Pro Se Was Great for Me 10 Years ago

[autism4now]

Many years ago, I was broke, credit was jacked up, creditors were hounding me and everything pretty much sucked. All of this was my own fault because I was living way beyond my means. I thought I learned my lesson as I filed bankruptcy 25 years ago and did good until 10 years ago. Well, trust and believe I learned my lesson 10 years ago and I am still going strong. I have even been able to help others. Yes, a whole gang of folks told me NO...don't file Pro Se....you are being foolish and representing yourself is a fools move. I ignored the naysayers and the haters. I decided right then and there to find out what was involved in doing this on my own and I am glad I did. It also pays to work in Law Enforcement and have access to public records which I used and studied daily. Everybody who had a case like mine, I studied them. Everyone who was in court with a case like mine...when I was scheduled to appear, I would arrive early and just study everyone and listen. I treated it like a college course that I was taking. I kept all those notes and procedures and that was how I was able to help others.
In the end, I even had a judge ask me "what law firm did you use" and I replied, I did not use a law firm, I did it myself. The bankruptcy court judge looked pissed, but he dismissed my case and today I can honestly say that I am still in great shape and credit is AAA

[justbroke]

Pro Se is not for everyone, that's for sure. However, there are some that have an inclination and determination that can guide them through the process with relatively great success.

[AllMyDefault]

True, not everyone can do Pro Se, but for many, if they can do very detailed work, they might be able to. Preparing paperwork was a lot of hard work that took months at home after working each day, and which I took great pains to do as carefully as possible. I learned from free consults that any attorney would substantially have me do the paperwork anyway. Since I was filing Chapter 7, I didn't have to have an attorney, as Chapter 13 required if I recall correctly. The clerk when I filed complimented the quality of my petition. The 341 trustee did make me wait until the last because I didn't have an attorney, but that's small potatoes. I was underwhelmed by the "help" attorneys gave their clients while I watched. Maybe there was some behind the scenes support I didn't see. But for the most part people simply answered the trustee's questions themselves. For me at that time Pro Se was the right decision. Yes, it was hard work and the process was nerve wracking, but it would have been regardless.