From time to time I am approached by a younger bankruptcy attorney who says that my bankruptcy blog has helped his new bankruptcy practice. Bankruptcy law is more difficult than when I handled my first case and new bankruptcy attorneys face more complexity and more competition than I did. I have read several articles by other bankruptcy attorneys about how to market a new bankruptcy practice. One I read recently, with good advice, was written by New York bankruptcy attorney Jay Fleischman. Jay has an excellent blog called the Legal Practice Pro which is dedicated to lawyer marketing in general and bankruptcy marketing in particular. If you are an attorney with a new bankruptcy practice you really should subscribe to his blog.
I have my own suggestion to add to the many helpful hints Jay has offered in several of his blog articles. When asked, I always advise younger attorneys to seek a relationship with a bankruptcy paralegal who works, or has worked, in an active bankruptcy practice. An experienced bankruptcy paralegal can help a new attorney with many practical aspects of petition preparation and dealing on a day-to-day basis with the bankruptcy court and bankruptcy trustees. Bankruptcy paralegal cannot help you during their regular work day, but they can (with their employer’s permission) assist new attorneys after work or on weekends.
I think an attorney will find it much easier to communicate with and receive practical bankruptcy guidance from a paralegal than from another bankruptcy attorney. Of course, it will cost you much less to pay for a paralegal’s help. Many bankruptcy paralegals and legal secretaries face economic challenges similar to your own clients, and they would appreciate some additional income.
I have encouraged my own paralegal, who has 10 years experience, to assist other attorneys on her own time. I want to help attorneys getting into the bankruptcy field. I find it much easier to offer my paralegal’s time than to commit my own time to assist other lawyers.
Jonathan, thanks for the hat tip and the terrific suggestion. The fact that you’re encouraging your staffers to get involved in the mentoring process is proof of your commitment to raising the standards of practice in your local courts.
On a side note, your blog is a wonderful resource for years and one that I always recommend to people. Keep up the excellent work!
From time to time I am approached by a younger bankruptcy attorney.
Very informative article. I came across it when researching new ways to market your bankruptcy practice.
Great article man. My uncle has been a bankruptcy attorney for years and he hired me as one of his assistants and I know for a fact that your advice is solid. A lot of new practices don’t realize the need to be active online in order to market your services.
Thank you for the blog. I am a new bankruptcy attorney in the Middle District (Sarasota) and am looking for a paralegal consultant to help me in my practice. Where can I look? Is there a bankruptcy paralegal organization?
Thank you for this blog. I am a bankruptcy paralegal in the middle district (Tampa bay) and my job is to work with firms to help them establish a functional bk practice. Thank you for your recognition. When we all work together we can help to unclog the system and better serve the needs of our debtors.