Attorney Biography
Michael J. Brooks is a bankruptcy lawyer who practices in Miami-Dade County, Broward County and Palm Beach County. The entire Southern District of Florida is covered by his practice. Michael’s main focus is on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. Mr. Brooks has worked on thousands of cases over a 38 year career. The law firm strives to keep their client’s informed about what is happening with their case. Communication is a very important part of the firm’s service to their client’s. Bankruptcy is a fast paced practice, and communication with the client is very important.
All of the legal work is performed by the lawyers involved with the practice. Legal assistants assist the lawyers. They are not bankruptcy lawyers, and our reputation with the Court and our clients are of the utmost importance to the members of the firm. The bankruptcy lawyers are in constant contact with the bankruptcy trustee involved with each individual clients bankruptcy case. Any documentation required by the bankruptcy court that we don’t already have will be requested from the client immediately, and then sent to the trustee. We understand that going through any legal process is filled with stress. We try to make the bankruptcy process as stress free as possible. The client will have no bankruptcy court hearings without having one of our lawyers by their side. The attorney and/or the client will be fully prepared for any bankruptcy court hearings, with or without the client being present. Our goal is to get you out of the bankruptcy process as quickly as possible with as little pressure as possible.
Our initial bankruptcy consultation is free. At the consultation, the client will be asked to fill out a small sheet to give the attorney the information necessary to begin the consultation with the client. At that consultation, the client will be informed about both elements of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A recommendation will be given by the attorney consulting the client which bankruptcy to file, but ultimately, it will be the clients decision to choose what’s best for them. At that first bankruptcy consultation, all costs and fees will be discussed, and an affordable payment plan can be arranged so the client can afford the costs and fees to file the bankruptcy. During this time, creditors may be trying to attempt to collect on a credit card debt or other debt. We will also advise the client what to do about more serious matters, like mortgage foreclosure or vehicle repossession issues. We will take calls from creditors to keep them off your back until the bankruptcy is filed. Sometimes the answer to the question of whether or not the client should file for bankruptcy is no. We are in this to do what is right for the client, not what is right for us. There is literally no bankruptcy case that is too complicated for us in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
Michael Brooks graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He went on to receive his Law Degree from Nova University in 1984. His first job was working in criminal law for the Miami Dade Public Defender. He then went to work for a law firm working on many different cases including personal injury, contracts, probate, drafting wills, real estate transactions, criminal and corporate law. In 1990, Mr. Brooks moved his practice exclusively into the field of bankruptcy. However, his experience in the prior fields of law come in handy when real estate matters or probate maters arise. Also, many clients have tax issues that are complicated. Mr. Brooks has experience with working with the IRS in bankruptcy court to resolve even long standing IRS issues. If a client has a corporation, Mr. Brooks can be helpful in explaining how to get rid of the corporate liability without losing the business.
