Hiring the wrong law firm can be an expensive mistake. Don't make that mistake. Meet your attorney before hiring them. Below is information that will help anyone find the right Bankruptcy Attorney.

THE SEARCH

1. Word of Mouth

The best place to begin the search for a Bankruptcy Attorney is with family and friends. Bankruptcy is an easy process for a well-practiced attorney, if the process is unpleasant a good attorney will have prepared their client for those unpleasantries well in advance. If a friend or family member that has filed for Bankruptcy had a good experience with their attorney, that's probably the best place to start.

2. Phone Book

The next best place to look for a Bankruptcy Attorney is the phone book. The phone book is full of local business people that care about their reflection on the community. While most brick-and-mortar businesses have declined over the last decade or so, attorneys still take pride in having a professional environment where they can meet clients face-to-face. Attorneys care deeply about their reflection on the community they are situated in because their reputation is their livelihood. If the community loses faith in a particular attorney, then that attorney will no longer bring in clients to support his or her business. When looking for legal representation it's best to shop local, and the phone book provides a great opportunity for shopping local.

3. Internet Search Engine

The internet is the best place to be taken advantage of, be familiar with the warning signs.

WARNING: Watch out for ads placed at the top of your search results!

When searching "bankruptcy attorney," or a similar term, the ads that populate the top of the search result may not be for an attorney at all. For instance, A "debt-relief" ad may lead to a debt consolidation company that promises to negotiate all the debts so that they can be paid off over a period of time for a monthly fee; but there is no enforcement for the negotiation, and often some creditors don't agree. So, the debt consolidation company does not actually provide relief at all, and the customer is in the same position they started, while the debt consolidation company has collected a fee.

Some ads are placed by firms without attorneys to service the area in which the ad is placed. These firms will accept payment from individuals where none of their attorneys are located and hang on to the fee indefinitely, until an attorney in that area joins the firm, or they are court ordered to return the fees. This conduct can cause a person in the midst of foreclosure proceedings to lose their home.

Some ads are placed by competent Bankruptcy Attorneys attempting to compete in the ever expanding online market place. There are a few ways to distinguish the helpful attorney from the predatory counter-part:

WARNING: Does the firm bear the owner's or owners' name(s)?

If a person is willing to put their name on the firm, then that person is prone to care how the firm reflects on the community and society-at-large. The owners of a firm named after a word in the English language may be preserving the integrity of their own names because they are not in complete moral and/or ethical accordance with the firm they are a part of.

WARNING: Visit the website

Stay away from link-less websites that say little about the firm and instead directs its visitors to contact a third party call center or provide information so the call center can contact the visitor. A good law firm's website might solicit calls and request contact information, but it will also provide information about the history of the firm and its attorneys.

WARNING: Internet Search the Firm's Name

Searching the firm's name could reveal interesting information about that firm.

THE PHONE CALL

The phone call is an opportunity for an attorney or their staff to spend 10-15 minutes gathering information about the client to determine if the client is a good Bankruptcy candidate, and setting up an appointment for a more thorough consultation.

It's best to speak with an attorney, unless the attorney is busy

An attorney can prepare a list of questions for the staff to ask a client, but only an attorney is trained to spot issues during the initial phone consultation. Furthermore, a good attorney will be anxious to begin developing a rapport with their clients, and personally answering a phone call from a client is a good step towards developing a hospitable relationship.

On the other hand good attorneys are often busy. If an attorney is so busy that he or she is often not at the office, then that attorney may have to delegate the initial phone consultation to support staff.

WARNING! A CLIENT SHOULD NOT MAKE PAYMENT OR ENTER AN AGREEMENT BEFORE MEETING THE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR CASE.

There are large multi-state Bankruptcy Firms that use non-attorney call centers to screen prospective clients and collect payment, but the prospect does not speak to an actual attorney until payment is made in full. This practice creates two problems: 1) The prospect has no opportunity to meet with an attorney to determine whether Bankruptcy is a good investment, and 2) the prospect does not have the name of an attorney to hold liable for his payment.

Don't fall prey to a predatory "debt relief" business. Make a proper search. Choosing the right Bankruptcy Attorney is the first step of due-diligence towards financial reform.

Bankruptcy is a driven practice for an experienced debt relief attorney, like those at Smith Law, Ltd. Because there are so many nuances in the application of bankruptcy law, it is inadvisable that an individual not experienced or knowledgeable about Title 11 of the U.S. Code, and how the courts have interpreted those laws, to file bankruptcy without the assistance of counsel.

If you would like to speak to experienced debt relief attorneys please contact Smith Law, Ltd.

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief.