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Eagan, MN—For Ronald Lundquist, a bankruptcy attorney in Minnesota's Twin Cities area, a career in bankruptcy law evolved from work collecting debts from consumers.

“Before I went to law school, I was a bill collector for a number of years,” Lundquist told laws.com in a recent interview.  “So it was a natural fit.  One of the first firms that hired me had a fledgling bankruptcy practice, and it came to me to do with it what I wanted to.  It was a department that wasn't flourishing, and they gave me the freedom to run with it.”

Since then, Lundquist has practiced exclusively as a bankruptcy attorney for 14 years.  In that time, he says he has learned a number of lessons about bankruptcy and the people who file for it.  “I've learned through the years that the decision to file bankruptcy is very hard for people,” he says.  “They don't file bankruptcy because they're deadbeats, they file bankruptcy because something bad happens to them.”

The catastrophe can come in a number of different ways, according to Lundquist.  “Typically, someone gets sick, they lose their job, someone gets disabled, gets divorced, or someone passes away.  There's typically a catastrophic reason behind most cases getting filed.”

What's more, Lundquist says that by the time clients approach his office, they've usually exhausted all their other options.  “The typical client has maybe approached relatives and borrowed money, have cleaned out their 401(k)s, they may have sold all of their assets, and they're just on their last leg.”

Hiring the wrong bankruptcy attorney can have potentially catastrophic consequences for filers, in Lundquist's experience.  By way of example, he mentions a client who came to him after another attorney nearly caused a disaster in her bankruptcy case.  “She was a handicapped lady who had a disability van,” Lundquist explains.  “There is a certain way to protect those vans that this other lawyer just didn't know, so she was going to lose her disability van.  She lost some minor things, but she got to keep the van, so she was thrilled.  The law has ways to protect these things—you just have to know how to go about it.”

Not all attorneys today, according to Lundquist, are doing things right when it comes to helping people to file—or even when it comes to advertising their practices.  “When I look at ads that other attorneys are putting out, I notice they're not following the law with regard to the language that they use,” he says.

Consumers often end up in debt because of credit cards promising low introductory rates and fees, Lundquist says.  “Don't be seduced by easy credit,” he advises.  “Sometimes, it is just too easy to get credit, and you have to be really aware of what your limitations are, what your budget is, what your income and expenses are.  As far as your personal finances go, don't bite off more than you can chew.”

The most critical step to avoiding bankruptcy, Lundquist says, is saving.  “Having some sort of reserve is very important to get you through the bad times.  Sometimes, your financial issues can be a temporary thing—within three to six months, you might be okay, so it helps to have some sort of cushion.”

My name is Ron Lundquist, and I have been a Minnesota Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney since 1999. In that time I have helped thousands of families, businesses and individuals get a fresh start.