bankruptcy lawyers

Bankruptcy Lawyers – Who Do You Support?

February 25, 2010 By Jay Fleischman

Being a bankruptcy lawyer can be lonely at times, no matter how big your firm is. We toil in relative anonymity, fighting for consumers rather than for big corporations. Our clients get kicked around all the time, and we’re the only ones who actually try to help them.

It’s a thankless job, isn’t it?

That’s why being a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys is so important for those of us in the trenches of consumer debtor work. When new bankruptcy lawyers ask me what they need to do in order to be the best lawyer they can be, I tell them to join NACBA before the sun goes down.

But there’s a difference between being a member and being a supporter.

You can be a member of NACBA (there are over 4,000 of us right now), go to the convention, get active on the listservs and generally soak up all the information there is to be had. You could profit from that knowledge, grow a huge law firm, and be satisfied with your good fortune.

It’s quite another thing to give back. To level the playing field between taking and receiving, to contribute in some way.

Maybe you contribute by adding your knowledge to the listservs, to helping newbies and acting as a sherpa. Maybe you give back by meeting other bankruptcy lawyers in your area and having them join NACBA.

There’s one thing I’d like you to do right now. Personal favor to me, if you will.

Go over to the NACBA website and log into the Member’s Only area. Find the place to contribute to the Amicus Fund. Take the time to give back in a financial way.

Why? Because every year NACBA files amicus briefs in a number of cases that involve big questions of law. Questions that, when answered the right way, make our clients lives – and our practices – easier. These amicus briefs lend the consumer’s voice in a way not otherwise possible.

And without a strong amicus program, the consumer gets drowned out by the lobbyists and big money interests. When that happens, we all lose. Our cause suffers, and so does our client’s life.

No, I’m not getting paid to ask you to give a few dollars. No, the powers-that-be didn’t ask me to get on the soapbox to do this. There’s nothing in it for me except the knowledge that the next time I or any of my colleagues needs help, NACBA will be there.

Go. Now. Give. Thanks.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: bankruptcy, bankruptcy lawyers, consumer, consumer bankruptcy, NACBA, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, new bankruptcy lawyer, united states bankruptcy law

Toggl: Track Your Billable Time Easily (And Free!)

February 1, 2010 By Jay Fleischman

Managing a bankruptcy law office requires the ability to keep track of where time is being spent, by whom, and on which matters. For many bankruptcy lawyers, however, time tracking is costly and difficult. There are a bunch of programs out there to help lawyers track time, but they’re all cumbersome and cost money.

You already know I hate to spend money unless it’s for an awesome reason.

About two years ago I was looking for a simple and quick way to track my time. I didn’t feel like shelling out a bunch of money for a full-featured case management system (I was using Basecamp at the time for my case management, and it didn’t have a real-time application), and even a program like Time And Chaos seemed like overkill.

All I wanted was something I could click to start and click to stop. I wanted to get reports showing my progress, and I wanted to be able to print out a PDF for my fee applications. It had to be free, too.

Too much to ask, I thought. Then I found Toggl. And over two years later, it’s better than ever.

Toggl is an online time tracker that tracks the number of billable hours you spend on a client project. In real-time.

Once you register (for free), create a new project for a new client, and “toggl” the on button. Toggl starts tracking the time spent in real-time, right in the web browser. You can even download an application to your Mac or PC and the data will automatically sync with the web server. Hit stop when you’re done.

Toggl will put together reports – PDF or CSV – for invoicing your clients. Beyond that, the system lets you look at your time in graphical format. How much time you’ve billed each day, week, month, etc. Which days were most productive, least, and stuff like that.

Bottom line? It’s awesome.

The application is free for up to 5 timekeepers on your team, and the cost is modest for bigger groups. So go check it out and see if it suits your needs.

Filed Under: Office Technology Tagged With: bankruptcy, bankruptcy law firms, bankruptcy laws, bankruptcy lawyers, basecamp, business, law, Law Office Management, lawyer, managing, project management software, real time applications, spending money, spent, time and billing, timesheet, Toggl, tracks, web apps

Starting A Bankruptcy Law Practice – What’s The First Step?

March 13, 2009 By Jay Fleischman

Lots of lawyers are thinking about starting a bankruptcy law practice. After all, the news keeps telling us how the economy’s in free fall and that people are in worse shape than ever before (at least, worse than they’ve been in a long, long while).

But what’s the first step?

Do you need to know bankruptcy law? The best computer software? The right organizations to join? The perfect books to buy?

Sure, that’s all important – but it isn’t the very first thing to do.

The first thing – absolute, positive Step One – is to make sure you’re cut out for it when thinking about starting a bankruptcy practice. Know thyself and all that.

You need to know how to market your bankruptcy practice. Because if you’ve got all the knowledge but no clients then it’s all an academic exercise. And I’m morally opposed to exercise (though I’m starting to go to the gym, it’s because I feel the creaks in my bones and not because I’m so in love with it).

You can put up an ad, a website, produce a fancy TV and radio commercial, dress up in a suit and play the part. But unless you attain an understanding of your own motives those legal marketing efforts will ring hollow with your prospects. And if it isn’t genuine, it isn’t going to work.

Let’s take a step back.

Have you ever gone into a store and been approached by a really good salesperson? He knows all about the product, the specs, the bells-and-whistles. He gives you his speech, works out the price, and pretty much does everything right. Yet when it comes time to open your wallet you stop and decide against it.

Something just isn’t right. The sales pitch is good, but you’re just not feeling it. You can sniff the bulls**t, and accordingly take a step back.

Other times, you can walk into a store and meet a salesperson who may not do everything right – he may not know everything about the product, maybe his pricing is a little high, his tie is undone, whatever. But there’s SOMETHING about this salesperson that just . . . clicks.

He gets you. He understands your needs, and seems genuinely interested in getting you what you want. Bingo, he gets the sale.

Same thing here. If you start a bankruptcy law practice but don’t personally believe in using bankruptcy as a solution and a tool for financial rehabilitation, you’re not going to be genuine. You may talk the talk well enough, but you’re not going to be able to walk the walk.

Maybe you’ll do OK for awhile, but your prospects will smell it – just like a dog smells fear. Your marketing will fail at that core level, and your consultations won’t ring true. They may not be able to put their finger on it, but they’ll know something isn’t right. And you’ll lose the client to someone else.

Don’t be a bankruptcy lawyer for the money. Don’t be a bankruptcy lawyer because it’s the latest, hottest trend. Don’t do it because the bottom fell out of your real estate practice, or because your business has dried up.

Sounds all “new age, touchy-feely,” I know. But if you can’t get behind something 100%, if your heart isn’t in it, all the other stuff won’t save you.

Filed Under: Law Office Management Tagged With: bankruptcy, bankruptcy laws, bankruptcy lawyers, lawyers, practice, start

Bankruptcy Lawyers And Referral Marketing – 7 Sources You Need To Know

December 24, 2008 By Jay Fleischman

I’m struck by how often bankruptcy lawyers talk about getting more referrals without engaging in a consistent referral marketing strategy. They go to networking groups, glad-hand at cocktail parties, and generally make themselves known.

The problem is, they’re often making themselves known to the wrong people. This is like standing on the corner with a bullhorn asking passers-by to send you clients.

Consumer bankruptcy lawyers do need to network for referrals, but in a different way. Going to a BNI meeting or similar referral-based networking organization isn’t going to do much to get you new clients who are struggling under the weight of credit card and mortgage problems.

Here are my top 7 places for bankruptcy lawyers to ramp up their referral marketing efforts:

Human Resources Managers: With massive layoffs in every industry, many companies are offering outplacement assistance to help their former colleagues get back on their feet. When those newly unemployed people encounter bill problems, they are likely to go to their human resource people for help.
Real Estate Brokers: A homeowner needs to sell a house, but it’s heading into foreclosure. Who better to help stave off foreclosure than a bankruptcy lawyer?
Mortgage Brokers: A homeowner needs to refinance but is facing foreclosure or credit card debt that makes refinancing difficult. Bankruptcy to the rescue!
Car Dealers: The consumer wants a new car, but has too much debt to make it happen.
Hairdressers and Barbers: Better than bartenders, these professionals hear every manner of woe. When a customer has bill problems, the person cutting their hair can give out a pointed recommendation to a lawyer who can help solve the problem.
Clergy: Ministers, priests, rabbis, imams and the like all help married couples get through tough times. The biggest marital strain? Bill problems.
Accountants: When a taxpayer has problems, bankruptcy may be the solution.

The list goes on and on, but remember – networking can be a critical part of your marketing efforts, but only if you’re networking in the right places.

Filed Under: Legal Marketing Tagged With: bankruptcy, bankruptcy lawyers, consumer bankruptcy, lawyers, networking, referral, referral marketing, sources

Legal Marketing And The Bankruptcy Lawyer – Remember The Similarities

November 11, 2008 By Jay Fleischman

How you choose to market a consumer bankruptcy practice must be based in some measure on who your client really is in order for it to succeed.

We’re taught by legal marketing folks that we need to engage in target marketing. That is, slicing and dicing our market using geography and demographics. Who they are, where they live, what they look like, and where they eat for dinner. The more granular we get, the thinking goes, the easier it is to be able to find our target.

Find the target, find the client. Legal marketing nirvana.

You do need to know everything about your potential client to make sure you’re talking their language and addressing their concerns. But you also need to know everything about yourself.

If you and your client don’t have a common point of view, getting together is nearly impossible.

Putting aside the problems your ideal client is currently facing, there’s really no difference between the two of you. After all, there’s not that far to fall from success and failure in any aspect of our lives. We’re all just a few paychecks away from bankruptcy. That’s not to scare you, but to make you understand that 99% of your client’s world looks just like yours.

The old saying is, “know thyself,” and there’s truth to that. If you’re going to figure out who you want to attract as a client, your legal marketing has to recognize who you are before anything else.

It begins with communication.

Once you have a handle on your own background, your lifestyle, and your ideas of right and wrong it’s important to be able to communicate effectively. When you market a consumer bankruptcy practice those words need to come from your life, not your profession. Terms like “discharge” and “reaffirmation” hold no sway in your vocabulary – they set you apart, creating distance between you and your ideal client. So you’ve got to strip those words away and talk like you talk when the office is closed.

Consumer bankruptcy lawyers have a habit of marketing to their own best instincts. What they like, what they hate, where they congregate . . . those are how they decide where and how to market.

But when you move into your client’s shoes, lines open up. Trust is built. Communication is clearer, and clients are better educated. They gravitate to you and trust your advice, because you’re one of them.

Always remember where you came from, and where you are in life. What makes us the same is what helps our legal marketing efforts, and sweeping away the differences is key to our ability to connect with our potential clients.