Catherine Christiansen is an experienced attorney at the Christiansen Law Office. Located in Long Beach, California, Christiansen focuses her practice on matters of bankruptcy law. In this article, she tells us how to choose the right bankruptcy lawyer for your case.
When it comes to choosing a bankruptcy attorney, you need to find one who you feel comfortable with, compatible with, and someone who will take the time to understand all the facts of your case. It is important that the bankruptcy attorney you choose to handle your case is willing to listen to you in order to find out all the facts about your case, because each bankruptcy case is really individual with its own set of facts.
If you know other attorneys in other specialties, then you might consider asking them for references to find out if they know any bankruptcy attorneys in your area. Another option is to go to other organizations for specialized attorneys, such as organizations that only bankruptcy attorneys would belong to, for help.
For instance, the National Association for Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys is a group with a lot of information for consumers. And then using the online list that they provide, you can quickly and easily see if any attorney organizations in your area might be able to help with your situation. Here in Southern California, for example, we have a great bankruptcy group in Orange County and Riverside that can provide advice to people in need, and then we also have the Central District of California Bankruptcy Attorneys Association. I recommend these organizations as an option to people who might be facing bankruptcy and are not sure where to turn because usually the attorneys who belong to these types of specialized organizations are the attorneys who are practicing in the same areas of law. Not only that, but many times, the types of attorneys who join these organizations are just the kind of people who enjoy staying updated on the law and abreast on all of the new areas of the law. That is obviously what anyone would want in an attorney — someone who is active and aware of the latest nuances in the legal system.
Because the law is always changing, you want someone who knows the latest things that are going on to be your bankruptcy attorney. That is why they call it the practice of law because you are practicing all the time. On an ever-changing field, you can never know everything about.
Another good thing to do if you are an individual looking for a bankruptcy attorney to handle your case is just to click on to the state bar website for your state. Under the attorney member search, you can search for specialized attorneys in your area. Or you can input the name of an attorney you have already spoken to in order to make sure that he is actually licensed in the state of California or wherever you live. The state bar association website is also a good place to find out whether the attorney you have spoken with has had any negative or bad situations with past clients that might give you cause for concern.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
