How To Choose A Bankruptcy Lawyer

If you are one of the millions of Americans considering filing for bankruptcy, choosing a bankruptcy lawyer is a key consideration. The cost of bankruptcy can be high, and frankly shopping around for a bankruptcy law firm will not necessarily mean you will find someone affordable. Bankruptcy can be expensive, and you need to be prepare to pay the cost of bankruptcy if that’s the route you choose.

Some of the traditional ways to find bankruptcy lawyers is to ask someone you know and trust. Just as with doctors, personal experience with a lawyer is the main way to discover a professional’s good and bad qualities. If you know someone who recently went through filing bankruptcy, you might consider talking to their lawyer as well.

You can also find lawyers through local bar associations. These are the professional groups in your town or city that many or most lawyers join. Often, the association will maintain a free referral service, and sometimes lawyers also offer a free or low cast initial consultation through these services.

If you don’t have access to either of these methods, you can find a bankruptcy lawyer by checking your local yellow pages or even online. It’s hard to figure out what is the difference between lawyers from advertising only. But you can choose to meet with several lawyers, and as said earlier, most bankruptcy lawyers will at least offer some time with you during an initial meeting for free or low cost. See who gives you the best feeling, who seems to have the best feel for your questions. Just like with a doctor, choose the person who makes you feel most comfortable.

When it comes to finding a lawyer, you can also do some additional research to find out more about their skills. Many lawyers join professional groups that focus just on their area of expertise. This is so for bankruptcy practices. The bankruptcy laws are topics of constant interpretation, so your lawyer should be a member of such a professional group. You can also see if your chosen attorney has written about bankruptcy law for professional publications. Often you can find these kinds of credentials on their website, but there are also directories like Martindale Hubbell on the web that you can review.

When it comes to costs, whether you file for bankruptcy Chapter 7 or bankruptcy Chapter 13, you will pay a minimum of probably $2,000. Some lawyers allow you to pay this in installments, and will only file your case upon payment in full. The costs can go higher too if you have a complicated personal estate, meaning lots of assets or debts to be sorted out. Your bankruptcy attorney should tell you up front what he or she estimates your cost of bankruptcy should be. Don’t hire anyone who tells you they don’t know how high your costs can go, they can at least estimate.

You need to have a lawyer who will help provide the right bankruptcy information for you. So, beware of any lawyer who immediately assumes you need to file bankruptcy and starts down that path, without exploring with you all of your bankruptcy alternatives. You always have the option not to file, and your lawyer should explain, based on your personal circumstances, what that could mean for you.