How did you choose your attorney?

[adviceplease]

I have talked to 2 lawyers in person and 1 on the phone. They all told me pretty much the same thing with the exception of the first lawyer saying they can discharge off a unemployment garnishment which the other says you can not do. The charges for the lawyers with everything included is $2000, $1600, and $1500. So how do I tell if the higher one is any better than they lower one? Is a lawyer a lawyer or should I be looking for something specific before I retain?

Thanks!

[Tbornetun]

You need to go with whatever lawyer you feel most comfortable with. As for the unemployment garnishment, they may be able to temporarily stop the garnishment but you will most likely still owe the debt.

[backtoschool]

Unemployment insurance is exempt from judgements and is an exempt asset in Michigan. They cannot garnish your unemployment check if it is the state unemployment insurance.

[Tbornetun]

I read it as the OP owes to unemployment insurance.

[backtoschool]

I read it as the OP owes to unemployment insurance.

Oh, lol, I read it that they were trying to garnish the OP's unemployment insurance.

[HHM]

This is a pretty good blog post about what questions to ask an attorney

http://askmethner.com/?p=609

[adviceplease]

Thank you for the replies, I thought the discharge of the unemployment garnishment seemed off but maybe I heard them wrong. I am really worried about messing this all up, I am talking to the lawyers and telling hubby what they say because he can not get off work to go.

[Tbornetun]

What is the garnishment for, specifically?

[adviceplease]

I was awarded unemployment and the employer fought it and I lost so I have to repay the unemployment I had recieved.

What is the garnishment for, specifically?

[Tbornetun]

Ok, that's what I thought. Nonchargeable. The filing will however stop the garnishment for now.

[adviceplease]

That is what I figured I must have heard wrong. This lawyer is $500 more than the cheapest one and I may have considered paying the extra if that debt was going to be taken off also but seeing 2 out of 3 said no I figured I was wrong.

[kenshirley]

I have been involved as part of my job with many attorneys in the past.
And I have also fired many for incompetence too.
To me, if you want the real secret of finding a good one it's two things you need to find out.
First of all, does the guy or gal listen you to at all and ask pertinent questions?
Secondly, find out some answers to some of the more difficult questions you have elsewhere and then ask the attorney what the answer is. If they stumble with the answers, leave!
This method has always worked for me anyway.

[MSbklawyer]

are dischargeable.

[MSbklawyer]

I just did a Westlaw search on the issue. Unemployment taxes, that is, the premiums paid by the employer are nondischargeable. The only cases that found benefits to be nondischargeable were where the recipient had obtained the benefits by fraud.

[HHM]

I concur, I don't really see anything in section 523 that says unemployment benefit over payment is excepted from discharge.