Who is the best bankruptcy attorney in NYC?

Who is the Best Bankruptcy Attorney in NYC?

In New York City there are just about as many lawyers as there are restaurants. And with such a grim economy there are quite a few New York Bankruptcy Lawyers. This post is designed to give you an idea of what to look for with a Bankruptcy Lawyer.

1. Does the attorney communicate well with you? If you call to ask a question and the lawyer takes days to call you back that probably means they are not that interested in doing business with you. Also, if you do decide to use an lawyer who does not return your calls the relationship is probably only going to get worse over time. I make every effort to return all calls within 1 business day and all emails even more quickly. I understand what my cleint’s are going through and that sometimes it helps to even know that there lawyer is there and hasn’t forgot about him/her. If you don’t believe me, send me an email and see how long it takes me to respond!

2. Does your lawyer have a paralegal or support staff conduct your consultations? I know that there are literally hundreds if not thousands of pitfalls that can take place in any consumer bankruptcy case. I make it a point to thoroughly examine each client when we first meet to make sure there are absolutely no issues with the case, and if there are whether they can be managed. If you meet an New York Bankruptcy Lawyer who does not personally meet with you and go over all of the different options and/or issues with your case you need to move on.

3. Does the Bankruptcy Lawyer personally draft all of your filed papers? I must admit that for the first year or so that I practiced bankruptcy I used a paralegal to prepare documents for certain cases. However, I still went over each and every document with a fine tooth comb and found mistakes, mistakes and mistakes! On occasion I will have support staff gather paperwork from my clients but I never have them prepare entire documents that get filed with the court. Maybe that is why my success rate (as of the date this was written) is 100% on my chapter 7 filings. In any event a good New York Bankruptcy Lawyer should at the bare minimum review the petition before having his client sign them.

4. Does your New York Bankruptcy Lawyer prepare you for your 341 meeting of creditors? This one is a no brainer. Each case is different and each client is different. I spend a significant amount of time preparing each client before the meeting of creditors. Each trustee is different and has different questions. For this reason it is important that your lawyer has been to many of these meetings and met the trustees on a regular basis. If your lawyer has only filed a few bankruptcy cases he/she might not be familiar with your particular trustee and may not be able to prepare you properly. Be careful!!