Should I hire attorney to help fill out SF-85P
I have some recent financial issues
Any had an experience with these types of lawyers
Why would you need an attorney to fill out your form? Will you be incriminating yourself? Just follow the instructions.
I had free consult cuz I had some financial issues
The lawyer said better to clearly fill out forms with proper wording as opposed to getting SOR
I guess maybe they just wanted my money ?
Maybe someone else has heard of this. I am an investigator and personally have not heard of this and cannot see a reason for it. Personally, it sounds like a waste of money and a lawyer scamming you. Following the directions is not hard. Do exactly what it says. List all accounts asked for. If youāve had a bankruptcy still list out the accounts that went to collections during the coverage period even if they were included in the bankruptcy, the directions clearly ask for charged off accounts, delinquent taxes, etc. It is not trying to trick you. Follow the instructions to a āTā the attorney cannot make your finances look any better than they are. All you can do is be honest, disclose your accounts, answer the questions, and provide the requested documentation. An account in collections will be in collections with or without the attorney. The bankruptcy will be a bankruptcy with or without the attorney. You get the drift. Adding some hundred dollar words in there will not change the outcome. The government already knows your finances because they pull your credit, you might as well be honest. Your explanation to your investigator is the only wild card that the government does not already know and your attorney canāt feed you your testimony.
There was a post on here a couple years back (or maybe it was on Federal Soup) about somebody who got some āadviceā from a lawyer. The lawyer was not familiar with personnel security investigations and while the advice may have been correct from a legal standpoint it was not appropriate for this situation and the individual ending up getting denied.
I agree with @HR2C there is no need for an attorney at this point in the process.
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Sounds good.
However if you have to respond to a SOR or go to a hearing is it better to work with an attorney at that point ?
I canāt speak to that because by that point my part of the investigation is over.
I remember some stats from a few years back stating that you had twice better luck during an SOR if you went to an in-person hearing accompanied with a seasoned clearance lawyer.
But then again, why stress over it when you havenāt even filled out the paperwork.
And you are just going for a public trustā¦
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