General Question about BK Attorney - Iffy vibes

[poorpoorpoor]

Good morning. I'm starting to get iffy vibes about the attorney I've contacted and wanted to get your thoughts.

I currently stay with friends in northern VA while I go to school and my husband lives in a small town about 200 miles away in the same state. I will eventually be moving there. I could make this my permanent residence now, I guess. I essence, I don't really have a "home" residence since I'm not paying to live anywhere. Not sure if this will be an issue at some point.

I had a good phone conversation with the attny from the small town. He provided me lots of information and we decided to move forward. There are no reviews online that I could find on this guy and I haven't met him in person. In an emailed document, he stated his fees and asked for a list of my debts and a list of my assets. That's it.

I did some more online research and found a guy in northern VA with great reviews. He offers free consultation and has an online document that can be download and completed before the meeting. It pretty much asks for every single bit of financial information ever. Very thorough. Now of course, he charges about $700 more.

So, concerned about the information small-town attorney asked for, I asked for a meeting which is scheduled for later this afternoon. I just want to meet the man who will be representing me before I actually hire him and write a check. I confirm that he will not be billing me $200/hr for the meeting as it will be an introduction/consultation. He writes back that he does not offer free consultations and that he was expecting me to move forward. This morning, he sends me another email saying that if I'm not ready to move forward, he will cancel our meeting.

Wth?? Is this normal? Should I be concerned? I guess I just don't like the tone of his email.

Is it worth it to go with a small-town, cheaper attorney - smaller court system?
Or should I go with the guy who charges more in a much larger city - with many more clients and great reviews?

I think I know the answer, but I'm just so scared about making the wrong decision. Help.

[tobee43]

most atty's do give "free" consults, however, the one we actually hired did a phone consult and i was in fact and did agree to get charged as we were calling from another state. we interviewed 5 atty's before hiring one. we ended up hiring the one that charged us for the consult. we looked them all up on the net, and some had good reviews others none at all.

what was most important to us, was how long did the firm practice bk law in the district, what type of relationships did the firm have with the trustees, etc. this was a very young firm, but it had all the right answers for us. they were not the cheapest nor the most expensive, they just were whom we were most comfortable with for our situation. oddly enough, they were very soft spoken, non aggressive, since frankly, i was tired of the loud mouth attys that thought they knew it all. other than the fact our atty showed up at our 341 with his zipper completely down ....i'm still laughing about that, he was excellent, knew his stuff inside and out and we had some complicated issues in our case.

go with whom you feel is right for you. do NOT feel pressured...best of luck!

[Tater]

I wouldn't have felt comfortable without meeting the attorney in person first. That is just me though. The attorneys we met with all gave free consults. Needless to say, some were better than others. I agree with what tobee said about not feeling pressured by the attorney you eventually go with. One of the ones we met, wouldn't leave us alone even after we told him we weren't going to go with him. The one we eventually chose really took the time with us during the free consult. She was open and honest with us. I liked the fact that she didn't beat around the bush, but was willing to do the work. She was worth every penny!

If I were you, I would go on a few free consults first. We hired the fifth attorney we interviewed. It can be a stressful process but is worth in in the end. Good luck to you!

[poorpoorpoor]

How did you guys find your attorneys? Is there a site specifically for BK attorneys? One with reviews?
It's not something I want to post on Facebook looking for referrals - and I'm in a small town area.

Thanks!

[Pjmax]

I agree with Tobee and Tater. I had 3 (free) consultations and went with the last even though he was a bit higher in price than the first two. If you are feeling that the first atty. may not be right, keep looking. I will also add, that my atty.'s office is less than a mile from my house. That wasn't why I chose him, but it was very convenient when it came to dropping things off or stopping in to sign something.

[Pjmax]

How did you guys find your attorneys? Is there a site specifically for BK attorneys? One with reviews?
It's not something I want to post on Facebook looking for referrals - and I'm in a small town area.

Thanks!

I started with the yellow pages, and looked up the attorney's websites, read about their backgrounds, etc. I couldn't find any reviews or recommendations either. Most attorneys have websites these days, but I kept an open mind until I met with them.

[btbeme]

An important point to make - where you file will determine where you will be going to court for your 341 hearing, and will determine where your attorney will have to travel to attend as well (attorneys may not travel for free). You may have to travel to attend your 341; you may have to travel to see your attorney. I'd look as local as possible for both. That said, a good attorney is worth their weight in gold if the $#it hits the fan. A good attorney, regardless of the (reasonable) price, can help avoid that happening - and will be there if and when things go sideways. That is why you pay them.

Go with the one your instinct tells you would work best.

A short detail on attorneys - Kinda like a flu shot, you get one hoping that it will protect you from something bad happening. When you sail through flu season with good health, it was probably because of your shot. You can't feel that you didn't get your money's worth because "nothing happened, so why did I get a flu shot." Yet, sometimes, people feel that their attorney didn't earn their fee because their case flew through the BK court. In a lot of cases, that is specifically because your attorney is a good one and de-warted your filing so it would fly through the BK court.

My Grandfather told me that "Everyone should HAVE a good lawyer. If you NEED a good lawyer, that is probably because you didn't HAVE a good lawyer to begin with."

[btbeme]

How did you guys find your attorneys? Is there a site specifically for BK attorneys? One with reviews?
It's not something I want to post on Facebook looking for referrals - and I'm in a small town area.

Thanks!

I like and trust AVVO, but not all good attorneys subscribe. AVVO has peer reviews in addition to client feedback and disciplinary history. Just one place to look.

[poorpoorpoor]

Thanks to all for the info.
I did cancel this afternoon's meeting and have reached out to another attorney for an in-person meeting.
I'm so ready to do this, but I want to make sure that I have a good lawyer.

[LadyInTheRed]

I would put no weight in the fact that an attorney has no online reviews. My excellent and very experienced bankruptcy attorney has no online reviews. I also just searched several excellent attorneys I have worked with over the years and none have any online reviews. Most good attorneys get new business through word of mouth referrals. I suspect that attorneys who are members of sites like AVVO encourage staisfied clients to review them. I've seen some attorneys with many reviews that are so similar that I suspect the attorney provided people with the language of the review and asked them to post it.

The best way to evaluate an attorney is to consult with more than one, so you can compare them. Don't rush the process. As Btbeme stated so well, a good attorney can be the key to a successful BK.

poorpoorpoor, it sounds like the attorney you talked to on the phone did give you a free consultation. You said you had a good conversation and he provided you with a lot of information. Sounds like a consultation. An attorney's time is just as valuable over the phone as it is in person. His unwillingness to give you more free time could be seen as a good sign. He isn't desperate for work which means he probably gets plenty of referrals from satisfied clients and non-bk attorneys who have enough confidence in him to refer their clients. But, I understand wanting to meet him face-to-face before committing to retain him. If you liked him over the phone, you could tell him you do not want to commit to retaining him before you meet him in person and ask him if you can pay for an hour or 1/2 hour of his time that would be credited towards his fee if you retain him.

[ksgirl38]

Good morning. I'm starting to get iffy vibes about the attorney I've contacted and wanted to get your thoughts.

I currently stay with friends in northern VA while I go to school and my husband lives in a small town about 200 miles away in the same state. I will eventually be moving there. I could make this my permanent residence now, I guess. I essence, I don't really have a "home" residence since I'm not paying to live anywhere. Not sure if this will be an issue at some point.

I had a good phone conversation with the attny from the small town. He provided me lots of information and we decided to move forward. There are no reviews online that I could find on this guy and I haven't met him in person. In an emailed document, he stated his fees and asked for a list of my debts and a list of my assets. That's it.

I did some more online research and found a guy in northern VA with great reviews. He offers free consultation and has an online document that can be download and completed before the meeting. It pretty much asks for every single bit of financial information ever. Very thorough. Now of course, he charges about $700 more.

So, concerned about the information small-town attorney asked for, I asked for a meeting which is scheduled for later this afternoon. I just want to meet the man who will be representing me before I actually hire him and write a check. I confirm that he will not be billing me $200/hr for the meeting as it will be an introduction/consultation. He writes back that he does not offer free consultations and that he was expecting me to move forward. This morning, he sends me another email saying that if I'm not ready to move forward, he will cancel our meeting.

Wth?? Is this normal? Should I be concerned? I guess I just don't like the tone of his email.

Is it worth it to go with a small-town, cheaper attorney - smaller court system?
Or should I go with the guy who charges more in a much larger city - with many more clients and great reviews?

I think I know the answer, but I'm just so scared about making the wrong decision. Help.

Maybe you should keep looking. Honestly, I wouldn't go with any attorney that doesn't offer a free consultation. I find that rather odd since most do. I know there are some that don't and maybe he feels that in a small town you don't have a choice, but most attorneys understand that the free consultation is their opportunity to sell themselves. I went to 5 before choosing one. It's best to just go with your gut. If you aren't feeling comfortable with something now then you won't later either.

[ksgirl38]

I started with the yellow pages, and looked up the attorney's websites, read about their backgrounds, etc. I couldn't find any reviews or recommendations either. Most attorneys have websites these days, but I kept an open mind until I met with them.

Someone on this forum turned me onto some website full of attorney reviews. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the website. Maybe someone else remembers? I think it had a similar site for doctors.

[ksgirl38]

I like and trust AVVO, but not all good attorneys subscribe. AVVO has peer reviews in addition to client feedback and disciplinary history. Just one place to look.

I think this is the site I was thinking of.

[TBA]

you can also go to the state bar association to view information about attorneys - in fla - it includes disciplinary info, specialty, etc.

Our case was kind of special so we did a lot of research and met with quite a few attorneys. I use an attorney with my work and she even does bk but i didnt go with her because of her lack of knowledge with our special circumstances...

The best/worst story... I meet with an attorney in person with husband at his office. he is running late, office is dark... he lets us in, and then props his feet up on his desk and lights a cigarette. SERIOUSLY?!?! it took everything i had not to get up and walk out right there. We didnt hire him.

Talk to more than one... meet with more than one. I agree that a good attorney is worth the money. I am not saying pick the most expensive one either, but i think your answer lies somewhere in between.

[AngelinaCat]

We picked ours from a website and went with her because she was OUT of town. Her initial consult was so comforting that we paid a retaining fee on the spot. We never did see any other attorneys.

Many stupid mistakes-because-our-attorney-turned-out-to-be-non-communicative-and-failed-to-educate-us-in-the-process--later, we wished that we had gone with the highly recommended (word of mouth) bk attorney IN our town, who is also a trustee. He also does not have a website.

Keep in mind what district you are going to be filing in. If you are filing in a district that is 200 miles away, and you are talking to a local to your area attorney, this person will have to travel and/or send a surrogate to your 341, and may not know the local trustees that well, in order to gauge how they will respond to your particular issues.