Still on the attorney hunt.....

[maxfax3]

So I've been to 4 free consults.. OF course since I live out here in the boonies I've been driving all over the place for thse.. None of them saw any issues with my case.. Three of them I was pretty comfortable with but DAMN were they pricey... #4 reminded me of a used car salesman...

I've been back and fourth with legal services for all of 2 weeks now and still haven't talked to an attorney.. From what I can gather at this point I may qualify but still not a time set to talk to an attorney yet....

There is a local guy that has been highly recomended.. He charges $30 for the in office consult... I know many of you have told me that anyone who charges for this isn;t worth my time... I guess I'm just kinda antsy to get somthing moving here so I gave him another call and he actually talked with me for better than a half hour this afternoon (Granted we BSed for about the last 15 mins).. His answer for the consult fee is that he doesn;t want to waste time with those that are on the fence...

He's done nothing but bankruptcy for 35 years... We went of some brief details of my case and a bit deeper on some of the odder aspects.. Nothing phased him to this point..
He warned me that the in office consult coudl take over an hour.. Is this normal? THe other's lasted all of 15-20 mins..
He also mentioned that the more information and paperwork I bring with me for the consult the more I'll get out of my $30 bucks... I asked about his fees... Not willing to quite me a price untill he reviewed everything he said on average it could be in the ball park of $1100 plus court costs and counseling.. We discussed what all I have already done in cluding the pre BK counseling (was considering pro se) and mentioned that would help keep his costs lower... He's willing to work out a payment plan, and he can base it on the information on income and expenses from the consult.. He preferrs $200 initial payment and with this I can start sending creditors calls his way.. This can be flexable pending on the situation...

Interestingly enough he also gave me some names and numbers of who to contact at legal aid to help get things moving on that..

At the end of the call he also informed me that after the consult if I decide to go with him the $30 goes towards his fees...


I knwo I shouldn;t feel this way but I've felt intimidated talking to any other lawyers, heck even the people I have spoken with so far at legal aid give me that feeling... Five mins into the call with this local guy and I was fine..

I'd still prefer legal aid since funds are beyond tight, but I just have this gut feeling that after all the runnign around I have had to do with them I won;t qualify or something.. So I had him set me an appointment.. What really knocked my socks off was he was able to see me tomorrow at 3pm with the condition not to be late whatsoever as he has a 4:30 appointment..

So, I guess I'll let you all know how this goes......

[journey]

Even $30 isnt bad for a visit. When i was looking for a attorney i made appointments with 3 diffrent attorneys. first one was a very young lookin man he looked like he was 18 verys young lookng. So i went to the second one it was a middle age man that i just didnt like his attitude. the third one was a female attorney and she was very understanding about my finances.

Ok the Second attorney the middle aged Man sent me a Letter abut 2 weeks after i seen him demanding $540.00 for 1hour and 45 minutes of his time or if i was going to use him it would be knocked off the fee.

So long story i retained the Female attorney and i even told her about this guy charging me she told me to add in on to my list of Creditors and not to pay him we would run it threw the BK.

[maxfax3]

So long story i retained the Female attorney and i even told her about this guy charging me she told me to add in on to my list of Creditors and not to pay him we would run it threw the BK.

I'm still laughing about that....

The firms offering the free consults were rather large, and at least 45 mins away.. WHat we did in the office coudl have been done over the phone.. I walked in with my folder of paperwork and they never even looked at it.. I felt run in, run out, and thrown the sales pitch...

This guy more or less had the attitude of "If you want me to do it I can do it, if not that's fine too" Small place too, There's him his partner and a secratary... Give me the feeling that they're going for quality over quantity...

[Genenco]

I can see his point about the "On the fence" types. In addition, that he was so forth coming about certian informaiton, I'd hazzard a belief, he might be a workable lawyer for your money.

I'd toss $30 for something like that...

[maxfax3]

Well the local attorney's info helped... Spoke with a legal aid attorney at 9:30 this morn.... Unfortunatly they do not handle bankruptcies unless it's an emergency case (loosing house etc).. However she can give me all the legal advice I want...

She seemed familiar with the CA that is sueing me (Commonwealth Financial Systems of Scranton Pa). At this point she recomended responding to the suit and appearing at the hearing, but wait to the absolute last day I have to do this (today, and I did).. Apparently this outfit is alot more bark than bite and rarely shoes at these.. The hearing is the 16th so she expect the lack of time they have they won;t show, unless they reschedule which is rare... She also mentioned that since the amount they are suring me for is way off from the amount on every letter they have sent (and every one was different) this may work to my advantage.. If by chance they do show and win a judgement that I shoudl appeal... It will buy me some time and they will be even less likely to show.. They bought two of my debts and are suing me for both in one shot which I guess will also make their case weaker, and they less prepared... Both debts are from Chase, however both of those cards had changed names several times (Bank one, First USA Bank, etc).. The accounts have been sitting for about 4 years in collections, they may past the SOL but since I have talked with the CA's I wouldn;t bet on that....

I'm still gonna meet with the local guy and see how he feels about my situation, but if by some slim chance I can get past this judgement business to the better, that will eliminate 3/4 of my debt... I just may be able to take care of the rest of it on my own... Guess we'll see... I'll let you all know how the metting with the local attorney goes...

[maxfax3]

Wow! All the stress is gone... I have me an attorney....

Got to his office 15 mins early, and got right ot it... I think was amazed at how well I was prepared... He about flipped when I pulled out the cert for the pre BK counseling.. What little crap I own all fit in the exemptions with room to spare.. The store charge didn;t phase hime one bit, he recomended keeping it paid off and not carrying a balance more than a month since the way it shows in my checking and P/L statements it is basically a montly expense.. Since I was so well prepared he will be charging me $1000 for the job plus court costs.. He even waived the consult fee and told me to get get a beer..

Thanks for all the info and suggestions you people have provided!!! You can;t believe the help it has been...

The other upside of today is that I got a call from the district court.. I called this morn and said I would be appearing.... Surprise surprise the CA has the date rescheduled to Jan 20th.. Gives me an extra month to gather up cash to do this.. I have an appointment for the 15th of Jan to get everything together and he figures on having it filed by the 17th....

[maxfax3]

Been a while since I posted but things just keep getting better... Had my second metting with the attorney on the 15th... Paid him in full in cash .. Amazing how much extra there is in my shoe string budget now that I'm not paying it all to CAs.. I even managed to save an extra $500 (which is listed in the exemptions).. He got all my information.. Since my case is "painfully simple" the paperwork will be ready for me to sign and will be electronically filed at my 1pm appointment on the 20th..

The fun part of all of this is that Commonwealth Financial Systems filed suit against me 2 days before the SOL ran out.... Tuesday at 10am is my hearing where they will get their judgement.. Tuesday at 1pm is when I file....

All I can say at this point is why did I stuggle for so many years instead of just doing this???

I guess the several years of stuggle has taught me how to live on next to nothing which will prevent me from getting in this situation again..

Thanks again everyone for all the helpful info!!