A few days ago I told you all about my daughter’s financial problems, how she got into them and how she eventually got out of them. Well today, I would like to tell you all how you can find a good New Orleans bankruptcy lawyer, or any good bankruptcy lawyer, no matter where you live.
When my daughter was looking for a lawyer we didn’t want to just open up a phone book or hire one from a television or print ad. We knew that there are good ones and bad ones, so we really did our homework to find the perfect one for her.
The first thing that we did was ask around for some referrals. We contacted friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers to get their recommendations. We wrote down all of the names and compiled our master list.
The next thing that we did was get onto the internet and looked for references and reviews from other people. You would be surprised at what you can find when you do internet searches. From there, we narrowed down our list to 3 possible candidates.
After that, we called our state bar association and asked them about the 3 candidates that we were considering. We eliminated one name from the list and had 2 names remaining.
We called the offices of both lawyers and set up initial appointments with each one. My daughter went in to meet with them and finally selected one of them to represent her in the bankruptcy case.
While this is not the quick and easy way to find a good lawyer, it was the way we went about it. You never want to just “blindly” select an attorney to handle your case, no matter what it is, you need to do your homework and pick the perfect one for you and your needs.
Have any of you ever had to hire an attorney to represent you in something? If so, how did you go about finding the perfect one for you?
Conversation By: Kirkpatrick and Associates, however, all the points and views are my own.
I love your information. We have occasionally thought about bankruptcy, but were worried about how to find a good one, etc.
I have had to hire an attorney for two divorces, one bankruptcy, and for a small claims case against a creditor. I have also hired many a lawyer for consults such as contracts and financial planning. In all cases I used some of the same results as you: 1) Referrals, checking reviews/sites on lawyer. As for bankruptcy it was when I went into the office for a consult that I sometimes use the “intuitive” approach and have typically been correct. For other cases such as divorce and anything that has to go to trial, I would actually look up cases that they worked on in the county courthouse database. I checked to see how often they “WON” their cases. Each of those times I was pretty successful at getting a great lawyer. Key is, be very open and communicative with your lawyer about facts that they can actually use. Do not use your lawyer as your therapist. I love my attorney and keep them on retainer just in case.
Great information! I too had to find one and we ask around. We found one and he and his firm are wonderful. They don’t make you feel like the heel on your shoe and are very accommodating. We have taken a long time to come up with the money to file and they have been so understanding. Thanks for posting this. Nice to know when you really get in a bad spot financially that there is someone you can trust to help.