attorney who is also trustee

[october99]

So I've been asking around for another attorney to talk to (ironically the name of the one that I met with a couple weeks ago has been recommended again and again... Dh says I may be too critical, anywho) and one of the names that has come up is someone who is also a trustee.

Does anyone have experience or info on this? Is this a good or bad thing?

[ccsjoe]

I don't think it matters either way unless you're looking at an attorney who is inexperienced. Most trustees are in fact bankruptcy attorneys during their "normal" life; being a trustee is a part time gig. Any attorney with a good amount of experience knows his/her colleagues, what their tolerances are and how to steer their clients through. Just my opinion.

[angles]

Sometimes the trustee has their staff attorneys do the work so you may not get the service that you are hoping and paying for. best to talk to the attorney that will be directly involved with your case and then decide if that is who you want to hire.

[Freddy03]

I overheard the rent-a-lawyer who showed up when I lost my first CC case was bragging how he is a trustee and it's a "cake job". He was talking to another attorney who was thinking of becoming a trustee.

It would be funny if he would end up being our trustee.

[HHM]

Probably no real benefit to hiring a trustee vs non-trustee BK lawyer. Trustees, in general, will have more experience, but that doesn't necessarily equate to being a "good" attorney. It couldn't hurt to schedule a consultation and check it out. But I wouldn't base your decision on the sole factor of trustee vs non-trustee.

[ssmdem]

My attorney is a trustee as well. We interviewed 4 attornies before deciding to use her. They are a 2-person office - her and her paralegal. We've had a great experience with her - answers emails promptly, etc. The only "downside," and I don't really consider it that is that she is very conservative -- only because she knows exactly what her colleague trustees are looking for. Two of the other attornies we talked to insinuated certain things about our case "may or may not be an issue - just have to see if the trustee inquires." She point blank said, "Nope, you can't do that." That doesn't bother me -- at least I know we're not likely to have any surprises at the end.

We had a friend who used her awhile back. He said there were about 10 people ahead of them at the 341 meeting. Each party, the trustee asked many questions and inquired about all kinds of things. When they got up there with the attorney, the trustee verified name and asked the typical questions, and then just said, "Ok, have a good day." That was it. Now, that doesn't mean it's always going to be that easy -- but I get the feeling they don't look too heavy into her cases simply because they know she's not trying to pull any strings. I don't do surprises very well -- hoping with her we won't have any.