Legal Question in Bankruptcy in New York

Re: Problem with an attorney

It sounds like you retained an attorney who is not really a bankruptcy attorney and who is not sufficiently familiar with New York bankruptcy law, or lacks the organization to do what has to be done in a timely and correct manner.

Since the attorney has blamed his paralegal for the delay, it sounds like the delay was through no fault of your own.

You certainly should not have to pay for the cost of the credit counseling more than once. However, I am somewhat concerned because if you had to do it three times, that means your filing was delayed over a year.

You should try to resolve this with the attorney and seek a partial refund, if you want him to continue to represent you with the filing and representation in court.

However, if he delayed the filing for more than a year, then I would suggest that this is a sufficient ground to get a full refund of your legal fee, in which event you should consider hiring a New York bankruptcy attorney who is more competent.

If the attorney refuses, you can write a letter complaining about the problem with copies (after you file the bankruptcy) to your Chapter 7 trustee, the Office of the United States Trustee and the Judge. You should also send a copy to the NYS Grievance Committee, which is the NYS agency that monitors attorney conduct. If you tell your attorney that you plan to do these things if he does not work matters out, he should be more receptive in refunding your fees, as it certainly appears that he did something wrong.

Good luck.

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