How can you determine who is a bad \ good attorney for CH-7 without any experience ?

Look at the attorney reviews & endorsements here on - that is why they are here!. When you use the "Find a Lawyer" search tool, click on the photo of the attorney to see their profile - their rating, the legal guides they have published, etc! Begin by reading the reviews & endorsements from other attorneys. Pay more attention to the reviews & endorsements than the ratings, IMHO. Hope this perspective helps!

There are no "magic" questions to ask. You want an attorney that will be confident and competent in the work they are doing. Obviously familiarity with the bankruptcy process is important as well as the bankruptcy rules. Without knowing more about your situation, it is impossible to give you any guidance on the topics you should discuss with your potential attorney. What I can tell you is that we have represented clients in chapter 7 and chapter 13 matters in Orange County and Los Angeles. We have represented clients in complex multi-million dollar bankruptcy matters and adversarial proceedings. We are familiar with the process and know the rules. We provide personal service to our clients. If you would like to discuss your current situation, please feel free to contact our office. 949-333-5921. www.pacificpremierlaw.com

Plusses are high ratings and a firm where you are seen first by an attorney rather than by a paralegal. Negatives are a large volume practice, advertising that promises no money down or any kind of guaranteed result. If you have the luxury of time, find out when 341 meetings are being held in your city and observe a few hours worth. An attorney who handles just one or two cases, who plainly knew his clients before they came into the room, and whose cases sail through without uncomfortable questions is likely a good one.

Along with my colleagues, I would recommend that you start by searching , Yelp, FindLaw etc to look up reviews and endorsements. After you have a few in mind, give them a call and meet them in person (most will provide a free consultation). Eliminate the ones you aren't comfortable with. For the rest, make sure you look up their profiles on the state bar, Google their names and check to see if there are any complaints on them etc. You can even be upfront and ask for explanations about any complaints etc. You can even ask them to show you a list of the cases they filed from the court website, just to double check their experience. I hope that helps.

I guess finding a competent, reasonably priced lawyer is the same as finding a competent, reasonably priced (anything else). Referrals from your friends and others who have been represented by a BK lawyer are high on my list. Personally, I prefer to handle all aspects of a case and not use paralegals or other "staff" to prepare, file and handle the matter. Don't be sold on price alone.

Cost, you get what you pay for so know what you are getting. Unfortunately, you probably will not know what to expect from a Bankruptcy Attorney until you have completed your bankruptcy, and then it may be too late. Fortunately, most attorneys who practice bankruptcy are professional, courteous and genuinely concerned about the client. "Court statistics show that a self-represented debtor is almost eight times more likely to have his or her Chapter 7 case dismissed than a debtor represented by counsel. " 30% of people filing bankruptcy do not use an attorney. Is this a good idea? Click here to see the Federal Court report on self-filers. Bankruptcy, the 13 step process or why does it cost so much? 1. Initial consultation; the Bankruptcy Attorney should be asking you a lot questions about your financial circumstance. This may be the first phone call to your Bankruptcy Attorney. 2. First meeting; your Bankruptcy Attorney should meet with you to explain the law of bankruptcy; in fact, the bankruptcy code requires that the Bankruptcy Attorney give you specific information at the beginning of the case. By Federal Law you will need to sign a retainer agreement to proceed. 3. Factual Interview, your Bankruptcy Attorney should gather facts through a structured interview. He may do this at the first meeting. You will probably not be able to answer everything in the first interview and you should anticipate an exhaustive checklist of items you will need for the second meeting 4. Second Meeting; you will give your Bankruptcy Attorney the documentation he requested and the Bankruptcy Attorney will provide you with your present credit report history, that you will verify. 5. Bankruptcy tactics and strategies; from the initial consultation the Bankruptcy Attorney has been building an unique bankruptcy plan for you. Based upon your information, your Bankruptcy Attorney will advise you on your unique plan. 6. Bankruptcy case and petition preparation. Your Bankruptcy Attorney will build your case based upon your information. By this time your Bankruptcy Attorney has gotten to know you and your financial circumstances. 7. Filing; all filings in Federal Court are done electronically, by your Bankruptcy Attorney in person. Filing a bankruptcy petition creates a “bankruptcy estate” and the court will assign a Trustee to administer this bankruptcy estate. 8. Meeting with the Trustee, about 30 days after you file you will meet with the Trustee assigned to administer your bankruptcy estate. Your Bankruptcy Attorney should be at that meeting with you. 9. Post Petition issues; in most cases your Bankruptcy Attorney’s work is complete after the Trustee meeting. However, questions may come up in the trustee meeting that your Bankruptcy Attorney will need to respond to. 10. Filing additional documents. Although your Bankruptcy Attorney’s work is generally complete at the trustee meeting, the trustee may ask for additional information. 11. You are also required to file certification that you have completed the second and post petition Financial Management Course. Generally your Bankruptcy Attorney takes care of this for you. 12. Reaffirmation agreements, your secured lenders (car loans) will probably ask for a reaffirmation agreement if you want to keep your car(s). Your Bankruptcy Attorney will explain this to you, guide you through the process and submit the agreement to the lender for you. Some Bankruptcy Attorneys DO NOT do this, you should ask up front. 13. You should always meet with and communicate with the Bankruptcy Attorney. The Bankruptcy Attorney may use his office staff for routine data entry, etc., but you are hiring an Bankruptcy Attorney. The Bankruptcy Attorney works for you. Please notice that there are three words that appear in each of the first 12 points; “your Bankruptcy Attorney”. It is not the paralegal, not the legal

California now certifies consumer bankruptcy attorneys. You can find a certified specialist by searching or using Google search. That being said, there are many fine bankruptcy attorneys who have not chosen to become certified specialists. A certified specialist guarantees only a certain level of expertise and experience, not necessarily personal compatibility or necessarily “the best.” You can expect to pay for more for a certified specialist but you will have the confidence that the attorney is capable of handling a Chapter 7 and has sufficient experience to handle most situations that may arise. Good luck.

Many of the suggestions given here by my colleagues are good, but I would add one other place to look: NACBA.org. The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys has a find a lawyer tool. Not all nacba lawyers are the greatest, but membership in NACBA indicates they take the practice of bankruptcy law seriously and they likely know what they are talking about. Also read a fair number of the various comments that folks have posted here and see who has lots of agreements by other lawyers. As my colleagues indicated, look at on-line reviews, including those posted here by attorneys clients and lastly, interview a couple and see who you feel most comfortable with. Feeling comfortable with your attorney is important, especially in a Ch13 situation because this person you are going to be dealing with for a long time.

An excellent bankruptcy attorney is important in terms of bankruptcy success (the destination) and the ease of the bankruptcy process (the journey). What I’d look for in a bankruptcy attorney is experience, personability, accessibility and handsomeness, these being yours truly’s traits. That said, I don’t do bankruptcy in L.A., so you’re on your own. (Okay, okay, you can contact me for referral to an Angeleno bankruptcy lawyer). Dive into my San Diego bankruptcy Web site to discover what all chapter 7 entails (local bankruptcy practices vary).

I agree with my colleagues; however, you should always be watchful of attorney ratings on websites like this. For instance, newer attorneys like myself are going to have a low rating for no other reason than that we are new. In my opinion one of the best ways is to get in person testimonials. In other words, someone that you know recommends an attorney based on their good experience.