Q: Why is my bankruptcy lawyer pushing me to sue my last employer and amend my current bankruptcy filing?
I had the absolute worst lawyer file my bankruptcy and overcharge me considerably. I don't know why she is so interested in my personal life but I did mention to her how severely discriminated I was at my last job. I thought about suing my previous employer but decided to let it go and hypothetically asked if I pursued this, would it have been a problem with the bankruptcy case. She became a little too interested in getting me to amend my bankruptcy even though I never decided to move forward with a discrimination case and is pushing me to do so even if I don't sue my last employer. Does she get anything personally out of me amending my bankruptcy case?
A: You are free to change your bankruptcy attorney at any time. It is the Bankruptcy Trustee, not your attorney that has the most to gain if you have a valid employment discrimination case. While your bankruptcy attorney will have to perform some additional legal work, she will not gain much, unless she is able to either personally handle the employment discrimination case (which would be a bad idea) or she knows someone to refer it to and will get a referral fee from that attorney. To determine if you have a viable employment discrimination case you need to consult with an attorney who specializes in that area of legal practice.
Stuart Nachbar agrees with this answer
A: Your petition must include any actions that you have or could bring against anyone. I don’t know why she cares if you pursue your employer unless she’s going to be hired to take on the case. However, If this claim is not listed on your petition and you decide to sue your employer later, then you may not be able to collect anything later on because they will see that you filed for bankruptcy and didn’t list the potential claim on your petition.
Stuart Nachbar agrees with this answer
A: When you say you may have a case, the trustee is entitled to pursue it. If you told your lawyer you had no case, she should not have told the trustee differently.
A: Your lawyer just wants to make sure all possible claims are listed on the petition, as she's supposed to do ... she's just trying to do her job.
A: The attorney must be sure the Petition is correct and if you left it off, then technically it is perjury. The Attorney could get employed by the Trustee if the Trustee wants him or her to be, so she could get an additional fee.
A: Your attorney does not get anything out of it personally, but your petition needs to be amended to include that claim for the trustee to evaluate.
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