Attorney's and Attorney Fees

[ksgirl38]

ks? Did you check at Avvo.com for peer reviews on your attorney? Customers can leave reviews there, too.

Checking it now. Thanks, I didn't know about that site. Unfortunately there was only one lawyer in my area with a client review. Although I am looking for a new dentist so this site might be helpful with that too.

[ValleYum]

Checking it now. Thanks, I didn't know about that site. Unfortunately there was only one lawyer in my area with a client review. Although I am looking for a new dentist so this site might be helpful with that too.

I wonder if Angie's List does attorneys as well as dentists and home repair folks? Maybe she should branch out?

[ksgirl38]

I wonder if Angie's List does attorneys as well as dentists and home repair folks? Maybe she should branch out?

I found one that looks promising. I also tried googling the one I have a consultation with tomorrow and couldn't find much, but did find that he's had his practice since 2012. Not sure what to make of that. He's either branched out on his own this year or is fresh out of law school. A little concerning since he seemed the most promising from the phone calls I had.

[ValleYum]

Did you look him up on your State Bar Association website to see if that is when he graduated from law school?

[ksgirl38]

Did you look him up on your State Bar Association website to see if that is when he graduated from law school?

Yes, apparently it's optional if they want to be listed and I couldn't find him. Not sure what to think. I've scheduled 3 consultations and wondering if I should schedule a 4th now. I really feel like my case is pretty cut and dry, just credit card debt, no assets and I'm single so I guess my main concern is the cost.

[ValleYum]

Go with your gut. And don't be shy ASKING him how long he has practiced and what % of his practice is BK! You are interviewing him for a job!

[ksgirl38]

Go with your gut. And don't be shy ASKING him how long he has practiced and what % of his practice is BK! You are interviewing him for a job!

Do you think it's bad to go with a new attorney? Or one that hasn't had his practice long? I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I meet him and see how old he is. I filled out some info on his website and he actually returned a call to me himself, not his assistant or secretary, on a Saturday. Plus when I called back to schedule the appointment he actually spent quite awhile on the phone with me asking me questions and going over stuff so i guess I'm already partial to him since he's shown the interest. I'm just concerned now about how much experience he has.

[hmsmith]

I don't necessarily think it's bad if he is new, however, I think experience is helpful. When I was at my 341 hearing I the guy that went up before me was younger, and had an attorney with him, and he didn't do his taxes! ANd this was the week after taxes were due! He hadn't even filed an extension. And his attorney said nothing the whole time. I thought it was crazy that his attorney didn't advise him to have his taxes prepared for something like this! Now he had to wait because the trustee wanted his taxes after he filed them. I think this is something his attorney should have told him, i don't know if it was inexperience or just a bad attorney. My attorney told me several times in January to get my taxes filed ASAP and have copies for him.

my attorney is on the younger side, but he has been doing it for at least 5 years or more, and he is already well respected and known by all our trustees. I think your gut will tell you who to go with, I wouldn't pick the cheapest unless I absolutely felt 100% confident in them.

I know what you are saying about reviews, my apartment complex does the same, and I can always tell. The reviews that I'm talking about for my attorney, are not just as simple as leaving a 5 star. These people share their experience and due to the fact that they are in depth comments and that there is so many of them, I'm just saying it was helpful for me. If there had only been one review or none, i wouldn't use that in making my decision. But for my circumstance i found it very helpful and I plan to leave a good review when I am discharged. I couldn't have been more pleased with our attorney. Good luck!

[ksgirl38]

I don't necessarily think it's bad if he is new, however, I think experience is helpful. When I was at my 341 hearing I the guy that went up before me was younger, and had an attorney with him, and he didn't do his taxes! ANd this was the week after taxes were due! He hadn't even filed an extension. And his attorney said nothing the whole time. I thought it was crazy that his attorney didn't advise him to have his taxes prepared for something like this! Now he had to wait because the trustee wanted his taxes after he filed them. I think this is something his attorney should have told him, i don't know if it was inexperience or just a bad attorney. My attorney told me several times in January to get my taxes filed ASAP and have copies for him.

my attorney is on the younger side, but he has been doing it for at least 5 years or more, and he is already well respected and known by all our trustees. I think your gut will tell you who to go with, I wouldn't pick the cheapest unless I absolutely felt 100% confident in them.

I know what you are saying about reviews, my apartment complex does the same, and I can always tell. The reviews that I'm talking about for my attorney, are not just as simple as leaving a 5 star. These people share their experience and due to the fact that they are in depth comments and that there is so many of them, I'm just saying it was helpful for me. If there had only been one review or none, i wouldn't use that in making my decision. But for my circumstance i found it very helpful and I plan to leave a good review when I am discharged. I couldn't have been more pleased with our attorney. Good luck!

Thanks. I looked again last night and there just aren't many reviews for attorneys in my area. I find lots of attorneys listed, just no reviews for them so I'm kind of winging it. I have high hopes for the one I'm meeting today so we'll see how it goes. I've managed to gain quite a bit of info through this forum in the past couple of days so that helps me quite a bit. The only problem is I think that as I start to take this whole thing more seriously I think it's starting to stress me out more.

[tobee43]

Do you think it's bad to go with a new attorney? Or one that hasn't had his practice long? I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I meet him and see how old he is. I filled out some info on his website and he actually returned a call to me himself, not his assistant or secretary, on a Saturday. Plus when I called back to schedule the appointment he actually spent quite awhile on the phone with me asking me questions and going over stuff so i guess I'm already partial to him since he's shown the interest. I'm just concerned now about how much experience he has.

ours was so young looked right out of high school, but was out of Yale! did an absolutely excellent job and the trustee talk with the atty about having lunch later...so apparently being new didn't hurt. we were prepared, the young firm we went with was computer wise and hungry, yet respectful since they i suppose were trying to get the respect of the courts as well.

it was an excellent experience and as i have mentioned before i was tired of the loud mouth know it alls...even being a paralegal myself, i just didn't want to go that route. (although i had to do a ton of corrections on the petition due to the staff really not being great). but that was ok, i would have gone through it with a fine tooth comb rather it was young or old firm.

[hmsmith]

ksgirl try not to stress too much! I know how you feel though, i should have felt relief once we filed but I actually got more stressed thinking about all the "what ifs". it consumed me for a long time, but now I am trying to let it go some because otherwise I would have no life! Needless to say, I will be *so* glad when this is over!! I'm in the 60 day club!! 40 days left to wait!!

[HHM]

Nothing wrong going with a new attorney so long as your gut tells you the attorney is going to fight. I'd rather have a young, aggressive attorney willing to push the envelope then some old, experienced codger that has given up.

Also, take reviews with a grain of salt. Especially in the BK industry. After all, most people keep their BK very private, so the last thing they do is want to review their attorney. As was pointed out in a prior post, the reviews tend to be either really good or really bad, their is no middle ground. Attorneys that have reviews are firms that have a system in place for illiciting them from customers. Very few people spontaneously review an attorney (unless it is negative). The most common method I have seen is to have the client fill out a review after the conclusion of the 341 meeting.

[ksgirl38]

ksgirl try not to stress too much! I know how you feel though, i should have felt relief once we filed but I actually got more stressed thinking about all the "what ifs". it consumed me for a long time, but now I am trying to let it go some because otherwise I would have no life! Needless to say, I will be *so* glad when this is over!! I'm in the 60 day club!! 40 days left to wait!!

I think that's part of my problem, worrying about the "what ifs." About 7 years ago I lost my job, got a new one in a few months, and then was downsized again all within 2 years so I guess there's that fear that if something like that happened again what would I do. It probably sounds silly, but the credit card just gives me a sense of security, just knowing it's there if I need it. I know I can live without charging purchases, just makes me nervous not to have it there in the event of an emergency.

[ksgirl38]

Had consultation # 2 today and it went well. Oddly he quoted me the same price - $1350. Nice guy, but he only graduated in 2011. Although I did find an article online that said he was recognized in college for something bankruptcy related while in school and he's had some good experience and seems well educated. He did answer a lot of my questions and seemed well informed about things and gave me some good advice. Consultation #3 is on Tuesday so I'll see after that how I feel and if I think I need to line up more.

[BKAttyMI]

I worked for a Chapter 13 Trustee's office to put myself through law school, I can guarantee you I came out knowing more than many many older attorneys.

Be cautious, just because someone older claims to have "30 years of experience", doesn't mean they know squat about bankruptcy.