Welcome back for part two on my findings on what you can do to improve your chances of finding a good bankruptcy lawyer for you in Southfield, Michigan.
Bankruptcy Lawyers in Southfield Michigan | 10 Keys to Hiring a Good One
Again, I put this together to help people out there without a clue that end up facing bankruptcy.
We help quite a few people that end up filing, so I wanted to help people out going through this. Today I’m picking up from where I left off in the previous post.
If you missed part one, click the link below:
7. Are they Certified?
While it’s not a guarantee, lawyers that are certified might have a little more incentive to do the right thing and work hard for you than others.
Keyword there, is “might.”
But still, it can’t hurt.
American Bankruptcy Institution Certification (ABI)
Here’s an example of a certification a bankruptcy lawyer might have.
The ABI is a non-profit organization that’s designed to provide consumers, companies, as well as the US Congress with non-biased information on bankruptcy.
NACBA
In addition to the ABI, you might also want to check to see if they’re a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA).
8. Find a Lawyer that Gives Free Consultations
Part of your search for the right lawyer will involve interviewing the lawyers you’re seriously thinking about hiring.
So you want to consider lawyers that give free consultations.
Otherwise, you’d have to pay for the time you spend interviewing them, and you don’t want to do that, do you?
9. What Kind of Bankruptcy Cases Do they Have Experience With?
From what I’ve read, most bankruptcy lawyers tend to have more experience in one type of bankruptcy over another.
For example, they might have more experience handling business bankruptcies instead of Chapter 7 or Chapter 8.
Obviously, you want someone who is experienced with the type of bankruptcy you’re going to end up filing.
10. Questions to Ask in Your Interview
So what the heck do you ask a prospective lawyer when you’re interviewing them?
Here’s a few questions you might want to add to your arsenal:
- What type of accessibility will I have to whomever’s going to be doing most of the work during the process?
- What’s the preferred method of communication with that person during the process?
- How many cases do you manage per year/month?
- Who would I be dealing with primarily? Is it possible for me to meet the individual I’d be possibly interacting with throughout the procedure if it’s not you (the lawyer you’re consulting with/ interviewing)?
Note: Once (and if) you seek the services of that attorney or law firm, you will probably end up dealing with a legal assistant or a worker throughout most of the procedure. So that’s why I said you might want to ask to see if you can talk with the person you would be interacting with most of the time.
In most situations, you will not work much with the real attorney until it’s actually time to go to bankruptcy court.
There’s a lot of other concerns you might want to ask, so you might want to run a Google search for phrases like “questions to ask a bankruptcy attorney” to gather more questions for your interviews/consultations.
11. Is Their Office Neat?
While you’re interviewing the lawyers, take a look around their office to see if it’s sloppy.
If it is, there’s a good chance that your bankruptcy paperwork might end up in the mix along with all the other stuff that’s scattered about.
And how does that thought make you feel? Not good, right?
I wish you the best of luck as you go through your situation.
I hope some of the information provided helped you in some way.
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References:
Why Hire a Bankruptcy Lawyer? (via betterbankruptcy.com)
What to Look for When Hiring a Bankruptcy Attorney (via ezines.com)
Free Bankruptcy Attorney Hiring Tips (via changandcarlin.com)
