New bankruptcy law firms open their doors every year — sometimes a solo attorney branching into debtor work, sometimes an established family-law or CPA-turned-attorney practice adding bankruptcy services to meet client demand. It's one of the most consistent patterns in the legal industry: bankruptcy filings never fully disappear, and new practices keep forming to serve that need.
That's good news if you're training to become a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant (VBA) or Bankruptcy Petition Preparer. A newly opened bankruptcy practice rarely starts with in-house staff trained to draft Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petitions. Many attorneys who add bankruptcy to an existing practice don't have the time or staff to learn petition drafting themselves — that's exactly the gap a trained VBA fills.
Why new firms are a real opportunity, not just a curiosity:
- New practices need to build a workflow fast, and outsourcing petition drafting to a trained VBA is far cheaper than hiring and training in-house staff.
- Attorneys expanding into bankruptcy from another practice area (family law, real estate, even CPAs who became attorneys) often don't know the petition-drafting process well themselves — they need someone who does.
- A firm that's actively growing its caseload is the kind of client relationship a VBA wants: steady, recurring work instead of a one-off project.
If you're building a VBA business, keeping an eye on new bankruptcy practices in your state — and reaching out to introduce your services — is a practical, ongoing marketing strategy. New firms are looking for exactly the kind of help our students are trained to provide.
Ready to start earning income drafting bankruptcy petitions from home? See our online bankruptcy petition training courses at www.713training.com. You can also join our online community at www.navba.org.