Choosing an attorney

[greengoddess]

How does one know if they are choosing a good attorney? I wish there was a website where they were rated with peoples personal unbiased experiences. Also, not to sound sexist, but would a male be tougher in court than a female I sometimes wonder?

Thanks!

~GG

[jal1129]

One thing you can do is go an pacer and look up the attorney you are considering and see how many cases they file, how many 7 vs 13, how many get dismissed etc. You can even look up the details on each case (although that does tend to get expensive).

[SinkingFast]

Check to see if an attny you are considering is Martindale Peer Review Rated.

http://www.martindale.com/ratings

[greengoddess]

thank you AGAIN!

the one attorney who I've described a little on here and who people say sounds like a scumbag, got a very high rating on that site. The one that seems like the one I should choose, has no rating on the site, but came up when I searched for her!

[SinkingFast]

A Martindale Peer Review rating isn't the "End All, Be All" criteria to base your hiring decision on. Some attnys simply don't petition for a Peer Review. And, you need to feel comfortable working with the person representing you.

Kinda like choosing a doctor. You may not decide to go with THE most qualified MD. You might choose a person who's definitely competent with a bedside manner that works for you.

In our case, the MPR was very helpful. Our Trustee, our attny, and one other BK attny in our town are the only ones here with a MPR rating. All 3 are AV's. Having met many of the other non-rated attnys in Consults, I can guess why they are not rated.

[Granny]

Before I filed, I looked at my local court website to see who was filing the most cases. Both attorney's were very active....that apparently has turned out to be a mistake. Maybe they are so busy drumming up new business that they can't attend to the business they have now.

BTW, that look up was free.

[debtisbad]

I chose my attorney based on his "bedside manner" so to speak. The first attorney I met with was an a$$. He made me feel like scum for filing and I really do not know why as that is his business. The second attorney was very matter of fact. I saw him as a straight shooter, and his price was less so I went with him. I was a wreck at first and he told me all would be ok. I swear I was so scared to file I could not eat or sleep. I thought I would never have credit again, ect. So untrue!

[manglicmot]

Here is the website of the court I would like to check: http://www.casb.uscourts.gov/html/sitemap.htm I can't find anything there that would show me a specific attorney's name though. Can someone take a look at that link and see if they can find it? Or, if you have some other type of access, can I give you the attorney's name and can you check it for me?

[Granny]

I attempted to access the 341 calendar but it wouldn't load, it may be a browser problem because I don't use IE. So try this

Access the site, click on Trustee, click on Thomas H. Billingslea, Jr., Esq. (at the bottom of the page)

At his site, click on Attorneys and then try the 341 calendar.

[manglicmot]

I don't see where I can click on "trustee". I see a section called "trustees" and then a list of links underneath that, but I can't find 341 calendar in any of those links.

[manglicmot]

[bige1030]

OK, I found this on the attorney I'm thinking about, but I don't understand what it says. It has very confusing wording, it actually sounds like the judge is the one filing the bankruptcy?!?!? But it looks like the attorney was succesful for his client, or am I reading it wrong?

Yes, the attorney was successful.

The automatic stay of bankruptcy protects debtors from certain actions by creditors, namely collection attempts. Normally, it lasts for the duration of the bankruptcy case, or until discharge. Then, the discharge order makes the relief permanent.

But the new law made one significant change: if your bankruptcy was dismissed, and you refile "too" soon, you get the automatic stay for only 30 days in your new case. That is, unless you can prove that you weren't filing in bad faith...if you prove that, you get the automatic stay for the duration of the case, or until discharge.

The attorney in the case you described proved that his client wasn't filing in bad faith...and thus she gets the automatic stay for the duration of the case, or until discharge - it won't terminate in 30 days despite the fact that she's a repeat filer since she didn't file again in bad faith.