First appointment with lawyer

[Quiznos1]

We have our first consult with an attorney on Monday and would appreciate any advice on what questions to ask or what docs to bring. We hope to consult with at least 3 attorneys before choosing, but feel very inadequate on how to evaluate their capabilities.

Thanks
Quiznos1

[Floridagail]

We took a sheet of paper with all our monthly bills totaled. All our income. He pretty much should be able to look at it and tell you where you are at.

[kornellred]

During your initial consultations, the attorney will be asking the questions. After the initial evaluation, you will come up with questions based upon what the attorney tells you is possible.

[Drazil65]

We went with a list of questions, most stemmed from things I had read here and applied to our situation. I had one list for all questions about the bankruptcy (first time questions anyway), one list for all my questions about the 341 and after that time period and one list about his retainer, how to pay/how much and when he actually would start working for me (some attorneys do nothing until fully paid as was the case with all the attorneys we met with during the vetting phase). Once we met with the first one I added more questions for the following consults (stuff I did not think of until we talked with the first one).

I also brought paper with me to write down things during the course of our conversations and of course the answers to my questions from each attorney. One small note: we insisted that we would only meet with firms that our consult would be directly with the attorney in charge of our case. This was our own personal opinion and although we understood that the paralegal would probably end up doing the paper work we wanted to speak with the attorney directly. No third hand answers or "I will speak with the attorney and then get back to you". We had one free consult with each firm we visited and we wanted to make the best use of it. The very first firm we met with I had scheduled and understood the appointment to be with an attorney from the firm, we arrived to be told that his paralegal would meet with us as he had an unexpected appointment and was not there. We promptly told the paralegal that when he felt he was going to be free to meet with us to call and reschedule our appointment, she told us that is was very common practice to have the paralegal do the initial interview with their firm. With that we said if that is the case then thank you but no thank you and left. It had nothing to do with her or paralegals (ironically I am one and have been one for 15 yrs) it was not our best use of time. So think about things like that and what matters. Many will try to make you think you have no control at all in bankruptcy, quite the opposite. You have control in cases like this and many other areas.

Good Luck and keep making thoe appointments until you feel comfortable.

[EandGWZ]

Excel or similar type of sheet with all debts. Refresh your memory as to when was the last tie you made a payment. Your income, other assets...

[Quiznos1]

Many thanks to you all. I really appreciate all your advice. Based on what I have read, here, I put together a couple of excel spread sheets with our income and expenses for the last year. I also, made a list of all our debt-kinda scary to see it in black and white.

Drazil65, thank you for your detailed input. I think it’s a good idea to insist on speak with the attorney that will be in charge of our case. I like the way you broke down your questions for the attorney into the different phases of BK...

Quiznos1

[LadyInTheRed]

During your initial consultations, the attorney will be asking the questions. After the initial evaluation, you will come up with questions based upon what the attorney tells you is possible.

I disagree with this. An initial consultation is an opportunity for you to interview the attorney. If the attorney doesn't give you a chance to ask questions about both the attorney and your case, then go somewhere else.

Before my consultations, I emailed attorneys a spreadsheet with my last six months income and pay check deductions, a list of all of my debts including monthly payments and balances, a list of my monthly living expenses and values of my car and house. I brought a list of questions with me. My consultations were very productive.

[LadyInTheRed]

I also, made a list of all our debt-kinda scary to see it in black and white.

Sure is!

[Quiznos1]

I disagree with this. An initial consultation is an opportunity for you to interview the attorney. If the attorney doesn't give you a chance to ask questions about both the attorney and your case, then go somewhere else.

I couldn’t agree more! That is exactly why I was asking advice on what type of questions to ask.


Before my consultations, I emailed attorneys a spreadsheet with my last six months income and pay check deductions, a list of all of my debts including monthly payments and balances, a list of my monthly living expenses and values of my car and house. I brought a list of questions with me. My consultations were very productive.

Great idea about emailing info before hand. No wasted time during the consult waiting for the attorney review spreadsheets. If I am lucky, maybe they will have already run a quick means test.

[Quiznos1]

Oops. sorry I havent learned to use the "Reply with quote" properly

LITR:"I disagree with this. An initial consultation is an opportunity for you to interview the attorney. If the attorney doesn't give you a chance to ask questions about both the attorney and your case, then go somewhere else."

Quiznos1: I couldn’t agree more! That is exactly why I was asking advice on what type of questions to ask.

[EandGWZ]

Quiznos, I had my credit report and excel sheets with debts. My lawyer appreciated my effort but added it was unnecessary as he was going to pull all that right before filing. So as others suggested, it may just be a time to ask questions and see if you guys can work together. For me, knowing what I owed via the credit report and my excel sheets eased a significant amoutn of anxiety. All the best to you, your family, and the beginning a debt free life.

[tobee43]

I disagree with this. An initial consultation is an opportunity for you to interview the attorney. If the attorney doesn't give you a chance to ask questions about both the attorney and your case, then go somewhere else.

Before my consultations, I emailed attorneys a spreadsheet with my last six months income and pay check deductions, a list of all of my debts including monthly payments and balances, a list of my monthly living expenses and values of my car and house. I brought a list of questions with me. My consultations were very productive.

this is EXCELLENT advise!

also, remember you are there to also find out about the atty. we asked how long have you been doing bk
do you know the trustees and how long have you been working with them...(as it turned out that firm had long standing relationships with the trustees in my district). we liked that because we knew then, the firm was prepared and knew what the trustees expected.

we also emailed everything prior to our physical appt. it was much more efficient that way and it gave us an opportunity to see if the firm was prepared or not. they were!

[btbeme]

My first attorney (he was excellent, but I ended up with another just as brilliant) had a 20-questions "homework" plus a short list of must-haves that you had to bring before he would let you in the door. His initial consults - the "freebie" - was 30 minutes, not the traditional 1 hour that many attorneys grant. His was very productive, and led me to honing my process down to the proverbial Brass Tacks. Helped me immensely.

He has since passed away and his website pulled down. I'll post his "homework" and requirements should I run across them somewhere... I am pretty sure I have them in a file somewhere. It was good juju.

[Quiznos1]

Thanks, btbeme. If you can locate a copy that would be great.
Quiznos1