Feb
24
So the economy is in the tank. Unemployment is up. Foreclosures are a dime a dozen. NPR recently did a story on the success of a bankruptcy lawyer in California, who seems to be getting more calls than they can handle. Time to focus your practice on bankruptcy? Don’t jump in just yet.
Before making a decision on increasing your marketing budget to focus on bankruptcy, Consider your location! In a state like Montana, the average percent increase in bankruptcy has only risen by 7.5%; a mere 35 additional bankruptcy filings per quarter from in 2008 than in 2006. With 56 bankruptcy attorneys (listed on lawyers.com), that’s an average of only 2.5 extra clients per attorney in 2008.
Lets look at California, on the other hand. In the first quarter of ’06, California saw 6,543 bankruptcy filings. By third quarter ’08, bankruptcy filings have steadily increased over 466% to 37,083. With 1,656 attorneys (listed on lawyers.com) practicing bankruptcy law in CA, that’s 22.39 filings per quarter per attorney, compared with Montana’s 8.96 filings per quarter per attorney. If you’re a bankruptcy lawyer in CA, I hope your promoting your business right now.
Also; a bankruptcy attorney’s clientele are people who have no money. The future of the industry is questionable; any change in policy could eliminate your bankruptcy practice. If at this time you are currently not practicing bankruptcy, consider investing your marketing dollar in an area of practice with a longer / more solid potential client base. Alternately, let other bankruptcy attorneys do the work for you; let them know that you are available for bankruptcy work should they need additional help.