understanding how bankruptcy lawyers work

The way any lawyer structures a practice can vary widely from lawyer to lawyer. Some lawyers are general practitioners who only dabble and handle only occasional bankruptcy cases. Other lawyers restrict their practices entirely to bankruptcy representation. Some lawyers only represent creditors. Some lawyers only represent corporate debtors. Others only represent consumer debtors. Legal Helpers represents consumer debtors and does not do any work for creditors.

Like most lawyers, good bankruptcy lawyers make sure their agreement is in writing. The written agreement should contain a clear indication of the fees charged for the representation and the scope of services covered under the fee. Also like most attorneys, the consumer bankruptcy lawyers should have good time management skills. Especially given today’s economy, bankruptcy lawyers are very busy. Thus, good bankruptcy lawyers take steps to be efficient. These efficiencies help all cases to proceed smoothly.

Besides getting cases ready to file, bankruptcy lawyers have to prepare for and attend hearings, meet new clients, meet with current clients, prepare and file Motions with the Court, negotiate with creditors, and perform many other duties. One of the most common methods used by bankruptcy lawyers to most efficiently get through their workload is by filing several cases at the same time. Many bankruptcy lawyers will designate a certain day or days of the week as “filing days”. This serves a couple of purposes. It allows the attorney to get cases ready to be filed as time permits. Then on the designated day, there will be many cases ready to be filed. Most importantly, bankruptcy cases are assigned 341 hearing dates at the time they are filed. So, by filing numerous cases at the same time, the bankruptcy lawyers can assure that the cases will all be assigned 341 hearing dates at or around the same time. This then saves the attorneys time in the future, as the attorney can attend one or two hearing times and service many clients at the same time rather than constantly moving back and forth from the office to the hearing location for each and every client. Ultimately, this allows the attorney to keep fees as low as possible.

Of course, there are times when a case has to be filed by a certain date (i.e. due to a foreclosure sale, etc.), and the bankruptcy lawyers will file these cases accordingly, but for the most part, it is beneficial for the attorneys to have one or two set filing times. Another way in which bankruptcy lawyers save time is by sharing responsibilities with other attorneys. In a larger firm, this means sharing responsibilities amongst other lawyers in the firm. If one attorney is filing cases on a specific day, another attorney may be meeting with clients while another is attending hearings. Then the next day they will switch roles so that every attorney can get the opportunity to meet with clients, get cases ready to be filed, and file cases. What this means for the client is that the attorney who first meets with them may not be the attorney who files the client’s case and they may have a different attorney attend the 341 hearing with them. The benefit to the client is that the client can rest assured that their case is being checked and double-checked. After all, two or three sets of eyes is almost always better than one!

Bankruptcy lawyers in a larger firm, like Legal Helpers, are able to work together for the common purpose of servicing the client. The client benefits because the attorneys can work together to share knowledge and experience. Lawyers can divide responsibilities which allows for efficient handling of cases which keeps costs reasonable for the client. Keep in mind that ultimately the goal is to make sure the client has a successful bankruptcy case and that is a goal that all lawyers at Legal Helpers work toward achieving!

Understanding how bankruptcy lawyers work for you