I've been reading some of the posts about problems people have had with lawyers (not being informed properly, mistakes on paperwork, etc). I noticed that some of these were lawyers that people had even interviewed before hiring, had recommendations for, etc.
I don't know if I just lucked out or what, but mine has been great. I have the ARAG legal insurance plan, and chose her pretty much at random out of the ones available in my area (made my choice based mainly on location). She is extremely thorough. (I did a lot of homework on the process and paperwork before even meeting her, so I knew what she should be doing.) Here are some of the things I noticed that I see some lawyers don't always seem to do:
-- got me in for an appointment within a week
-- asked for all my background paperwork for the first meeting (6 months pay stubs, 6 months credit card bills).
-- went over all my documents and the filing forms with me at the first meeting (including income, expenses, means test) and explained each as we went along. Calculated the necessary info to determine if I was eligible for Ch 7.
-- told me exactly what else I needed to get to her before filing
-- met with me the day before filing and went over each completed form, again explaining what they were, pointing out info that I needed to verify was correct before signing
-- promptly answers questions by phone or email
All in all, the two appointments took about 2 to 2.5 hours total. (I probably have a pretty simple case -- no real estate, single, no secured debt.)
I don't think you can look up lawyers who are in the ARAG plan on their web site if you aren't a member, but you could ask lawyers you talk to if they are part of it. Again, maybe I'm just lucky, but this is a big legal insurance program that has been around for a long time and has some very big clients (Microsoft, University of Calif, other major corporations) so maybe there is some sort of quality control involved.
I don't know if I just lucked out or what, but mine has been great. I have the ARAG legal insurance plan, and chose her pretty much at random out of the ones available in my area (made my choice based mainly on location). She is extremely thorough. (I did a lot of homework on the process and paperwork before even meeting her, so I knew what she should be doing.) Here are some of the things I noticed that I see some lawyers don't always seem to do:
-- got me in for an appointment within a week
-- asked for all my background paperwork for the first meeting (6 months pay stubs, 6 months credit card bills).
-- went over all my documents and the filing forms with me at the first meeting (including income, expenses, means test) and explained each as we went along. Calculated the necessary info to determine if I was eligible for Ch 7.
-- told me exactly what else I needed to get to her before filing
-- met with me the day before filing and went over each completed form, again explaining what they were, pointing out info that I needed to verify was correct before signing
-- promptly answers questions by phone or email
All in all, the two appointments took about 2 to 2.5 hours total. (I probably have a pretty simple case -- no real estate, single, no secured debt.)
I don't think you can look up lawyers who are in the ARAG plan on their web site if you aren't a member, but you could ask lawyers you talk to if they are part of it. Again, maybe I'm just lucky, but this is a big legal insurance program that has been around for a long time and has some very big clients (Microsoft, University of Calif, other major corporations) so maybe there is some sort of quality control involved.
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