Why would I provide the names of any other California Bankruptcy Lawyer?

I know that many of the potential bankruptcy clients visiting my website are from areas outside of the region that I handle bankruptcy cases in. I want people to go to the best bankruptcy attorneys as possible, even if that does not make my bankruptcy law firm and money. As such, I have researched each bankruptcy lawyer listed below. I believe each bankruptcy lawyer to be the one I would refer bankruptcy debtor clients to in their area.

I want you to know that I have not  and will not be paid a cent from any of these bankruptcy lawyers for my referrals to them.

How I chose Each Bankruptcy Lawyer

First, I chose ONLY  California State Bar Certified Bankruptcy Law Specialists. Holders of this Certificate are about 1/20 of 1% (that’s 0.05%) of all bankruptcy attorneys in California. The State Bar does no bestow this honor lightly. Truly, only the best can qualify to be a California State Bar Certified Bankruptcy Law Specialist.

Second, I chose only Bankruptcy lawyers that are also members of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA.org). They are ones that invest time and effort in continuing to learn how best to represent their bankruptcy law clients to get the best result possible.

Third and finally, I looked at the bankruptcy lawyer’s Avvo.com rating. While a high rating is nice, there are bankruptcy attorneys who have not yet made it to the top of the ratings though the very fact that they are State Bar Certified Bankruptcy Law Specialists says that they are one of the best bankruptcy lawyers in the state.

While I believe these bankruptcy lawyers to be competent and capable, I cannot guarantee they quality of  their work.

I would recommend that you meet with any bankruptcy lawyer you are considering, preferably in person. See what you think of them. If you are uncomfortable with the bankruptcy lawyer for any reason, move on to another bankruptcy lawyer that you are comfortable with.

Quality V.S. Cost of a bankruptcy lawyer

A piece of advice. I know that you have only a limited income to work with. You are trying to file a bankruptcy after all. Do NOT choose a bankruptcy lawyer based on their fee.Here is why.

There are great bankruptcy lawyers and terrible bankruptcy lawyers. There are bankruptcy lawyers that give quality service. There are also bankruptcy lawyers that think bankruptcy law is about filling out papers. I can assure you, from 37 years in the business, the bankruptcy lawyer who thinks this is simply about filling out papers, ends up messing up their cases way more often than the bankruptcy attorney who charges a reasonable fee and does the job right.

All to often, a cheap bankruptcy lawyer sees you as nothing more than a dollar sign. The less work they do, the more money the bankruptcy lawyer makes.

Often the cheapest bankruptcy lawyers run what is often referred to as a “bankruptcy mill.” A bankruptcy lawyer that does a high volume of bankruptcy law cases usually has little time to spend on each clients case.

The way a bankruptcy lawyer gets their fee down is by cutting corners on services. Think about it. It takes the same amount of time to do the job right and the bankruptcy lawyer knows that. When you look at the bankruptcy lawyer with one that advertises they have cheap fees, you need to ask yourself “What is this bankruptcy lawyer NOT doing that a quality bankruptcy lawyer would do?” You have no idea. After all you are not a bankruptcy lawyer. However, the bankruptcy lawyer has to make a profit somehow. That boils down to either having a reasonable bankruptcy fee for quality services or having a low fee and do shoddy work to save money.

Do NOT assume your case is simple. Though it might look simple to you, it may not be. I have seen people denied a discharge wiping out their debts because of problems with qualifying to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I have also seen people who hired second rate bankruptcy lawyers lose their cars, homes, tax refunds and many more things that I bet you do not want to lose.

I would ask you to think about it this way. If you needed brain surgery, would you want the best surgeon you could afford or would you hire a brand new general practice doctor simply because the general practice doctor was a lot cheaper? Consider that when choosing your bankruptcy lawyer. Bankruptcy is way more complex than what people think it is.

One additional thought. Do NOT hire an attorney who does anything other than bankruptcy law.

I just saw a situation where a single mother with a child used her divorce attorney because the divorce attorney already “knew my situation” as the lady said. When the case was filed the equity in her home was less than the exempt amount that was protected. Her case was open for more than a year. During that time her home increased substantially in value and way more than the amount that could be protected. One day she gets a call from the Bankruptcy Trustee who’s job it is to gather and sell “non-exempt assets.” He informs her that he is selling her home to get to the increased value for the creditors.

If she had hired a good bankruptcy lawyer, the lawyer could have made a motion in court at the start of the case that would have removed the home from the “bankruptcy estate.” That motion, which would have been granted by the bankruptcy judge, would have saved the home. Any increase in the value of her home would have belonged to this single mother. Now she and her child are going to be out on the street thanks to her divorce attorney trying to do bankruptcy when the attorney assumed that they knew what they was doing, after all its just filling out the right papers right?

Ironically, she paid more for her divorce attorney who through ignorance of the complexity of bankruptcy law malpractice her than she would have paid for a real competent bankruptcy lawyer.

I hope that this information helps you choose the best bankruptcy lawyer possible

Name	Number	City	County	Admission Date	NACBA	Avvo	Phone Number	Web Site
Szabo , Lawrence Louis	83974	Oakland	Alameda	Nov-78	Y	6.7	(510) 834-4893	http://www.szabobankruptcy.com/
Nixdorf , Eric Michael	172286	San Ramon	Contra Costa	Dec-94	Y	8.9	(925) 824-3190	http://www.intelligentlegalsolutions.com/
Fear , Peter Lorne	207238	Fresno	Fresno	Jun-00	Y	9.9	(559) 436-6575	http://fresnobklaw.com/
Williams , Robert Stanley	73172	Bakersfield	Kern	Dec-76	Y	7.2	(661) 323-7933	http://www.williamsbkylaw.com
Hsu , Jeffrey Chiao	267132	Alhambra	Los Angeles	Dec-09	Y	9.3	(626) 999-5959	http://www.jchfirm.com/
Rodriguez , Renay Grace	196657	Chatsworth	Los Angeles	Oct-98	Y	4.7	(818) 734-7223	http://lorgr.com/
Hagen , David S	110588	Encino	Los Angeles	Dec-83	Y	7	(818) 990-4416	http://attorney-david-hagen.com/
Tilem , David Alan	103825	Glendale	Los Angeles	Jul-82	Y	10	(818) 507-6000	http://www.tilemlaw.com/
March , Kathleen Patricia	80366	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Jun-78	Y	10	(310) 559-9224	http://www.bkylawfirm.com/
Markus , Mark Joseph	152807	Burbank & Studio City	Los Angeles	Jun-91	Y	10	(818) 509-1173	https://www.bklaw.com/
McGoldrick , Dennis Edward	97720	Torrance	Los Angeles	May-81	Y	10	(310) 328-1001
Christiansen , Catherine Elizabeth	182144	Huntington Beach	Orange	Jun-96	Y	6.7	(714) 375-6651	http://christiansenlawoffices.com/
Heston , Halli Baum	90737	Irvine	Orange	Dec-79	Y	10	(949) 222-1041	http://www.hestonlaw.com/
White , Bruce David	120772	Newport Beach	Orange	Dec-85	Y	6.5	(949) 622-6100	http://www.whiteandroseman.com
Descalso , Judith Ann	103211	Escondido	San Diego	Jun-82	Y	7.4	(760) 745-8380	http://www.jdescalso.com/
Britton , David Earl	75926	La Mesa	San Diego	Dec-77	Y	7.4	(619) 698-6800	http://www.lockhartandbritton.com/
Colwell , John Clayton	118532	San Diego	San Diego	Jun-85	Y	9.9	(619) 238-1500	http://www.sandiegodebtclinic.com/
Grant , Karen Lynn	122084	Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara	Dec-85	Y	8.4	(805) 962-4413	http://www.karenlgrant.com/
Moran , Cathleen Cooper	83758	Mountain View	Santa Clara	Nov-78	Y	10	(650) 694-4700	http://www.bankruptcyinbrief.com/
Shulman , James Stephen K.	118938	San Jose	Santa Clara	Jul-85	Y	6.7	(408) 297-3333	http://www.sanjosebankruptcy.com/
Webb , Larry Dale	229344	Camarillo	Ventura	Dec-03	Y	6.8	(805) 987-1400	http://www.webbklaw.com/