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Hey, Give Steve and Sean a Break, Right? Be Nice on the Phone, and Call the Office Yourself!

By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

During the course of the day, a lot of people call our bankruptcy law office. They apparently like either my experience (because I'm old) as a bankruptcy lawyer, or my credentials, or more likely they liked the pictures of Nina the Unpronounceable, and Heidi, the Bankruptcy Angel.

And I have very smart, decent and hardworking guys on the phone for my office, and they have picked up a good deal of bankruptcy law by osmosis, because they've worked with me for quite a while.

Some callers are creditors, and they're making sure that a client has really retained us, so they can stop calling and tormenting him (because collection agencies don't want to waste their time, generally, once they know that a bankruptcy lawyer has "confirmed representation" for the debtor).

Some are tire-kicking price shoppers, who didn't read the Homework, and therefore don't know that there's a range of fees, depending on the facts of the case. Honest, you don't want me to charge you the same fee as somebody who has twenty million in debt, do you? Really?

Others are terrified debtors, and my telephone guys are very good with those folks; they settle them down, tell them to read the Bankruptcy Homework, and explain that after they do the Homework and visit with either me or Nina, we'll have a pretty good idea whether they're a candidate for a bankruptcy, and which kind of bankruptcy they may be able to file, and how much it should cost them if they want to hire our firm.

But some folks are difficult for my guys, because they aren't the potential clients. They're calling to set up an appointment for mom, or sonny boy, or sis. So they don't know how much unsecured debt, secured debt, yearly income, or whether there's an emergency or this is an ordinary, garden variety bankruptcy in Arizona. And they don't know when mom, or sonny boy, or sis are available to come in and visit.

Now, my guys don't quote prices on the phone, because there really is a range of fees, depending on the Chapter of the bankruptcy, and the complexity, and the debtor (yes, I charge more for filing a bankruptcy for Lawyers, and Doctors, and C.P.A.s, and Chiropractors and Dentists than for "Ed Schmidlap with a lunchbox", because there's always a Bankruptcy Rule 2004 Exam in professional cases, and they take more time than many of my other cases; and I often have to help the debtor buy back a professional practice, and that takes a certain amount of experience in bankruptcy cases involving businesses).

The range of normal bankruptcy fees, by the way, really is in the Homework, so it's not like it's a secret! 

But try to make it easy on my phone guys, because they're just working stiffs like you and me: they can't answer your legal questions, and they can't quote you a fee (although the usual range is in the Homework Assignment, for Pete's Sake!).

And the reason that they are asking you questions is so they know whether to set you for a half hour with me or with Nina the Unpronounceable, or an hour with me (if you're a professional or have an operating business, or an ultra-complicated problem); or if our firm would be a bad fit for you in any case, because we don't want to waste your time, either!

And the questions they're asking aren't intended to make you feel silly, or to trap you in any way; it's so we have a preview of who is coming in, and what resources we may need to fix the problem that has taken nine years in the making.

So be nice to 'em, and try to help 'em out; they're just trying to help you, after all!

And Merry, Merry Christmas!

Full post as published by Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog on December 21, 2010 (boomark / email).