I was doing a follow up call with a client today and he told me a story about a recent consultation with a bankruptcy attorney.

After our first conversation a few weeks prior, we determined that he potentially had some bankruptcy and non bankruptcy options available to him to deal with his large private student loan debt. So I set off to find and screen a local attorney for him.

My client decided it wouldn’t hurt to just contact an attorney he had found online to see what she had to say. Long story short, he learned why it can sometimes take me several weeks to locate the right kind of attorney for my student loan clients.

He said it was just a horrible waste of time meeting with this attorney. She didn’t listen to what his issues were, she dismissed his concerns and basically just started telling him that he was screwed on the student loans but that she would be happy to file a chapter 13 for 4,000 dollars.

He said the best way to describe it was that she just seemed bitchy and annoyed that he wasn’t agreeing to what she wanted.

Luckily my client already had a conversation with me so he was aware of the right questions to ask and didn’t allow himself to get bullied into an option that might not have been the best for him, but just happened to be the one that made the attorney the most money.

So, a heads up to all the bankruptcy attorneys out there. Listen to your clients. Don’t dismiss their concerns. Provide them with all their options, not just the ones that you get paid for.

And for pete’s sake, whatever problems you are having, try not to act bitchy, because your client isn’t exactly having a great day either.

P.S. If you are a non bitchy bankruptcy attorney who either understands or is willing to learn the issues facing consumers with student loan debt, please contact me.?