Protecting MIL who is pursuing bankruptcy

[Anonymous]

MIL is seeking a lawyer to help file for bankruptcy. How can we make sure the one she selects is reputable? She is in FL.
Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I was a law clerk in a bankruptcy court in a different part of the country many years ago. The best consumer bankruptcy attorneys practicing before the court I worked for were also Chapter 7 trustees, so I would advise finding the list of individuals who serve as Chapter 7 trustees before whatever court your MIL would file with and seeing if they or their firms also take individual cases. Otherwise I’d look up attorneys who were speakers in bankruptcy CLEs or involved in the bankruptcy section of the state or local bar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a law clerk in a bankruptcy court in a different part of the country many years ago. The best consumer bankruptcy attorneys practicing before the court I worked for were also Chapter 7 trustees, so I would advise finding the list of individuals who serve as Chapter 7 trustees before whatever court your MIL would file with and seeing if they or their firms also take individual cases. Otherwise I’d look up attorneys who were speakers in bankruptcy CLEs or involved in the bankruptcy section of the state or local bar.

+1. This is great advice. I would also look at folks that are publishing in the bankruptcy trade publications. If someone writes well enough to be published they will usually be a pretty decent attorney.