about 20-25 minutes from a larger metropolitan area. My options are a small local law firm that handles cases of all sorts, not just bankruptcy. I like them because they are small and more personal. It's also 3 blocks from work so I wouldn't need to take much time off to travel to them for appointments, etc.

My other option is a big firm with 12 offices scattered throughout the state. Local office is in the larger metro area about 25 minutes away. They specialize in bankruptcy so know the ins and outs and everything. But after meeting with a different law firm that specialized in bankruptcy a couple months ago, I was really turned off. I'm sure most are fine but this guy was the biggest jerk and there is no way I'd give him my money to help me.

Basically, I like the small local firm much better but I am concerned that because bankruptcy isn't their speciality, they won't do as good of a job.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I just moved to the area and only know my coworkers, who I don't want to know about this (my boss knows because of the garnishment on my wages but no one else does). So I can't ask for lawyer recs.

Would the small local firm be able to do what I need them to do? Or should I just suck it up and travel to the bigger firm that I don't really care for?

Thanks!

[drowning123]

My lawyer didn't really specify in bankruptcy either, but he knew what to research for. They're really just filling out paperwork for you, e-filing your case and getting you a case number. I would say that you need to educate yourself as much as possible so you know all the right questions to ask when you have your FREE consultation.

[chicagoed195]

You should meet with several attorneys before you make a decision. One bad experience doesn't necessarily taint the whole profession. I am using a small firm that only handles bankruptcy cases. My experience with this firm has been very positive. I mostly deal with the paralegals, but they are quick to refer a legal question to the attorney assigned to my account. I have never had to wait for more than a day to get an answer by e-mail. Last month, I had raised several questions about changes to my expenses and how best to plan in the event the trustee noticed and wanted more money and the managing partner called me in to his office to review the specific issues involved. It was a very short meeting, but he had real insight on how the trustee thought and operated. Given the nature of our situation, I am not sure I would have gotten the same response from an attorney that only handles a few cases each year.

[keepsmiling]

I think a lot depends on how complicated your case might be. If it's pretty cut and dried, and you aren't self employed or over the median or holding on to a lot of assets or other exceptional circumstances, you should be fine with a general practice.

And yes, go see a tie breaker.

[my2girls]

I saw 6 before I decided...big, small and in between. In the end I chose a smaller firm, he met with us twice to review our situation at no cost (some tricky items to consider). I'm no expert but I would definately shop around and find someone you're comfortable with. I retained him yesterday and feel like we're finally on the path to freedom! Good luck.

[HighUnder]

I also think that you should see a couple more attorneys. You don't seem to be very comfortable with either of the ones you mentioned, and you just may come across one or two who make you feel like they are a really good fit for you and your situation. I had interviewed three different ones, and just when I felt like I was going to go with the third, I interviewed one more and he turned out to be the one who answered most of my questioned before I even asked them.

[lillymarlene]

I agree with everyone else here, that you probably should interview at least one to two more attorneys. I filed chap 13 last year and picked the third one I interviewed. The first one sent his paralegal to meet with me (so I crossed him off) and the second one was very much a generalist. A few others were also suggested to me, but were at least 50 miles away, or sounded like they really didn't handle too many bankruptcys. The third one, a bk specialist, just seemed the most knowlegeable and something just clicked, so I ended up picking him.

I'd keep going until I found one I was comfortable with. Best of luck to you.

[sunshinepa]

I agree that you should shop around until you are absolutely comfortable with one. A good attorney can make a big difference, especially if you are at or over the median income. If you are under the median income, it might not make much difference. Still, you get what you pay for in my opinion!

Good luck!

[NewPage]

The lawyer I chose is an hour away from me (meaning I have to pay him a travel fee, just waiting on that bill) and bk is just one of several things he handles. There are 2 local guys who do bk almost exclusively, and are much closer to me (one in town, the other is 20 minutes away). However, the one 20 minutes away had it blown by his paralegal, who never returned my email after calling me and telling me to feel free to email with any questions. The guy in town has had some disciplinary action. My lawyer has had no disciplinary action and is licensed in two states. He spent an hour with me on my phone consult, and answered numerous email questions from me -- all before I decided on him. I was really impressed with the time he spent, and all of that together sealed the deal. I have had some frustrations with his paralegal, but overall am glad I chose him.

So research your choices as fully as you can, and go with your gut.

[btbeme]

Here are my thought on "the right attorney."

Since I was pretty well-informed on the basics of filing Ch 7 (thanks to this and a couple other websites) I was well prepared to walk into attorney offices and lay out the basics for them (a spreadsheet with income, assets, values, debt amounts, etc as well as a completed Means Test). That allowed us to spend more time discussing the curveballs I had in my case.

I narrowed my decision to two attorneys who were very clear in how they would advise me to handle those curveballs. Both of them charged about the same price. Both of them required me to do the majority of the homework in gathering and triple-checking the info for the filing.

I went with the attorney who not only made specific recommendations on how to smooth out my filing (which took a few months by the way) but also explained to me that the reason to hire a BK attorney isn't so much to make sure that things go right, its to make sure that things can get fixed if they go wrong. I had no doubt that both of them were completely competent, though.

I say go with an attorney who is confident in your case and who will be there the moment something goes wrong.

[Freddy03]

Hello,

I've known for awhile now that i was going to file chapter 7 but didn't have the lawyer fees and things have been crazy. I've got a friend who will loan me the money now so I want to get started.

I live/work in a small town about 20-25 minutes from a larger metropolitan area. My options are a small local law firm that handles cases of all sorts, not just bankruptcy. I like them because they are small and more personal. It's also 3 blocks from work so I wouldn't need to take much time off to travel to them for appointments, etc.

My other option is a big firm with 12 offices scattered throughout the state. Local office is in the larger metro area about 25 minutes away. They specialize in bankruptcy so know the ins and outs and everything. But after meeting with a different law firm that specialized in bankruptcy a couple months ago, I was really turned off. I'm sure most are fine but this guy was the biggest jerk and there is no way I'd give him my money to help me.

Basically, I like the small local firm much better but I am concerned that because bankruptcy isn't their speciality, they won't do as good of a job.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I just moved to the area and only know my coworkers, who I don't want to know about this (my boss knows because of the garnishment on my wages but no one else does). So I can't ask for lawyer recs.

Would the small local firm be able to do what I need them to do? Or should I just suck it up and travel to the bigger firm that I don't really care for?

Thanks!

Make sure you list this friend when you file. My attorney asked me twice if anyone loaned me the money to pay him.

Good Luck to you!