“Are You My Lawyer?” Things Maryland Bankruptcy Lawyer Shouldn’t Hear

If you hire a Maryland Bankruptcy Lawyer, you should know who he is?

I have been practicing for a number of years before relocating to the Baltimore area.  Before I ever opened the doors to my practice, I took some time to get to know the local bankruptcy bar.  I attended workshops and saw dozens of lawyers learning to be a Maryland Bankruptcy Lawyer.  Next, I attended court hearings to see how the judges handled matters.  Following that, I also attended 341 Meetings of Creditors.  I learned a lot there.  One thing I learned is that many bankrupt debtors didn’t know who their lawyer was.  And many lawyers didn’t know their clients.  It was a sort of cattle call going on.  Attorneys with a stack of files would stand near the front and call out the names of people and look around expectantly.

I get asked all the time…Are you my lawyer?

Having come dressed in a suit I was approached by a number of people to ask if I was their lawyer.  “Their lawyer was going to meet them here.”  I had to ask.  Well, haven’t you met your lawyer, don’t you know what he or she looks like?  But no, they hadn’t met him.  Oh, he’d stuck his head in once and introduced himself.  Or she had been pointed out as she walked down the hall to meet with someone else or see to something else.  One woman had a picture of him that she’d printed from the lawyer’s webpage.

So, if you don’t know who your Maryland Bankruptcy lawyer is, who advised you?

Sadly, people had chosen to file bankruptcy on the advice of administrative staff, had signed paper only cursory reviewed by a lawyer being presented to them by a legal assistant and came to court with only the vaguest notion of who their lawyer was.  It’s enough to make me sick to my stomach.  It probably gives their malpractice insurer indigestion as well.

My promise to you is this:  When you hire the Grafton Firm, you know who your lawyer is.  You’ve met him or her, you’ve spent time with that lawyer, you’ve confided in that lawyer and placed your confidence in that lawyer.  That lawyer is going to appear with you at your 341 hearing.  That lawyer will be there to defend or prosecute adversarial proceedings on your behalf.  Because, let’s be blunt here.  When you hire a Maryland Bankruptcy Lawyer, you’re hiring a Maryland Bankruptcy Lawyer and NOT an administrative assistant to that lawyer.