{"id":1645,"date":"2015-04-25T22:04:09","date_gmt":"2015-04-25T22:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/?p=1645"},"modified":"2015-04-25T22:45:54","modified_gmt":"2015-04-25T22:45:54","slug":"are-cheap-bankruptcy-attorneys-bad-bankruptcy-attorneys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/cheap-bad","title":{"rendered":"Are Cheap Bankruptcy Attorneys Bad Bankruptcy Attorneys?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently gave a new client in Sonoma County\u00a0a big discount on his chapter 7 bankruptcy. \u00a0Like so many clients he was living paycheck-to-paycheck. \u00a0He didn’t have a lot of money but he needed to file bankruptcy right away. \u00a0He had been calling bankruptcy attorneys for months trying to find someone who could work with him on the price. \u00a0After speaking with him I determined that his case was simple; I didn’t mind giving him a discount since a few hundred dollars didn’t mean that much to me in comparison to how much filing bankruptcy would mean to him.<\/p>\n

Before the client could come into the office another bankruptcy attorney he had previously contacted called him back. \u00a0This bankruptcy attorney has a reputation for charging a lot, even by Sonoma County standards<\/a>. \u00a0The client politely informed\u00a0this high-priced attorney that he had found another bankruptcy attorney who was only charging $***.\u00a0 Of course, this figure was only a fraction of what the high-priced attorney charges. \u00a0The high-priced attorney proceeded to give the client an\u00a0indication that a cheap bankruptcy attorney would ruin the case. \u00a0The client disagreed, signed my representation agreement and is now securing debt relief at a reasonable price.<\/p>\n

This situation raises a good question: \u00a0are cheap bankruptcy attorneys bad<\/a> bankruptcy attorneys?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the mind of the high-priced attorney price<\/em> is indicative of quality<\/em>. \u00a0Bankruptcy attorneys charge more because they have the skill to command higher fees. \u00a0Cheap bankruptcy attorneys charge less because they do not have the skill to command higher fees. \u00a0Price and skill are correlated.<\/p>\n

In my opinion the correlation between price and skill is weak. \u00a0For one, clients will only pay more for skill if they have knowledge<\/em> or belief<\/em> of the attorney’s skill. \u00a0In practice, clients have no way to gauge skill during a free consultation, and are often lured in to paying too much for chapter 7 bankruptcy because of a belief<\/em> in the attorney’s skill as represented\u00a0by factors that are not indicative of skill such as a nice office, neat appearance, fine suit, confident demeanor, likable\u00a0persona, and above all else, confidence in the advice given, whether or not said advice is actually correct.<\/p>\n

The price bankruptcy attorneys charge often has very little to do with skill. \u00a0The amount bankruptcy attorneys charge is often associated with<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Advertising costs<\/li>\n
  2. Call volume<\/li>\n
  3. Conversion<\/li>\n
  4. Staffing costs<\/li>\n
  5. Case load<\/li>\n
  6. Solo vs. Partnership<\/li>\n
  7. Specialization<\/li>\n
  8. How much money the attorney wants to make<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I know of some cheap bankruptcy attorneys<\/a> who are very skilled. \u00a0They have low overhead, years of experience in consumer bankruptcy law, but also receive revenue from other practice areas. \u00a0They can charge less than the high-priced attorney, not because they lack the skill to command higher fees, but because they don’t need as much money to keep the lights on. \u00a0They don’t pay for advertising so most of the fee is profit. \u00a0They aren’t trying to make a living on chapter 7 bankruptcy fees alone, they also earn money from estate planning, family law, etc. \u00a0They are solo practitioners who don’t need to pay staff or maintain huge offices. \u00a0They make a decent living, but they are not millionaires.<\/p>\n

    For the majority of individuals contemplating chapter 7 bankruptcy a cheap<\/em> yet skilled<\/em> bankruptcy attorney is the cost-effective option. \u00a0These cheap bankruptcy attorneys will draft the same petition and eliminate the same amount of debt as expensive bankruptcy lawyers, not because they necessary have the same skill, but because they have enough skill to secure the discharge warranted by the facts of a simple no-asset chapter 7 bankruptcy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I recently gave a new client in Sonoma County\u00a0a big discount on his chapter 7 bankruptcy. \u00a0Like so many clients he was living paycheck-to-paycheck. \u00a0He didn’t have a lot of money but he needed to file bankruptcy right away. \u00a0He had been calling bankruptcy attorneys for months trying to find someone who could work with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}