Think I found my attorney

[NewPage]

I had a phone consult with some BK lawyer's office person on 4/13. He did some preliminary questioning and gave me fees of $800, including filing fees. My research on that attorney did not leave me very pleased though; he has had some complaints and been reprimanded by the state bar. Also, I emailed the person I spoke to a couple of days after our phone conversation, and he has yet to reply.

Yesterday, I finally got to do a phone consult with an atty a little further away, but I actually spoke *to* the attorney and not someone in his office. He's with a reputable firm, and searches on him come up clean in both OR & WA. He is $950, plus $50 or $60 in travel for the 341. I think definitely worth it to go with someone like him for about $200 more, yes? He's also answered several of my email questions, and been sooooo helpful. I am really impressed.

The only thing that gives me a little hesitation, and it's purely "protection" oriented in my eyes, is that he won't do anything until the $950 is paid in full (installments okay, just "not by credit card" LOL), vs the first guy wanting $400 as what I assume is a retainer, and his web site stating that after he receives that, I can direct creditors to call his office.

Who would you go with? ;-)

[ssmdem]

I had a phone consult with some BK lawyer's office person on 4/13. He did some preliminary questioning and gave me fees of $800, including filing fees. My research on that attorney did not leave me very pleased though; he has had some complaints and been reprimanded by the state bar. Also, I emailed the person I spoke to a couple of days after our phone conversation, and he has yet to reply.

Yesterday, I finally got to do a phone consult with an atty a little further away, but I actually spoke *to* the attorney and not someone in his office. He's with a reputable firm, and searches on him come up clean in both OR & WA. He is $950, plus $50 or $60 in travel for the 341. I think definitely worth it to go with someone like him for about $200 more, yes? He's also answered several of my email questions, and been sooooo helpful. I am really impressed.

The only thing that gives me a little hesitation, and it's purely "protection" oriented in my eyes, is that he won't do anything until the $950 is paid in full (installments okay, just "not by credit card" LOL), vs the first guy wanting $400 as what I assume is a retainer, and his web site stating that after he receives that, I can direct creditors to call his office.

Who would you go with? ;-)

The way my attorney put it to me is that he needed it all front because if he didn't get it, he then became one of my creditors.

[Fresh]

No Complaints/Disciplinary Actions

New Page,

Please steer clear of any attorney who has been disciplined. I'm so glad you did your research. Most of the crap out there that's available is so easy to find when you do your research.

Also go with your gut. Sometimes everything seems perfect, but you feel like something is off. It sounds like you have some time, so if you want to continue to look a bit longer, do so. Otherwise, the other attorney (#2) sounds more than reasonable, and is friendly and helpful to boot.

[HHM]

Jeez, those are incredibly cheap. Honestly, not sure how an attorney can make a decent living charging those rates (in reality, most BK attorney's make less than $100K a year).

Sounds like the 2nd one is the way to go. In reality, they probably both operate the same, they give your case to a para legal that will do 90% of the work. Basically, you are paying $950 for an attorney signature. For the value you receive, you might as well cut out the middle man and simply hire a paralegal to prepare your forms and pay $199, because that is all you are getting with these two attorneys anyway.

Real attorneys and real law firms don't charge less than $1500 and the really good ones will all be over $2000.