By: Jeena Cho

Have you been meaning to call for an appointment but afraid to? You might be wondering, what happens at a meeting with a bankruptcy attorney? Well, for one thing, I promise you, it won’t hurt a bit, and you might even feel better.

We do the following at the consultation: Listen, Ask, Answer, and Analyze.

Listen

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By: Jeena Cho

Have you been meaning to call for an appointment but afraid to? You might be wondering, what happens at a meeting with a bankruptcy attorney? Well, for one thing, I promise you, it won’t hurt a bit, and you might even feel better.

• When you call our office, Chris, our receptionist will schedule a time for you to meet with either myself or my partner Jeff Curl. It will usually be about 1-2 weeks out.

• We send you a two-page questionnaire to fill out and send to us before the meeting. It asks for basic information: amount of debt, amount of income, and assets/liabilities.

• The meetings generally last from 45 minutes to 1 hour. Either Jeff or I will meet you personally. We don’t believe a paralegal can assess your situation as competently as an attorney can.

We do the following at the consultation: Listen, Ask, Answer, and Analyze.

Listen

Go ahead, tell us your story. What happened that led you to this point? Tell us the obvious, but also tell us about you. What do you do? What do you enjoy? What are you passionate about? I listen to people all day long and I love it.

Ask

I’ll ask you questions so that I can assess your situation and make sure I did not miss any important details.

Answer

Of course, you’ll have questions for me. I will do my best to answer all of your questions. Sometimes, a referral may be in order. I only practice bankruptcy law. I can’t help with tax, real estate, family law, immigration, etc. I have good people I can refer you to. You can ask me any question you like. Some people ask about credit after bankruptcy, others about being able to keep their job after bankruptcy, keeping homes or cars after bankruptcy.

Analyze

The next step is for me to analyze your situation to determine if bankruptcy is an appropriate solution for you. We will also discuss other alternatives (if any). Just as it would be unethical for a doctor to recommend an unnecessary surgery, it would be unethical for me to recommend bankruptcy unless I believed it was in your best interest. We build our practice based on trust, and by exceeding your expectations so that you will refer your friends and family. Obviously, we can’t build trust unless I’m completely honest with you.

If bankruptcy is a solution for you (notice, I said “a” solution, not “the” solution), I will quote you a flat fee. Please don’t call and ask how much we charge for bankruptcy. There is no way for me to know the details of your circumstances without having done the above analysis. After that, you go home and think about it. I don’t push you to sign a contract on the spot. I always say go home and think about it.

So, think about this article. Chew it over. Sleep on it. When you’re ready, we’ll talk.

Disclaimer: We are San Francisco bankruptcy attorneys. Unless you have hired JC Law Group as your attorney, there is no attorney-client relationship. This article is not intended to be legal advice. Please consult with a San Francisco bankruptcy attorney about your particular situation.