McLeod Law Offices

Thursday I was in Bankruptcy Court waiting for my client’s case to be called.  Before the judge took the bench, a gentleman sat behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.

“You a bankruptcy lawyer?” he asked.

“I am.”

“How easy is it for me to convert my case from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7?”

I asked if he had an attorney, and he replied that he did not.  He was representing himself (which is not a good idea in Chapter 13, by the way… I’ll talk about that another day).

I told him that the Bankruptcy Court had a Pro Se Law Clerk and that he should direct his questions to the law clerk, who can then either answer the question or direct him to a resource that can.

“Oh, I see,” he replied.  “You want to get paid, huh?.”

Imagine if you were walking down the street and you saw a person who you knew to be a dentist.  Would you go up to him or her, peel back your lips to show a molar and ask “excuse me, but do know how easy it would be to but a cap on this?  Or a porcelain veneer?”  No respectable dentist would give you an answer.  In fact, some might flee.  A disreputable dentist might say “it will be very easy, here’s my card, let’s make an appointment, and be sure to bring your insurance card or check book.”

As I said, while I sort of felt a bit insulted, that feeling was quickly quelled with the realization that this pro se debtor had no clue what it was I did, and why I could not answer his question.  So I told him:

“Actually, the reason why I cannot answer your question is because I do not know anything about your case, or about your circumstances.  I cannot begin to think about the your question and give you any answer you can rely on unless I do that.  Right now, I cannot.  The Pro Se Law Clerk however, can.”

The debtor thanked me, and left the courtroom. I do hope that he paid a visit to the Pro Se Law Clerk, and I do hope he got some better direction than I could have given him.

This all got me thinking: there are some people who believe that you don’t need a bankruptcy lawyer to get through the process.  There are also some people who believe that lawyers are only out to get paid, and don’t do anything but fill out forms and, on occasion, dress nicely.  There’s an assumption that I am a walking fount of information, and the only thing preventing me from sharing it is getting paid.

All of those assumptions make me feel dirty.

All of those assumptions are also completely unfounded.

There’s no way I could have answered this debtor’s question accurately.  I could have said “when the judge takes the bench, ask her to convert your case.”  That answer would have been the equivalent of the dentist saying “sure, make sure you use good glue and don’t drink hot liquids for 24 hours.”

But I had not reviewed the petition and schedules.  I don’t know what the exemptions are, and what issues might arise in a 7 that might not otherwise arise in 13.  I don’t know why the debtor is changing course and whether that might open up a whole host of issues.  I also don’t know whether the judge – who I bet knows the history of the case and why it’s on the docket that day – doesn’t have some assumptions or questions about the case.  In other words, I don’t know a lot.  I do know the law.

Yet merely knowing the law is not enough for me to do my job.  A good lawyer takes the facts of the client’s case, applies it to the law, and then proceeds while mindful of the client’s goals.  A good lawyer is not merely a resource of legal information available to answer questions at the drop of a hat knowing that people will rely on those answer and  make important decisions with significant legal consequences.  My job requires thought and analysis.

And on a good day, that actually is what I get paid for.  Keep this in mind if you’re thinking about filing bankruptcy with or without a bankruptcy attorney.