Chicago Bankruptcy Attorney Debunks the "Payment Plan Myth" for Bankruptcy Clients.

March 9, 2008 - PRLog -- In 2006 attorney Tom Makedonski decided to hang a shingle on his own. After handling hundreds of clients for a small firm engaged in private practice with the areas of family and bankruptcy being the focus of the firm, Makedonski decided to go on his own and start Team Legal Chicago and focus on the practice of bankruptcy only.

“I feel clients are treated like numbers at most bankruptcy firms” Makedonski stated. “Clients are interested in two things when filing a bankruptcy: the cost of filing and how quickly they will obtain a discharge.” With years of experience handling bankruptcy clients, Makedonski decided to address these two concerns by implementing a flat fee for all chapter 7 bankruptcies. Makedonski used to get calls all the time at his previous firm from people who were threatened with wage garnishment or repossession who needed relief right away. “Potential clients would ask me if the firm had a payment plan of some sort to pay for the bankruptcy and they would go on to cite other law firms that do.”

“Those issues incited me to educate clients of how the process works” Makedonski stated. Most bankruptcy lawyers that advertise a payment plan mislead clients into thinking that the small initial retainer will initiate the filing of the bankruptcy. However, the case is not actually filed until the bankruptcy fees are paid in full, because if the lawyer isn't paid in full there is a chance that their fee can get discharged also.

That means that you will not be under any bankruptcy protection because it has not been filed, so realistically nothing has been started. “I feel that advertising payment plans is just a way for bankruptcy firms to get people in the door and lock them in to get the business” Team Legal Chicago quotes a flat fee for services and informs the clients of court costs associated with the petition right from the beginning. This way attorneys can focus right away on what the client needs done. At Team Legal Chicago, clients will always have questions answered by an Illinois licensed attorney and get right to the point regarding costs and how long the process will be.

The reality is potential bankruptcy clients are people who have lost it all or are on the brink of losing it all, and they will choose the firm or attorney to represent them based on the fee charged. The clients will then ask questions later regarding the aggregate experience of the firm and its attorneys in the practice of bankruptcy. Research has shown that potential clients will contact between 4-10 attorneys before they settle on someone to represent them.

"It's not just being about the lowest cost service, it's about giving the client personal service that the bigger firms can't give at a lower cost," Makedonski stated. The way Team Legal Chicago can accomplish this goal is by specializing in bankruptcies exclusively and limiting the number of cases per month to service each client to an optimum. For more information, Tom Makedonski can be contacted through his web site at http://www.teamlegalchicago.com or by calling him at 773-685-9138 or through email at   Debtcleansing@gmail.com

Website: www.teamlegalchicago.com