Finding a good Lawyer?

[Mark80]

I have been considering Chapter 13 for sometime. The wife and I go back and forth on "can we somehow make it or not" and we always end up a little more behind every month. So I think the next step would be to sit down with an attorney and go over all this and see where I stand. After reading through a bunch of posts here I have learned that getting a "good" lawyer is a must. Problem is how in the world do you find one? I have gone to many of the sites listing attorneys in my area but its just a list, no more then flipping through the yellow pages. I don't know anyone else in my area who ever has filed, and I don't really want my family and friends to really know that I am anyhow.

I live in the St.Louis Metro area of Missouri. So I guess I am just reaching to see if anyone on here who has filed lives in my area and if they have someone they could reccomend?

Thank you very much!

-Mark

[BassBoy]

It's possible soemone on the forum is in your area and can recommend an attorney, however the decision of who that attorney will be rests on your shoulders. Consultations are usually free, so sit down with 3 or 4 attorneys and narrow down who you feel most comfotable with and who you feel will do a good job.

[Mark80]

I understand what your saying. My experience with lawyers in the past has been much like dealing with salesmen. They for the most part will all talk the talk. They want your business, problem is once your deep into the process is usually when things go sour. I need someone that has been reliable from start to finish and thats when reccomendations can really pay off.

[nazstar]

I'm in the same boat. I went to lawyers.com and just got a listing of lawyers doing bankruptcy. Then I filtered out everyone that listed bankruptcy as a "specialty" along with every other kind of law. For example, someone was listed as a bankruptcy lawyer but also did divorce, adoptions, personal injury, etc. My thinking was that you can't be a master of all these areas and I wanted someone focused on my issues. Then I started calling and setting up appointments. Make sure when you call that the consultation is free. Some lawyers tried to charge $100-150 for a one hour consultation - those I just crossed off the list. Others only did 7 or 13, but not both. Some also only did business bankruptcies, not consumer. I wound up with a list of 4 - met with 3.

I also didn't tell each lawyer that I had met with a previous one because I wanted to hear the answers to the same questions to compare. One lawyer sucked up the whole hour and answered almost every question with: "I gotta check into that for you". Then when I called to get the answers, I got a crappy email that raised even more questions. He wants $3500 up front for a Chapter 13 and I have a feeling he is waiting for payment until he actually answers my concerns. He can wait, as far as I'm concerned....and I hope he's holding his breath too!

[Mark80]

Thats the exact thing I am trying to avoid! I just hope someone on here has filed in my area! I also work so much I don't have the time to meet up with these people during business hours. Taking a few hours off one day wouldn't be a problem but meeting with 3 would take me a few weeks of trying to squeeze them in.

So you didn't go with one of the three at all? I wish you luck on finding one you feel you can work with!

[Bandit]

I simply did an experiment awhile back. Went through the yellow pages & called a whole bunch of them. I don't know if I did it right but based my decision & better judgments on how well they answered my questions according to the law while allowing some discreet conversation to flow but including direct, effective answers. If they could not offer any discreet help, answer questions promptly without a bunch of moosh mash and do all chapters of BK, then I checked them off as no good.

The second I heard, "I don't know.", I knew that attorney was not for me! I took I don't know as I DONT CARE.

I also considered the percentage of BK they do as well as the years they have been doing it. Some of them had no idea what they were talking about. Some made me feel like dirt & worthless & others gave me hope.

A bad attorney can ruin your case & make things worse so don't wait until the last minute to start the search. There are some chop shops who only want the simple cases & then after you get into it they don't know how to get the people out of complicated matters, say, taxes.

There is a list around here somewhere that tells what to look for & plenty of info online on what to look for to find a good one in this special field of law. I would not just count on a referal from friends or family alone. While my friend recomended his BK attorney who only does no asset CH7, after I talked to the guy, I realized he was not all that great & then learned that my friend hired the first lawyer he ran into- IMO, because he was too lazy to search.

After that little experiment on the phone, Honestly, there was only 1 out of 5 that I had good feelings about. Next step would be to interview the office(s) where they work & see if it is sloppy or organized etc. etc. etc. Say CHEESE Mr. Car Salesman

[nazstar]

Thats the exact thing I am trying to avoid! I just hope someone on here has filed in my area! I also work so much I don't have the time to meet up with these people during business hours. Taking a few hours off one day wouldn't be a problem but meeting with 3 would take me a few weeks of trying to squeeze them in.

So you didn't go with one of the three at all? I wish you luck on finding one you feel you can work with!

I am meeting with one this afternoon- will let you know how it goes. if your work schedule is hectic, you might want to go ahead and schedule appointments all in the same day - say a month out in advance and use a vacation day. TRUST ME, they won't go over their free hour, so you can schedule them pretty close together (taking traveling time into account). I can sympathize with an inflexible work schedule, but at the same time, this lawyer is holding your immediate financial future in his hands - it's worth the time!