What You Should Look for In A Bankruptcy Law Firms

Some large-scale law firms will try to drum up business by offering an array of services and knowledge in several areas of the law. Some smaller law firms, meanwhile, will feature legal professionals banding together under one particular branch of the law, offering both the specialization of their chosen category (as opposed to these catch-all agencies) and the personal attention that other, bigger firms will not be able to match. Thus, what the latter perhaps lacks in name recognition and expansiveness of topics covered it may more than make up for in the quality of assistance it provides.

With bankruptcy law firms, the same considerations apply. A particular law office may not be a bankruptcy law firm per sé, but just the same, it may offer a number of attorneys with a concentration in this field. As for entities that expressly label themselves as bankruptcy law firms, they might not feature as many options as far as individual lawyers go, but they are just as likely if not more so to know what they are doing.

Some notes on what to look for in a bankruptcy law firm depending on your intent moving forward:

The majority of bankruptcy law firms are going to be centered around providing services that are among the most requested by petitioners. In terms of bankruptcy statistics in the United States, these are liquidation and rehabilitation programs for everyday people and parties. Indeed, bankruptcy law firms may be more narrow-minded when it comes to application of their knowledge to a specific division of the law.

That said, a bankruptcy law firm may take more than just bankruptcy law into consideration, especially if those areas are tangential to bankruptcy and may be relevant to the conversation. For example, as bankruptcy may manifest itself in the closing of stores and the foreclosure of homes, attorneys within a given bankruptcy law firm may also be proficient in business law and real estate law. This way, legal professionals can offer a more personal approach to dispensing legal advice while being a greater source of information overall for consumers.

Heretofore, the role of bankruptcy law firms in affecting the outcomes of bankruptcy cases has only been considered in terms of the potential benefit to applicants in getting what they need to overcome their debt. We would be remiss, however, if we did not consider that creditors have rights and their own interests for requesting to settle matters before a bankruptcy judge. Though most bankruptcy proceedings are brought on by a voluntary petition from debtors, lenders might seek a bankruptcy law firm for a number of purposes, such as requesting bankruptcy to recoup monies from delinquent debtors and filing proofs of claim.

NEXT: In Depth Guide to the Bankruptcy Code