How to find the best attorney

[toomuch]

I read somewhere on this forum to get the best bk attny, not the cheapest. How do I get that info??
Thanks.

[SinkingFast]

One good way to get a knowledgeable BK attny is to hire an attny who's an active or retired Trustee. Most Trustees are BK attnys who will represent people thru their private practice. You can find out who those attnys are by checking your Court's home page.

If you're in a smaller Court, there may only be 2-3 Trustees. You wanna take care to not Consult with all of them. That would taint your Trustee pool and then your Court will have to bring in a Trustee from another Court.

If you have a regular attny that handles your routine affairs, maybe ask them who'd they recommend.

We also checked PACER. Wanted to see how many cases each one had filed. We wanted to find an attny with a decent amount of experience, but didn't want a "mill" attny.

[lrprn]

SinkingFast gave you excellent advice. If you are having difficulty figuring out who the Chapter 7 trustees are in your bankruptcy district, they are listed here by state - http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/private_.../locator/7.htm .

Chapter 13 trustees are listed here by state - http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/private_...locator/13.htm .

If your friends or family know a lawyer they trust in your area, that lawyer can also provide great leads to excellent bankruptcy lawyers who are not trustees.

Another option for qualified bankruptcy law firms in your area is to check http://www.martindale.com/Bankruptcy...countries.html and click on your state link.

Make appointments with 3-4 lawyers - most give half-hour to hour-long consultations. Don't settle on the first lawyer you meet with - it's important to find one that you feel comfortable with and that is very familiar with the customs of the trustees and court in your area. Here's a list of 12 questions to ask every lawyer you interview - http://research.lawyers.com/lawyer-i....html?site=537

Hope this helps. Please keep us posted on your progress and best of luck finding excellent representation!

[toomuch]

Thanks Sinkingfast and Irprn........

I checked the links. There is one Chapter 7 trustee who is also a BK lawyer
There is one Chapter 13 trustee. Not in my county but close by. We are in a rural area.
So are you saying not to go to the one who is a trustee also?

[lrprn]

Thanks Sinkingfast and Irprn........

I checked the links. There is one Chapter 7 trustee who is also a BK lawyer
There is one Chapter 13 trustee. Not in my county but close by. We are in a rural area.
So are you saying not to go to the one who is a trustee also?

We are saying it's desireable to make an appointment with the lawyer who is a trustee also. However, if there is more than one trustee in your area, don't make appointments with every one of them because that prejudices each trustee because they have each had contact with you before you filed. This forces the court to go outside your district to find an "untainted" trustee which is something to avoid if possible. Hope this clarified - let us know if it doesn't.

[HHM]

We are saying it's desirable to make an appointment with the lawyer who is a trustee also.

Honestly, its pretty rare to find a trustee who is also a BK lawyer, so this should not be a controlling criteria. Trustee's don't really have anymore special knowledge about the BK system than do BK lawyers (and some have significantly less)...it is not a requirement to be a BK trustee that you be an attorney.

Generally, the best place to find a referral is from someone you know who has had a good experience. Short of that, all you can do is make appointments and talk to attorneys. Generally, those attorneys with multiple full page ads in the yellow pages are going to be BK mills. That is not necessarily a bad thing, if you have a run of the mill case, they can save you money and get your case done...but if anything unusual happens, they tend to not be that helpful

[toomuch]

We are saying it's desireable to make an appointment with the lawyer who is a trustee also. However, if there is more than one trustee in your area, don't make appointments with every one of them because that prejudices each trustee because they have each had contact with you before you filed. This forces the court to go outside your district to find an "untainted" trustee which is something to avoid if possible. Hope this clarified - let us know if it doesn't.

Well, there are only two trustees in this area. A 7 & 13. The 7 is also a bk lawyer, which is what I am filing, so if I consult with him before I file, I think I would be hesitant to spill my guts to him. Wouldn't that taint my case from the getgo?

Sorry.........TMI today and I am brain dead.
You are a great group of people and I am ever so grateful I found this board.

[Spartan]

I have to disagree. Of the private trustees in my area, most of them are also practicing BK attorneys. It may be in some areas in the country that such is rare. But certainly not in my area. In fact I will be having a consult with one tomorrow.

Secondly, in the phone books, there are several major law firms who do Bk exclusively. Judging by the size of their team and support staffs, I wouldn't just brush them off as mills. Some of them do both commercial and individual bk. If anything, those are probably more interested in business bk than individual bk. The firm I have talked to last week, does have a large full page ad in the phonebooks. They have handled 15000 cases. Calling it a mill, may be bestowing a negative implication, which may turn out to be misleading. The partner i talked to, is nothing but courteous, professional, no-nonsense, and concise.

Intuitively, if they have done lots of cases, then they ought to have seen it all, being there and done that, so to speak.

I think it is just not easy to generalize, without running the risk of overgeneralizing.

[Spartan]

Well, there are only two trustees in this area. A 7 & 13. The 7 is also a bk lawyer, which is what I am filing, so if I consult with him before I file, I think I would be hesitant to spill my guts to him. Wouldn't that taint my case from the getgo?

Sorry.........TMI today and I am brain dead.
You are a great group of people and I am ever so grateful I found this board.

No no.. If you consult him, you had better be frank with him. Holding back will simply do yourself a disservice. In any case, once you consult him, he can no longer work as the trustee in your BK.

[SinkingFast]

In any case, once you consult him, he can no longer work as the trustee in your BK.

That's what we were told.

Our Court is a small branch of a larger Court in another City. We have 2 Ch 7 Trustees and one Ch 13 Trustee. All 3 are practicing BK attnys.

If you are gonna file Ch 7 here and you hire one Trustee as your attny, there is no question who your case Trustee will be.

HHM is right. Trustees do not have to be attnys. However, many Trustees are attnys. And, many Trustees specialize in BK in their private practices. You don't gain an inside track on the Law by hiring a Trustee. Being a Trustee does not mean that person is a better attny. But, an attny who is a Trustee may know the preferences of the other Trustees in your Court.

As an example,..........

One of our Ch 7 Trustees is an older gentleman with grown kids and grandkids. He's been a Trustee for years. A practicing BK attny even longer. Any variable of expenses for different types of families, he's seen it.

The other Ch 7 Trustee is a younger, unmarried woman, no children. She is still learning that couples have different expense levels than single people. That families with young children have different expense levels than couples. Parents with teenagers have different expense levels than younger families.

In your case, if you only have 1 Ch 7 Trustee, you might not want to Consult with him/her to be your BK attny. If there are more Ch 7 Trustees and only one happens to be a practicing BK attny, that's a different story.

[toomuch]

That's what we were told.

Our Court is a small branch of a larger Court in another City. We have 2 Ch 7 Trustees and one Ch 13 Trustee. All 3 are practicing BK attnys.

If you are gonna file Ch 7 here and you hire one Trustee as your attny, there is no question who your case Trustee will be.

HHM is right. Trustees do not have to be attnys. However, many Trustees are attnys. And, many Trustees specialize in BK in their private practices. You don't gain an inside track on the Law by hiring a Trustee. Being a Trustee does not mean that person is a better attny. But, an attny who is a Trustee may know the preferences of the other Trustees in your Court.

As an example,..........

One of our Ch 7 Trustees is an older gentleman with grown kids and grandkids. He's been a Trustee for years. A practicing BK attny even longer. Any variable of expenses for different types of families, he's seen it.

The other Ch 7 Trustee is a younger, unmarried woman, no children. She is still learning that couples have different expense levels than single people. That families with young children have different expense levels than couples. Parents with teenagers have different expense levels than younger families.

In your case, if you only have 1 Ch 7 Trustee, you might not want to Consult with him/her to be your BK attny. If there are more Ch 7 Trustees and only one happens to be a practicing BK attny, that's a different story.

Okay, got it! I also checked the PACER site but couldn't find where I could check on the number of cases an attorney has filed. I will do some research tomorrow locally and see what I can find out. I can't/won't ask friends because I really don't want them to know about this. Okay, if they were TRUE friends, it wouldn't matter, right?

[Emmy]

[QUOTE=lrprn;76711]SinkingFast gave you excellent advice. If you are having difficulty figuring out who the Chapter 7 trustees are in your bankruptcy district, they are listed here by state - http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/private_.../locator/7.htm .
/QUOTE]

How do you know which ones are bk lawyers? Do you just call each trustee individually and ask if they also handle bk cases?

[sisterfunkhaus]

If they have a website, some may say whether they are or were a trustee.


Also, barring the trustee issue, I would want to go for people who had been in practice longer because they know their way around a bit more and they know more about trustees and how "hard" they are.

[Spartan]

[QUOTE=Emmy;76767]

SinkingFast gave you excellent advice. If you are having difficulty figuring out who the Chapter 7 trustees are in your bankruptcy district, they are listed here by state - http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/private_.../locator/7.htm .
/QUOTE]

How do you know which ones are bk lawyers? Do you just call each trustee individually and ask if they also handle bk cases?

You can call them and ask. You can also google their names, which is how I did it. But as many have pointed out, you don't necessarily have to go with a private trustee. Being one is not exactly like having a seal of approval. There are lots of competent BK attorneys who are not a trustee.

[hansky]

If they have a website, some may say whether they are or were a trustee.


Also, barring the trustee issue, I would want to go for people who had been in practice longer because they know their way around a bit more and they know more about trustees and how "hard" they are.

More years experience is a plus, to a point. Many older lawyers don't keep up with new cases and laws (a necessity these days). It is more important that the lawyer knows the current laws, and actually handles your case. Lawyers may boast that they are the "largest filers" in whatever state, or they file hundreds of cases a year, but in many cases, that guarantees you'll be dealing with admin staff and a rotating group of first and second year, or contract, lawyers. If a lawyer will not sit down with you for 45 minutes to an hour, and answer all your questions, move on to another lawyer. Ask if he/she will handle all of your hearings and handle all facets of the case. Remember, it is a professional relationship - treat it that way from both sides.