By Victoria Ring, 713Training.Com LLC
When I originally developed the first bankruptcy training videos in 2003, I never gave any thought to Best Case or the software program I was using in the videos. My mind was solely concentrated on teaching the skills needed to prepare well-detailed Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petitions.
The only reason I chose Best Case software for the development of the training videos was because the attorney I was working for in 1999 used it and I was already familiar with how to operate it. Also, at the time, I found it to be the easiest for eliminating the learning curve of understanding the Schedules and Forms for those I was training.
However, before developing the training videos, I contacted John Mancini, the original developer of Best Case and obtained permission to use his software in the development of the videos. At that time, John thought the virtual bankruptcy assistant field was a fantastic idea; but he also knew it would be free advertising for Best Case. Little did I know at the time that John was not a bankruptcy attorney as I had been told. I only found out recently that he and his wife Lucinda Fox worked for Anderson Publishing, not a law firm. John had developed Best Case software to simply fill in the federal forms. His only goal was to make money, not help attorneys and bankruptcy courts.
When the bankruptcy law changed in October 2005, John sold Best Case to the current owner: Wolters-Kluwer Law and Business. This may sound like the name of a law firm but it is nothing more than a publishing company. John sold Best Case in December 2005, only 2 months after the new bankruptcy law took effect. Again, this shows that John was only focused on making money, not to benefit the bankruptcy industry as I had originally been led to believe.
While none of this prior deception really matters to our industry now, what does matter is that within the last year, Best Case has developed some internal management and organizational problems. Because the employees and the company that owns Best Case are not attorneys, they have no clue regarding bankruptcy and our needs. Instead, Best Case has chosen to cause great havoc within their customer base and the VBA industry as a whole. These problems have got back to me and I have been sending certified letters and trying to contact Best Case regarding these matters for about 14 months. Best Case refused to contact me until just recently. This is when I decided to finally bring this matter to your attention to protect our industry from any further misunderstandings.
For example, an attorney who is a member of the NACBA (National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys) was a registered user of Best Case. He called them to ask how to install a copy on his laptop. Best Case told him he was committing an illegal act and threatened to sue him. The attorney, knowing that Best Case was wrong, has lashed out with an attack against them. Several bankruptcy blogs are carrying the article and hurting sales for Best Case.
Additionally, Best Case has continually attacked the virtual bankruptcy assistant field. They claim that virtual bankruptcy assistants are stealing the usernames and passwords of attorneys; then using this stolen information to file petitions for the general public. I called and spoke to Bethany Lape, a manager at Best Case and she verified the information I heard was true.
However, I knew it was a lie the first time I heard it. Think about it; even if ECF usernames and passwords were being stolen, the day the 341 Meeting took place, the attorney who had been victimized would not be present. The Trustee would simply throw the case out of court and the non-attorney who filled out the petition would be fined. Therefore, stealing the username and password of an attorney would be worthless.
Next, I explained to Bethany that employees of Best Case were using my name and specifically telling potential customers who called in to buy their software that our industry was illegal. Again, I caught Bethany in another lie. She told me that she had no idea this false information was being relayed by Best Case employees. In fact, in order to put a stop to it she would immediately have an office meeting with the staff as soon as we ended our telephone call. Bethany even provided me with her direct email address and phone number, asking me to call her if I heard of any Best Case employees doing anything like this again.
However, three different attorneys and two virtual assistants called Best Case to make inquiries of Bethany. In all instances, Bethany was the one who was slandering me, my company and our industry. One virtual assistant even recorded the conversation to prove it. It really blows my mind how people can lie to your face knowing they have the potential of being caught.
BUT WHY WOULD A COMPANY DO THIS?
Why would Best Case deliberately victimize their product and force customers not to do business with them? Why would Best Case slander my name and company when I have generated millions of dollars in sales for them during the past 11 years? Why would Best Case tell their licensed attorneys that the software versions they purchased were illegal. Also, why would Best Case tell an attorney that he or she could not hire a paralegal to work for them but could only use their software if they keyed in the petition themselves? A preacher once said: If it does not make sense, there is a buck in it. Therefore, the only logical explanation I can come up with is that Best Case is trying to go out of business so they can make more money from their company losses. Of course I do not know this for sure, but it makes more sense than what Best Case is doing.
REGARDLESS OF THE REASON, LET US MOVE ON
Like I said before, I did not develop the training videos to benefit Best Case. I did not develop the training videos to benefit any software company. My only goal in developing the training videos was to teach attorneys, paralegals and virtual bankruptcy assistants how to learn Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petition preparation skills.
Suppose I developed a training video about how to format a professional business letter. Suppose the training video used Microsoft Word for the visual demonstration. Does this mean that you must purchase Microsoft Word to type a professional business letter? Of course not. You can use Notepad, WordPerfect, HTML or even an old 1970s IBM Selectric typewriter. It does not matter to me what you use to type the business letter. My only concern is that you learn the skills needed to format a professional business letter.
Therefore, I highly suggest that you not concentrate on the keystrokes I use in a software program to prepare a bankruptcy petition. Use the training videos to learn the skills of preparing a bankruptcy petition. After you learn these skills, you can choose any software program you want to use for preparing your bankruptcy petition; it does not matter to me and it will not affect the skills you have learned from the training videos.
WHICH SOFTWARE PROGRAM DO I RECOMMEND?
After my disappointing telephone conference with Best Case, I contacted Frederick Rogovy, the owner of New Hope Software and Art Engelbrecht, Vice President of EZ Filing. Below is a summary of the meeting I had with both gentleman:
Frederick Rogovy of New Hope Software is a supporter of our virtual bankruptcy assistant industry. He is also a very honest man that I respect. He took almost two hours of his time explaining the history of the bankruptcy software industry which opened my eyes to many things I was not aware of. He even has a special support system built into New Hope Software specifically for virtual bankruptcy assistants. You can read this information on his website at:
http://bankruptcysoftware.com/virtualassistantfeatures.shtml
Art Engelbrecht and the original developer of EZFiling, Marty Mohr; drove 70 miles from Denver, Colorado to my home in Colorado Springs to meet with me personally. I was as impressed with both of these gentleman as I was with Frederick Rogovy and found them also to be honest men. EZFiling also approves of the virtual bankruptcy assistant industry and is well aware that our skills benefit both the law firms as well as the bankruptcy courts.
SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
The problem is that both New Hope and EZFiling software can only be licensed to attorneys. Virtual bankruptcy assistants cannot license it; but they can use it under the license of the attorney they are working for. This is a problem for virtual bankruptcy assistants. Suppose you market to attorneys and an attorney hires you to do his or her petitions. You tell the attorney that you are saving the law firm money and you will provide them with a completed petition. However, there is only one hook. The attorney must pay $100s of dollars to purchase a particular software program.
When I presented this scenario to Marty Mohr of EZFiling during our meeting, he said: But if a virtual bankruptcy assistant purchases a license and works for 15 attorneys, my company just lost 15 sales.
This is an excellent point and I certainly understand it. I am sure this is the same reason why Frederick Rogovy does the same thing. However, there must be a solution to this dilemma. At this time, I am working on solving this problem and I welcome any suggestions you may have.
One solution would be for 713Training.Com to hire a programmer and invest into the development of a bankruptcy software program specifically for virtual bankruptcy assistants. This way I could develop the software with features that would make our jobs easier. However, I would prefer to find a software program that was developed by a company that allowed us to purchase it and use it to prepare bankruptcy petitions for an unlimited amount of attorneys.
IN THE MEANTIME, WHAT SOFTWARE SHOULD YOU USE?
The training videos I developed are still the only videos that teach you the skills of preparing well-detailed Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions. Attorneys, bankruptcy courts, paralegals and virtual bankruptcy assistants use them all the time for training. When you purchase them, you can download any bankruptcy software program to practice and develop the skills you need. During your training period you should only be concentrating on learning the skills anyway, not the software program you will ultimately use in your virtual bankruptcy assistant business.
However, when it comes to purchasing a license, wait until you have an attorney to work for. Then find out what software program they use. If the attorney has a licensed copy of New Hope or EZFiling, you can use their license at no additional fee. This will save you money and you do not need to make any additional financial investment.
But, if the attorney you are going to work for as a virtual bankruptcy assistant does not have any software program, there are others you can choose from. Visit:
http://www.713training.com/links and scroll down to the BANKRUPTCY SOFTWARE section
Or, you can purchase Best Case software. Some virtual bankruptcy assistants have no trouble using it for their businesses. Gary in California said that he is treated like a King when he calls Best Case for technical support and they know he is not an attorney. I personally have never had any problems either and I continue to work on cases with attorneys nationwide; however, I am not going to renew my license this year. Therefore, the decision of what software program you want to purchase is up to you.
SUMMARY
This article is not intended to cite a riot against Best Case or to cause people not to purchase their software. Like I mentioned several times, I do not care what software you purchase. The only purpose of this article is to clear the name of 713Training.Com in understanding that we NEVER endorsed any bankruptcy software program through the development of the training videos.
In the meantime, continue to study and practice your skills to perfection. You will find that the virtual bankruptcy assistant is considered to be the greatest thing since sliced bread for thousands of attorneys across the United States. Nothing we are doing is illegal and we will defend this position in a court of law if necessary. We have enough attorneys, paralegals and court personnel who back our industry and utilize the services of our virtual bankruptcy assistants that we do not need to be concerned with the internal problems Best Case is suffering through at this time.
Stay tuned. I will continue negotiations with Fredrick Rogolvy and Marty Mohr. Perhaps we may find a solution to the problem soon so that the virtual bankruptcy assistant industry can continue to benefit the debtor bankruptcy field of law. Please remember me in your prayers regarding this matter.
REFERENCES
New Hope Software
http://bankruptcysoftware.com/
EZFiling
http://www.ezfiling.com
10 Bankruptcy Training Videos
http://www.713training.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=35
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