What Should a Bankruptcy Cost?

Whenever I speak with a potential client, one of the questions always asked, often one of the first, is "how much will it cost?" This is a legitimate question, but, upon hearing my estimate (which varies from case to case) some potential clients never become clients. I am sure that in many cases they find someone willing to do the work cheaper.

Consumer bankruptcy attorneys all seem to compete on price. It's understandable that someone facing bankruptcy needs the lowest cost possible, but what clients often don't understand is that bankruptcies aren't like potatoes. In most cases, a pound of potatoes from one grocer is as good as a pound from another, so it makes sense to find the grocer with the lowest cost. But everybody's financial situation is different. It doesn't make sense to shop for a bankruptcy attorney solely on the basis of cost.

Many large-volume bankruptcy attorneys (or bankruptcy mills) churn out dozens of cases a week. In a consumer bankruptcy, about the only thing an attorney can't delegate to a paralegal is appearing in court, so those high volume attorneys spend their time in court and leave the rest to secretaries and paralegals. That means except for the few minutes when the client is actually in court or at the meeting of creditors, he or she doesn't speak directly to the attorney. Secretaries and paralegals can't give legal advice, which means they can't answer a client's questions in many cases. Is that what clients want, to pay the lowest fee and be run through a processor?

Bankruptcy is a serious step. It's a confusing process that goes on for months and, in Chapter 13, years. Clients should be willing to pay enough to get the attention they deserve.