lawyer that is also a trustee

[sick of debt]

FILING TOMORROW AND JUST HAVE A MILLION THOUGHTS GOING AROUND IN MY HEAD. MY LAWYER IS ALSO A TRUSTEE. OBVIOUSLY, SHE WILL NOT BE OUR TRUSTEE. I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THIS IS A GOOD THING? WHEN WE FIRST MET HER, SHE CAME ACROSS AS A DIFFICULT PERSON, HOWEVER, AS THE MEETING CARRIED ON SHE BECAME SOFTER. WAS SHE JUST WEARING HER TRUSTEE HAT TO TEST US? ENDED UP REALLY LIKING HER, OBVIOUSLY (WE DID HIRE HER).

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Sick Of Debt, generally speaking, having an attorney that is also a bk trustee is the best possible scenario, because they have worked the process from both sides of the fence and have an *excellent* knowledge of not only bk law, but the inner workings of the court and U.S. Trustee Program. Chances are also good that she has a working relationship with the US Trustee, which will come in VERY handy if your bk runs into any snags. Consider yourself very lucky.

Good luck!!!

[Phillymanhere]

Generally folks on this board seem to highly recommend trustees as they know they law well for their particular districts. I imagine their names must carry some clout with their fellow trustees.

The attorney I will use will most likely be a trustee. Like you, I actually liked the guy when I met him. I felt comfortable with him, that I could trust him. He seemed quite knowledgeable and listening to him, I sort of got a better idea of legal thinking on bk, better than I had gotten from the other three attorneys I met. So I'm not hiring him only because he's a trustee.

Good luck!

[laurannm]

While having a lawyer is generally a good thing, you still want to do your due diligence and check their experience, along with what Phillyman mentioned (comfort level with the person, their knowledge, etc.), particularly if you are above-median or on the bubble between a Ch 7 and a Ch 13. Also want to make sure that what they are saying matches up with everything you have read\researched.

We are above median, and our first lawyer worked for a Ch 7 trustee, but after talking with her I realized that not only was she limited in experience ( all of her cases were below-median and no Ch 13s), but some of things she wanted to do to get us by the means test were incorrect, as confirmed by prior cases on Pacer.

[kornellred]

I was under the impression that a trustee can only be a trustee when they are appointed to the position of trustee. It has a tendency to take up all of your time.

Notwithstanding the fact that almost all trustees are attorneys to begin with.

[momof5]

I was under the impression that a trustee can only be a trustee when they are appointed to the position of trustee. It has a tendency to take up all of your time.

.

Not sure of how it works but I know the Trustee I had is also a lawyer in a large law firm. He only handles cases, according to his profile, that involve creditors or businesses and what appears to be large amounts of money involved. We couldnt have hired him even if we wanted to. He did make it very clear that as a Trustee he was there to represent creditors.

[ssdsco]

FILING TOMORROW AND JUST HAVE A MILLION THOUGHTS GOING AROUND IN MY HEAD. MY LAWYER IS ALSO A TRUSTEE. OBVIOUSLY, SHE WILL NOT BE OUR TRUSTEE. I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THIS IS A GOOD THING? WHEN WE FIRST MET HER, SHE CAME ACROSS AS A DIFFICULT PERSON, HOWEVER, AS THE MEETING CARRIED ON SHE BECAME SOFTER. WAS SHE JUST WEARING HER TRUSTEE HAT TO TEST US? ENDED UP REALLY LIKING HER, OBVIOUSLY (WE DID HIRE HER).

Exactly what happened to me and I'm very happy with my attorney/trustee.

Good luck !!

[Unsure14]

I didn't care for the Ch7 lawyer who had been a trustee for 8 yrs prior to this. He was rude and belittling. He enjoyed being a kind of detective and assumed eveyone had something to hide. I didn't feel he would work in my best interest.
That being said, it gave me a lot of insight into the way a trustee can see your case. I recommend that everyone interview at least one lawyer/trustee, and then go with who they are comfortable with.

[yoyoma51]

Our lawyer was also a trustee, since 1982.

Best thing we could have done.

[2ndchance56]

I have to agree, my attorney was a trustee and everything went very, very smooth. I think when you have a BK att/trustee, the trustee assigned to your case doesn't scrutinize your paperwork since he knows a trustee is doing the filing.