Filing for bankruptcy is one of the most crucial financial decisions that you will ever take in your life. This is considered as the final effort to get rid of your debts. If you are planning to file for bankruptcy in California you need to hire the services of a professional lawyer. You need to carry out a detailed research on the lawyer before hiring his or her service. Here are five important things that you must consider while hiring the services of a lawyer.
- Expertise - You need to make sure that the lawyer has expertise on the different aspects of the bankruptcy laws. By expertise we mean that the lawyer should have thorough knowledge of all the Federal and the state laws. How many cases have they taken up in the past? What is their reputation in the market? You can ask for references from your friends and colleagues as this will help you zero in on an attorney who can bring some relief to your troubled financial situation.
- Reviews - What are people saying about the lawyer or law firm that you intend to hire. In an era where most information is available on your fingertips you can easily find out the reviews that a lawyer has got from his or her previous clients. Try and judge the skills of the lawyer reading such reviews. However don’t expect even the best of the lawyers not to have anything adverse about them posted somewhere. You need to use your own discretion in taking the final call.
- Free Consultation - This is another good way of finding out a professional lawyer. If the lawyer is insistent on charging you even for a consultation it would be wise to knock some other door. A professional lawyer understands the poor financial state you are in and won’t charge you for a consultation. Having a free consultation with your lawyer helps you understand the minutes of the filing procedure and also knowing what kind of discharge can you expect.
- Communication - In bankruptcy related situations you are not likely to be in your best state of mind. Hence you need the services of an attorney who lends you an ear each time you want to discuss issues related to your case. They should be willing to respond to your phone calls and emails immediately and offer you time whenever you want to meet him or her.
- Pricing - Another important thing that you need to consider is the pricing of their services. While some lawyers would charge you on an hourly basis there are others who have fixed charges of taking up your cases. You need to do some market research and find out the price of hiring a professional lawyer. It is important to keep in mind that lawyers who have a tested market record might come at a high price but they can tilt the case in your favor and hence hiring them is a sound financial decision.
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