Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney's Association

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I tell the creditor I have not been retained until the client has signed a
retainer letter. The retainer letter says I get to keep their $500 if they
don't file within X months after hiring me.
David A. Tilem
Certified Bankruptcy Specialist*
Law Offices of David A. Tilem (a debt relief agency)
206 N. Jackson Street, #201, Glendale, CA 91206
Tel: 818-507-6000 Fax: 818-507-6800
* Bankruptcy specialist cert. by State Bar of CA Bd of Legal
Specialization.
Nicholas S. Nassif
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 9:58 AM
To: cdcbaa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [cdcbaa] Non-responsive BK clients
What do other bankruptcy practitioners do in this situation?
Many clients are hotly pursued by creditors and they come in and sign up for
a Chapter 7 BK. I charge $2,000 plus costs. They come up with $500 down
and I set up a payment plan (case to be paid in full before filing) or tell
them that I will collect the balance upon filing. Then they send the
creditor to my firm and I tell the creditor that the client was filing a
bankruptcy, and, of course, the pressure is off the client.
Then the client does not call me back, and many of the files are over a year
old, and the client does not return my calls. If I push the client too
hard, they will say they want their money back and do not want to file. I
usually give the money back, because a potential bar complaint is not worth
$500. But what if the client keeps evading my calls?
It seems that the client just signed up to buy piece and either do not
intend on filing from the beginning, or change their mind after the pressure
is off.
Nicholas S. Nassif, Esq.
LAW OFFICES OF NICHOLAS S. NASSIF
3055 WILSHIRE BLVD.
SUITE 900
LOS ANGELES, CA 90010
TELEPHONE- 213-736-1899
FAX- 213-736-5656
WEB- www.nassif.com
E-MAIL- nsnassif@pacbell.net

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I almost always give a full refund to the client if they ask for
it. My point is that it states clearly in the retainer agreement
that it is non-refundable. That's enough in 95% of the cases to
keep the clients on the straight and narrow and keeps them timely
moving towards the goal they hired me to obtain for them.
*************************
Mark J. Markus
Law Office of Mark J. Markus
11684 Ventura Blvd. PMB #403
Studio City, CA 91604-2652
(818)509-1173 (818)509-1460 (fax)
web: http://www.bklaw.com/
This Firm is a Qualified Federal Debt Relief Agency (see what this
means at

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Most of the ideas are good. However, from personal experience, if the client is completely psycho give him a full refund and send him out of your office.
Sina

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When no or little work has been done on a case, I think the chances of the
g up with
the state bar or a bk judge are zero or less if you count the time spent
defending, the sanctions or the public reproval.
I do believe that the situation described is good reason to keep the money,
but you should disclose that in your contract. I use the following sentence
for just the reasons you describe: Of the payments paid to Attorney, $500
is non- refundable for file set up and maintenance. I use the sentence in
my paragraph explaining when I have earned what amount of the retainer.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
Pat
Patrick T. Green, Esq.
Fitzgerald & Green
Attorneys at Law
1010 E. Union Street
Suite 206
Pasadena, CA 91106
Tel: 626-449-8433
Fax: 626-449-0565
pat@fitzgreenlaw.com

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I just send out a monthly statement. Then when four months approaches I send a letter saying that we will close their file in ten days if we do not hear from them. I have had to do this twice.
My retainer agreement is ten pages and the Clients initial about twelve times.
Jonathan
[cid:image003.jpg@01CBFF4A.23E341F0]
Jonathan D. Leventhal, Esq.
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So how did you handle it Jonathon?
Nicholas S. Nassif, Esq.
LAW OFFICES OF NICHOLAS S. NASSIF
3055 WILSHIRE BLVD.
SUITE 900
LOS ANGELES, CA 90010
TELEPHONE- 213-736-1899
FAX- 213-736-5656
WEB- www.nassif.com
E-MAIL- nsnassif@pacbell.net

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I did that for a while But I hated being another bill collector. Its a personal thing.
Jonathan
Jonathan D. Leventhal, Esq.
This email and any attachments thereto may contain private, confidential, and privileged material for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, copying, or distribution of this email (or any attachments thereto) by others is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately and permanently delete the original and any copies of this email and any attachments thereto.

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I do the same thing (stating any fees paid are non-refundable), but
go a step further. I put the clients on a payment plan and I put
the dates by which they will make the payments in the retainer
agreement. Thus, they agree to this schedule up front in accordance
with their ability to pay (and sincerity to file) If they don't
make payments by that date, a letter goes out to them saying their
file will be closed and representation terminated. Since I've
instituted this procedure I have had ZERO clients miss any payments
(I had one call in a panic saying they needed one additional day to
get the payment to me, which obviously I agreed to--and it looked
like I was being magnanimous)
The bottom line is, you need to ascertain whether your clients are
serious at the outset. Put this in your contract.
*************************
Mark J. Markus
Law Office of Mark J. Markus
11684 Ventura Blvd. PMB #403
Studio City, CA 91604-2652
(818)509-1173 (818)509-1460 (fax)
web: http://www.bklaw.com/
This Firm is a Qualified Federal Debt Relief Agency (see what this
means at

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I have two paragraphs in my retainer agreement that address this issue. (Client initials each paragraph)
1. All monies paid are non-refundable because work commences on the case immediately. (preparing the petition and handling creditor calls.)
2. The Client has four months from the date of signing to pay in full, complete the class and be prepared to file. If not their file is closed and no money will be refunded.
I have used this from the beginning and I have never had a problem.
Jonathan Leventhal
Jonathan D. Leventhal, Esq.
This email and any attachments thereto may contain private, confidential, and privileged material for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, copying, or distribution of this email (or any attachments thereto) by others is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately and permanently delete the original and any copies of this email and any attachments thereto.

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What do other bankruptcy practitioners do in this situation?
Many clients are hotly pursued by creditors and they come in and sign up for
a Chapter 7 BK. I charge $2,000 plus costs. They come up with $500 down
and I set up a payment plan (case to be paid in full before filing) or tell
them that I will collect the balance upon filing. Then they send the
creditor to my firm and I tell the creditor that the client was filing a
bankruptcy, and, of course, the pressure is off the client.
Then the client does not call me back, and many of the files are over a year
old, and the client does not return my calls. If I push the client too
hard, they will say they want their money back and do not want to file. I
usually give the money back, because a potential bar complaint is not worth
$500. But what if the client keeps evading my calls?
It seems that the client just signed up to buy piece and either do not
intend on filing from the beginning, or change their mind after the pressure
is off.
Nicholas S. Nassif, Esq.
LAW OFFICES OF NICHOLAS S. NASSIF
3055 WILSHIRE BLVD.
SUITE 900
LOS ANGELES, CA 90010
TELEPHONE- 213-736-1899
FAX- 213-736-5656
WEB- www.nassif.com
E-MAIL- nsnassif@pacbell.net

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