Bankruptcy Mastery

Becoming a better bankruptcy lawyer

  • Home
  • About Cathy
  • Contact Cathy
  • Articles by Topic
    • Attorneys fees
    • Bankruptcy Practice
    • Before filing
    • Business bankruptcy
    • Cases new & significant
    • Counseling clients
    • Family Law in Bankruptcy
    • Means test
    • Opinionated
    • Real property
    • Rule 3002.1
    • Tax
  • Table of Contents
  • Start Here

What To Say When You Have No Answer

By Cathy Moran, Esq. Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

What do you do when you don’t know the answer to a client’s bankruptcy question?  After all, you’re a bankruptcy lawyer.

Divorce lawyer Lee Rosen lists six sound responses to the question you can’t answer off the top of your head.  His favorite is “I don’t know, but I’ll get back to you”.

I find myself saying, “let me think about it”. And this after 30 years of thinking about bankruptcy law.  I nurture a  growing conviction that lives and the law is often incredibly complex.   Much as we’d like it otherwise, frequently no quick or pat answer exists.

It’s worthwhile training our clients that there is a certain level of uncertainty when real facts meet ill-drafted statutes as interpreted by human judges.  It doesn’t hurt the client to get a glimpse of that complexity.

My partner has a quick retort when a client asks how some event will come out:  “if I could see the future, I wouldn’t be here practicing law, I’d be picking the lotto numbers.”

Do you have a favorite response?

Image courtesy of Horia  Varlan.

More from my site

  • Dealing With Joint Debt And Business StrugglesDealing With Joint Debt And Business Struggles
  • Win Now, Wreck Later: A Tale of Bankruptcy and Mortgage ServicingWin Now, Wreck Later: A Tale of Bankruptcy and Mortgage Servicing
  • Learning Bankruptcy On The Job Victimizes ClientsLearning Bankruptcy On The Job Victimizes Clients
  • Win at Confirmation, Lose the HouseWin at Confirmation, Lose the House
  • Have The Last Word On New FormsHave The Last Word On New Forms
  • Corporate Chapter 7:  The Other Side Of The CoinCorporate Chapter 7: The Other Side Of The Coin

Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Comments

  1. Scott J. Goldstein says

    June 10, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    I tend to go with a similar response to your partner!

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2023 ·Prose · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress

Theme customization by Rowboat Media LLC