In Orange County and Southern California, you have many attorneys to choose from that are providing bankruptcy filing services. It is easy to find very large firms with large marketing budgets that appear to know be experienced in their line of business. It is also very easy to find one man law offices that claim they will be able to handle your filing with no problems. So, how do you find the right bankruptcy attorney for you? There are important factors in choosing a law firm that you can trust and a law firm that will execute what you need in order to help you in your situation.
1. Call them once to get a feel of how they are represented over the phone. It is important to know that the law firm’s staff is competent because, very likely, the same staff that is helping you on the phone as a prospective client will also be answering your calls when you are retained as a client.
2. Call the firm a few times to make sure you can always get a hold of a REAL PERSON on the phone instead of an off-site call center
3. Meet with the attorney in-person and ask about:
A. Experience in the field: Do not limit yourself to asking about how many years someone has been doing something. You want to know if they are up to date with current laws and legal procedures. They may have done bankruptcy 25 years ago, but not have any good current experience. Find out how many they have done RECENTLY! Also, make sure to find out where they have worked in the past. The experience of attorneys may differ from different court systems. So, if you are filing in Orange County, you need to make sure your attorney’s experience is from Orange County bankruptcy courts and with Orange County bankruptcy trustees.
B. Meet the person who is going to handle your filing. Shake their hand. Make sure they represent themselves well because if they don’t represent themselves well, they won’t represent you well. Don’t be afraid to ask where they went to law school or ask some background information. Find out how well they know the Orange County or Riverside court systems.
4. Check prices and make sure you are getting a good value for your dollar. Make sure to ask what the TOTAL cost is, including ALL the fees you will need to pay.
Try out these tips and see what you can come up with. We hope this helps you find the right firm to help you get the service you need.
