I’ve had lots of people ask me how many consumer bankruptcy cases I can handle in a month without losing my mind. Though that number varies based on the particular needs of my clients at the time, I can comfortably handle about 25-30 Chapter 7 and 13 cases per month.
The key to making the system work is not organization, but automation of routine tasks. Let’s take a few of these tasks at a time:
Creditors and bill collectors call every day to verify representation, taking up valuable staff time and clogging your phone lines. To reduce this difficulty, consider contacting each one at the time you’re hired by your client, notifying them of your representation and demanding that these cease contact immediately.
This tactic, which I’ve been using successfully for a long time, accomplishes a few goals:
- set up potential violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and your state UDAP laws
- stop the phone from ringing
- make your client happy because they have a proactive attorney
You can send the letters by regular mail, but that still takes time. That’s why I send representation letters by fax – it’s immediate and doesn’t cost any postage, plus you have proof of receipt. Use a computer-based fax number (think eFax or Maxemail; I have used the latter for over two years as my sole fax number. It costs about $100 per month with unlimited incoming faxes, $.05 per minute outgoing) and it takes up no paper.
How do you find all the fax numbers for the creditors?
I call them and ask.