Attorney recommendations in eastern Massachusetts?

[truman]

Trying to find an experienced Chapter 13 attorney in eastern Mass. Any recommendations would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[AngelinaCat]

Greetings Truman. Welcome to the forum!

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to give out names of attorneys or law firms--or anyone else for that matter--on the public side of the boards. You as a newbie, do not yet have PM privileges. Anyone wishing to make a recommendation may do so through a Visitor's message on your profile.

With that said, call the clerks office at your BK Courthouse and ask for a list of attorneys practicing in your district. Don't limit yourself to strictly a CH13, as with some careful planning, you may qualify for a CH7.

I suggest getting a list from the clerk's office because the clerk's personnel have to deal with these people on a daily basis. While they are not allowed to promote one person over another, the chances are good that the list you get will be the people that the clerks prefer to deal with. I.e., those who are prepared, courteous, professional, on time, and with a minimum of addendums.

Good luck to you.

[truman]

Thanks for the suggestion, AngelinaCat. I appreciate it.

[AngelinaCat]

Also, schedule your free consultations with at least three or more different attorneys. Don't limit yourself to just one or two. There is one poster on board here that scheduled 15 different consultations before she decided on the attorney she eventually hired.

[Pjmax]

Also, schedule your free consultations with at least three or more different attorneys. Don't limit yourself to just one or two. There is one poster on board here that scheduled 15 different consultations before she decided on the attorney she eventually hired.

Ditto.

Also, since it's hard to find reviews of lawyers like you can find for say, a plumber, I kind of went at my search starting with the yellow pages and a few closest to me. I then looked at their websites, which is a good way to find if they specialize in BK's, or are general. You want a specialist. I did general searches for their names and ruled out one because some kind of sanction came up that looked a little scary to me. I narrowed down my list to 3, and interviewed those. My case was an easy, no asset 7, but I had a couple of questions, minor issues in retrospect, but important to me at the time. I asked each one the same questions and compared answers. So, if you have some big issues, be sure and ask what experience they've had with similar issues. You can always come back here for further advice on their answers. I ruled one attorney out because at the interview it became obvious this was kind of a BK mill, and the attorney was kind of flip and made light of my questions. The attorney I chose also happened to be a trustee (not mine of course,) which I believe was a good thing. He also clearly spelled out in writing at my first meeting, what was and what was not included in the basic fee. (For example, he charged extra to vacate a judgement, some don't.)

Another thing to consider, although it's hard to gauge this at a first interview, is that one of the biggest complaints about our attorneys is about communication. Be sure and ask what you can, do they prefer phone calls, emails, etc. Will you be communicating directly with the attorney or a paralegal or assistant? If you have an urgent problem arise during the process, how soon and will someone get back to you? Will the office keep you updated on any issues?

Maybe you'll get some recommendations from members, but if not, start searching. Most likely, your gut will lead you to the right person for you, but if you're still not sure, come back here and see what others think.

And . . . Welcome to the forum. You'll get a lot of help here, and it will make the process so much easier.

[truman]

Wow, thanks for such a thoughtful response, Pjmax.

Another quick question for you, if you don't mind.

Are initial consultations typically done in person or over the phone? I've only spoken to one attorney so far hoping to set up a face-to-face appointment, but he says he does all initial consults over the phone. It was more than a little uncomfortable, speaking to a complete stranger about such a personal matter... it really threw me off and made me a little hesitant to make the next call. Just wondering if that's a typical scenario.

[Pjmax]

You're welcome, Truman. I have heard of a few doing initial phone interviews. Mine were all in person. I think not having the chance to meet the attorney and have a look around the office, would make me uncomfortable too. The one attorney I didn't go with, that I suspected was a BK mill, turned out to not even have an office here. It was unstaffed, empty, rented space in someone else's office. I guess there are circumstances that would make that a good thing, if one lives out in a remote area, but I didn't like that the main office was 20 miles away, and there were enough good local attorneys to choose from.

Like I said before, go with your gut, and move on to the next interview.

[lillymarlene]

I also had narrowed my choices down to 3 and one of them did all of his initial consults by phone. That kind of put me off, too. I ended up going with one one of the attorneys I met with face to face. He was recommended to me by another attorney who had done some work for my father.

I will see if I can leave you a message.

[AngelinaCat]

Thank you for your help, Lilly.

[truman]

Yes, thank you!

[ValleYum]

www.avvo.com allows you to read both peer and customer reviews on attorneys (click the find a lawyer button and put in your zip code or city to start!). Just an extra resource!!