6 RULES FOR CHOOSING A BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY

   The practice of bankruptcy has changed tremendously since the passage of the present bankruptcy code in 1978. In Maryland in 1978 through 1983 or 1984 it was necessary for the attorney and debtor to travel to Baltimore twice for every single case. It involved the whole day because invariably upon arriving at the court the cases would be running an hour and a half behind.

    The clerks of court were conducting cases in those days and they subjected debtors to intensive examination under oath which put to shame the examinations conducted by trustees today, particularly if assets were involved in the case. This required a tremendous amount of preparation by attorneys in order to toughen their clients for what to them probably seemed an ordeal lasting up to an hour and a half. Today the trustees have so many cases to examine that an average case without assets might take 10 minutes and with assets 20 minutes. The questioning is not nearly so thorough as it was. However, there is a great deal more financial incentive today for the trustees to uncover, administer and sell assets, to pay creditors and to pay themselves!

   The forms which are filed have become much more complex than they were in 1978, growing from 10 pages to approximately 30 plus exhibits. The result of this is that many attorneys who began practicing in the bankruptcy area within the last 10 years have never seen a bankruptcy hearing conducted the way they used to be. Therefore, they assume because of the milder atmosphere that bankruptcy is simple and non -threatening. That is why many of these practitioners are having problems with trustees taking houses, taking cars, even taking lawn mowers away from their clients. The clients of course are upset, but the lawyers often times don’t seem to understand what has really happened or dare I say it, -don’t care. So the first point in choosing a bankruptcy attorney is to choose one who has been involved in that area of practice for a long time. That attorney has learned from many years experience how to evaluate and treat assets so that they pass through the bankruptcy undisturbed.

(1) The rule is select an attorney who has practiced in this specialty for 15 years or more.

   As I described in the paragraph above, bankruptcy practice can be fairly involved in asset cases. In an asset case the Debtor always has choices to make with regard to the disposition of assets. However, the Debtor often doesn’t know what the choices are or even what is the logical approach to making them. Finding out about these choices and weighing your decisions is something you need help with. It will not occur unless your attorney is willing to spend the time with you to make sure that it occurs.

(2) The rule is select an attorney whose procedure includes an initial face to face consultation of at least an hour, and a thorough discussion of each of your assets and the methods to be used to preserve them.

   The forms and schedules required to be filed with a petition in bankruptcy are not simple, obvious, or easy to understand. The only way a debtor can submit candid, complete and accurate forms is with a lot of help and personal instruction from someone who really understands the law behind the forms. This will not happen in a law office where your case is handled entirely by secretaries. It is essential that an attorney be actively involved at various points to ensure that legalities are complied with and the forms are correctly filled out. One of the worst situations is where the official forms are "dumbed" down so that you can believe that you understand them (when in fact you are looking at a paraphrased version) and sent out to you to be completed by you with no help at all! The theory seems to be that if the attorney relies entirely on your uninformed answers, and asks no questions of his own, he will not be held responsible when something goes wrong. What people have told us in such cases is that it is impossible to get that attorney on the phone if something does go wrong. Usually by that time there is no good way to help the Debtor’s situation.

(3) The rule is select an attorney who intends to meet with you at various points during your case and who actually participates in and supervises all aspects of the case.

   I have already explained that the 341 Hearing in bankruptcy is not as arduous or difficult as it once was, but that dangers still lurk just below the surface. It is still necessary for the debtor to be prepared for the hearing although the preparation need not be too extensive. You need to know what questions the trustee might ask and to familiarize yourself with your petition and schedules with a view toward what the trustee might like to know. This requires a pre-hearing preparation meeting with your attorney which has the additional benefit of putting your mind at ease so that you can sleep the night before.

(4) The rule is select an attorney who, without being prompted, includes in his procedures a pre-hearing prep.

   How would you like to go to the 341 Hearing and find that the attorney you thought would represent you has arranged for a substitute without telling you. Recent changes adopted by the Trustee’s Office have made it difficult for attorneys filing numerous cases to attend all of them. Conscientious attorneys try to attend all of their hearings but if unable to attend all of them, will always be careful to explain the scheduling problem and inform the client of who will substitute and their qualifications to do so.

(5) The rule is select an attorney who fully intends to represent you in person at your 341 Hearing and if unable to do so will warn you well in advance so that you are not left in suspense.

   When you need surgery it doesn’t matter whether the procedure is a simple appendectomy or brain surgery, you are not likely to shop for price or go to the lowest price neighborhood "clinic". Why would you think of doing so with your important legal problems? With Bankruptcy, the attorney’s fees are controlled by the court. There is no fear of gouging because inflation always races ahead of whatever the courts permit. Practitioners who seem to have cut rate prices can only offer those prices by doing less, doing it poorly, doing it with under trained personnel, using every short cut whether it is to the Debtor’s advantage or not. Some judges have even warned the cut rate attorneys that they cannot do a proper job for the price they charge and should find another line of work.

(6) The rule is don’t select your attorney by price.