Well, first, SOCRATES01 just didn't provide enough facts to give any sort of truly useful answer. I suppose the correct answer is "it depends."

But it's true that a bankruptcy doesn't usually eliminate liens. Otherwise, you'd see all kinds of people in places like Texas and Florida with free houses. They'd buy the houses with mortgages, refuse to pay the lender, file for bankruptcy prior to foreclosure, then laugh at the lenders as the mortgages are discharged and the liens are eliminated. If you stop to think about it, you'll probably realize that doesn't happen. If a mortgage is not paid, then the lender can eventually foreclose -- bankruptcy or no bankruptcy.

There are certain kinds of liens that can be eliminated under certain chapters of bankruptcy, however. For example, if there is not enough value in the collateral after subtracting any senior lienholders' interests, then junior liens can be discharged as unsecured debt. Also, judgment liens can be discharged if they interfere with a debtor's state homestead exemption.

So, in order to provide a useful answer, we'd need to know how the lawyer got the lien, what state SOCRATES01 lives in, whether the house with the lien is a homestead, what chapter of bankruptcy he plans to file under, whether there are any senior liens, and probably a few other facts that I can't think of off the top of my head.

That's why my original answer provides the general rule, but is also left open.