We’ve been Zooming–doing Zoom bankruptcy consultations–since April 2020. We’re sticking with it.
We stopped in-office consultations with the March 2020 pandemic lock down. (I first heard of Zoom when my church started using it. We’re a small congregation and can see everybody on screen.)
Since April 2020 I’ve Zoomed bankruptcy consultations seven hundred times.
Three advantages of Zoom virtual bankruptcy consultations
There are three advantages I’ve seen in doing virtual bankruptcy consultations.
First, it saves travel time. The traffic in Northern Virginia is as bad as it’s ever been. It takes too long to get anywhere. Three minutes setting up a Zoom call is better than trying to drive ten miles around here.
Second, you’ll be more comfortable. Especially on the initial contact–what I call the Quick Call–it works out well. I’m at my own computer, where I can access all my info. And you are at home–your parked car–wherever–more relaxed and focused than you’d be after driving for forty minutes to an unfamiliar office.
I didn’t expect that. But I’ve seen we cover more ground and clear up more concerns with a Zoom consultation.
I’m at my own computer, where I can access my info. And you are at home more relaxed than you’d be at a meeting in an unfamiliar office. Before, when people came to my office, sometimes they accidentally left the most important papers back on the kitchen table. Now, people tell me, “I have that right here.”
Alexandria Bankruptcy hearings are now on Zoom.
Trustee hearings at the bankruptcy courts are now on Zoom. That started with the pandemic. Our association, NACBA, along with the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees and the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, lobbied to make that policy permanent.
Securely send us the required documents.
After our quick call, I invite you to fill in my Be Happy form.Then Vanessa, my paralegal, will send you a password and set up a client portal to upload the required documents.
Portals are more secure than emails. And your info doesn’t go to spam or get lost.
You likely already have the documents we need in pdf. You can take a photo on your phone for the required ID. Having access to a scanner can be helpful.
Faxing also works
Going to a nearby Staples or FedEx Office and faxing to us works well. Here’s our fax number. 703-677-8776.
Very rarely, people need to get me an original document. You can mail or bring it to me headquarters location: 800 Corporate Drive #301, Stafford VA 22554. Or, 13800 Coppermine Rd, Herndon. (These are a Regus shared office spaces. I now work mainly from my “Zoom studio.”)
If you expect we will need to view original documents, I’m NOT the best lawyer to see.
For most people, Zoom virtual bankruptcy consultation works
Zoom records what we talk about and makes a summary, which I’ll send to you. Zoom then deletes the recording after 15 days.
With four years experience, I can say for most people, Zoom consultations are better.