Bankruptcy

My Favorite New Bankruptcy Ads on Television in Arizona!

By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

One funny example: the narrator says in a very loud voice: OUR BANKRUPTCY LAWYER ARE ALL (voice changes to a whisper) supervised by BOARD CERTIFIED BANKRUPTCY LAWYERS!

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Here's one a little more sophisticated and sinister:

"Our bankruptcy lawyers are LICENSED to practice bankruptcy law in Arizona!"

That one is cuter. The gag is that all attorneys who are licensed in Arizona are licensed to practice bankruptcy law; the commercial is implying that these lawyers somehow have a SPECIAL bankruptcy license, which is simply misleading.
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Remember that ACTUAL qualifications and certifications for Arizona bankruptcy lawyers include the following (and I assume the lawyer has a valid ticket to practice law in the first place): recognition by the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization as a Specialist in Bankruptcy Law, a Martindale AV rating, an AVVO rating of "superb", which ranges from a numerical rating of 9 to 10, and a profile of Superlawyers. It's also useful to see if your potential bankruptcy lawyer has been active in the American Bar Association, or the Arizona Bar Association, or the Maricopa County Bar Association Bankruptcy Committees or Sections, because it's useful to know the other lawyers who habitually practice bankruptcy law, so you can ask for extensions or other favors that lawyers grant other folks who are in the same area of practice (unless they're horse's patoots, of course; but good bankruptcy lawyers are generally pretty genteel).

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I don't entirely blame the firms with the funky advertising, or even the firms that try to turn personal injury lawyers or divorce lawyers into instant bankruptcy lawyers; they're trying to make money to keep the doors open. And I know that it's difficult to become board certified in bankruptcy law in Arizona by the Board of Legal Specialization. That's why only 28 lawyers in Arizona are currently so designated. And don't hold me to the number; maybe somebody has been certified or de-certified recently, so my math could be off, but not by much.

I just sort of wish the firms with the funky advertising wouldn't try to make money by trying to confuse or hornswaggle consumers of legal services.

NOTHING HERE CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12. FIND AN ARIZONA BANKRUPTCY LAWYER WHO IS BOARD CERTIFIED IN BANKRUPTCY LAW, AV RATED, AVVO 10 RATED, ON SUPERLAWYERS, OR JUST VERY EXPERIENCED AND A FORMER CHAIR OF SOME BANKRUPTCY SECTION OR COMMITTEE. NOTHING HERE MAY BE USED AS LEGAL ADVICE IN CONNECTION WITH ANY BANKRUPTCY, WHETHER THAT BANKRUPTCY IS IN PHOENIX, GLENDALE, TEMPE, MESA, SCOTTSDALE, OR ANYWHERE ELSE.

Full post as published by Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog on June 07, 2009 (boomark / email).