I attempted to go thru a debt settlement company first. After about 6 months I got sued by one of my Creditors. It was then that I realized that they really weren't helping me at all. I contacted a lawyer, and about 5-6 weeks later, we filed. I of course stopped making payments to the settlement company right away, and I chose to close my bank account and open a new one just to ensure that no more of their automatic payments got through. I had additional reasons for closing the account, and the timing was right.
After your meeting, if you feel Bankruptcy is the route you'll take, I would recommend taking immediate steps to prevent any additional payments being made to the settlement company. I wish I had made the decision sooner myself, because by the time I ditched the settlement company, I had already paid them $6k. I'll be better off in the long run anyway.
Good luck to you.