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30 Aug, 2024 by Julio
My experience with Anthony wasn’t favorable from the start. The case was a simple one at best and somehow he felt he needed to go beast mode attack on me with levying labels on me before even knowing the facts…lacks professionalism and skill..I wouldn’t recommend him…
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14 Apr, 2018 by Anonymous
I'll start with the good because there's less of it, and I always like to start my reviews with something positive.
Tony dresses well and acts very professional in a courtroom. He stays calm under pressure, and he doesn't let his emotions rule him.
Now the bad.
He hears, but he doesn't listen. On multiple occasions, I asked him specifically to do certain things and to not do certain things... and not only did he blatantly disregard my polite requests, he made my case worse.
He threw me under the bus because he felt it was in my best interest. Instead of fighting for me, he went on the defensive immediately because he already had judged me guilty. I had plenty of evidence that would have helped our case, but his hubris was so great that he felt it wasn't necessary.
I trusted him with my reputation and the well-being of my daughter... and he failed me so badly that I needed to hire two more lawyers after him in an attempt to clean up the spectacular debacle he had caused. And even then, he tried to make my life a living hell. Instead of accepting his responsibility and making the transition to my new lawyer easy and orderly, he fought me every step of the way and claimed he was being professional by doing so.
He claimed he knew what he was doing, but he charged me for two hours of research that if he was what he purported himself to be, he would have already known. Juvenile dependency court is not for the untrained or unprepared... and when I retained Stolar & Associates and was assigned him, I expected that I would be taken care of. Instead, he nickeled and dimed me for so many things on my bill that I was afraid of calling him... and one should *never* be afraid of calling one's own lawyer.
His tone and his affect when talking with me was so antiseptic and wooden that I seriously thought he had Asperger's, or some deep-seated psychological trauma that left him unable to convey normal human emotions.
But I think the worst part in all of my dealings with him were the half truths that he told me.
He withheld key facts and information from me that he shared with the opposing counsel, and I found out about it afterwards when I was finally able to see my own file after I fired him.
He's an intelligent man, and I genuinely think that he could be good at whatever he sets his mind to. I also believe that he thinks he's a good man, and that he believes he's fighting the good fight. But the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and there are some things that when done are very hard (if not impossible) to fix.
If you hire this man to be your lawyer, keep him on a short leash. Tell him exactly what you need him to do, and listen to his advice if he gives it to you... but take it with a pound of salt and get a second opinion. Also, make sure he BCC's you on *all* of his email correspondence regarding your case, especially negotiations with opposing counsel.
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27 Oct, 2018 by Paul
Frankly, Ken Luer doesn't seem to know what he is doing. I consulted with him on a business matter and he seemed to be too distracted. Maybe he's past his prime. He bragged during my paid consultation how his wife helped him decorate his office. I wasn't interested in it. I didn't hire him.
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24 Oct, 2014 by Anonymous
I was referred to Ken Luer from another attorney who volunteered for Big Brothers. I first spoke to a junior partner who gave me good advise. But, he said I had to speak to Ken because he was in charge of corporate and tax issues. It took forever to get Ken on the phone because he was always "busy". Finally, we set up a meeting in his office (which he bragged was decorated by his wife). Ken spent the next 30 minutes trying to "upsell" me more work and trying to scare me. I got out of his office just in time and spoke to another lawyer. I am so glad I didn't take Ken's advise. The other lawyer recommended a solution that was less expensive and efficient. If I had listened to Ken, it would have cost me thousands of dollars in legal fees, accounting fees, and headaches.
Surprisingly, I got a huge bill from Ken's law firm a few months later. He billed me for "research" , meetings, conferences etc. I disputed the bill. Ken's response was that he couldn't lower the bill without "ExCom" or "FinCom's" approval. He said he was on the committee so he could pull some strings. I kept getting dunning letters. I don't mind paying for the 30 minute meeting even though it was more like a marketing session. But, I don't want to pay for thousands of dollars that I didn't ask for. Gratefully, they did withdraw the bill but only after I threatened to sue them over their bill.
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24 Apr, 2016 by Garynelsonharper
Mr. Abramowitz completely overlooked several critical case details. He excused himself from my case, claiming "irreconcilable differences". He is an ineffective communicator. When he had the opportunity to show that my ex was unwilling to comply with court ordered mediation, he did absolutely nothing. I had enough money to get out of town and stay with a friend. Every other attorney I have hired has left me with the sense that I received more than I paid for. Their results were beyond what I ever believed would be possible.
Mr. Abramowitz was a decision I wish I had never made.
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28 Dec, 2015 by Richard
Hire someone else. He gave me incorrect legal advice. He made multiple mistakes, such as serving my ex with the wrong court date on documents, which he then charged me to fix. He billed 8 hours for a 2 hour trial – scheduled from 2pm-4pm. He was completely clueless in the courtroom. He charged me 6 times what a specialist with 20 years quoted me at. He tacked on an additional 12 hours ($4,200) of supposed research just two days before the trial, which he had confirmed the week prior that he had already completed and was done preparing. Overall, he was incompetent and his research consisted of him admittedly “Asking around the office.” Make sure you research him; there are other negative reviews from other clients on other websites – which I discovered later. I do not recommend this attorney. In the end I lost everything because of him. When all was said and done he blamed the judge, the county, and then later me.
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11 Sep, 2023 by Fereshta
I hired Ms. Myle August/September 2020, I was going through a horrible divorce, DVRO, child custody cases. I have paid her around $11K, she is not good in court, she seemed more on my ex’s side than mine when we were at the hearings. She was going with whatever the opposing lawyer was saying, which is crazy. She is super sweet and more like a friend than a lawyer. She would get back to me either by text or email right away when I had questions or concerns. It was my first time ever having a lawyer so I didn’t know she was charging me hundreds of dollars when she would reply to my texts or emails. At the end of the day, I hired a different lawyer and ended up paying thousands of dollars to Ms. Myle for wasting my time and for being a follower of the opposing side than doing the right thing for me and my kids since I was paying her and not the opposing side.
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11 Jul, 2013 by Willey
Seemed to know what he was doing. But since I am not an attorney I would not know. He talks well and can be quite Charming. But then you find this fellow is not a good attorny in the opinion of myself and other attorneys I showed the case to. I would not recomend this fellow. Did not file papers to the court on time so the court would not take or use the information in the documents.
He had a nice office in a nice area. That is what made me think he must know what he is doing.
And maybe he does. The problem was more being late (After the deadline with paperwork for the court) and also he lied to myself and others. Not sure why. I just know he did and he lost the case.
I have to warn others to keep looking. Do not use this guy.
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16 Nov, 2018 by Andy
I hired Lee Silver (Ervin, Cohen & Jessup) for various legal matters.
He would subcontract his work to other lawyers in the firm. But, I found many mistakes in the billing.
It turns out that his firm doesn't have all the attorneys review their billing before it is sent to the client. Only the main attorney reviews the invoices. So, there is a big likelihood of mistakes on the billing, which was the situation in my case.
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17 Jun, 2015 by Anonymous
Hired him from a referral and was more than disappointed from day 1. Charges some of the highest rates in the industry so I figured he has to be good. Quite the opposite actually. By far and away the worst lawyer services I have ever received. I found him to be extremely slow, unmotivated and lacking a ton of knowledge and expertise in areas he 'specializes' in. Could not complete simple tasks effectively and didn't seem interested in anything but charging for hours he spent doing God knows what.
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08 Jul, 2014 by Mona
Bennett Spector was a NIGHTMARE to have as my attorney! I would NEVER use him again or recommend him. I was not only suffering from injuries from my car accident. Additionally, I just had breast cancer surgery and going through the hell of chemo and radiation. Bennett was abrasive in his manner of speaking to me. He also was non communicative about important aspects of my case. I had to literally pursue him to get the answers I needed about important issues about my case. He yelled at me numerous amounts of times and stressed me out immensely in addition to the stress I was already enduring from cancer treatment! It was a horror to deal with him. He got me a pittance in compensation for my pain and suffering. He is a horrible lawyer and pitiful excuse for a human being!
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25 Jun, 2022 by Anonymous
Please do a internet search on this attorney. He used a strategy of fighting every little motion or detail in family court, which leads to a long litigation and family law case which results in over billing and unnecessary attorney bills. He failed me in my family law case in many ways despite trusting that he was doing things in my best interest against my former spouse. Do yourself a favor and find another family law attorney.
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16 May, 2024 by Ron
Joseph fancies himself to be an effective lawyer, but in reality, he’s in it only to over charge and under deliver to his clients.
Joseph represented me and when I was offered a good settlement proposal, he never brought the proposal to me, he refused it, and then I ended up losing everything.
I am in the process of filing a complaint with the California State Bar as he violated my rights by never discussing the settlement offer with me.
He’s arrogant, just wants to get paid, and he literally pisses off the judges and other lawyers.
He’s a hack who shouldn’t be practicing law.
I’m sure others have had similar experiences, so if you have, please share your stories as well.
Joseph Benincasa should be disbarred.
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07 Jun, 2023 by D
The Firm is only looking out for their own best interest $$$$. Complaining of the work they are being paid to do. Unable to meet deadlines, numerous errors, bad discovery, no depositions, late filing, missed deadlines. These failures ultimately were the firms need to withdraw from my case after three years and after receiving over $100,000 of my hard earned money. Their unexplained, inconsistent, excessive and unreasonable billing was the excuse used to abandon my case and place blame on their client for non-payment....yes after they already billed and were paid over $100,000....my money and time wasted. You are only $$ in their eyes. Don't make the same mistake I did....they will only succeed in making your situation worse, leaving you to pick up the pieces with no remorse!!
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23 Jul, 2016 by Anonymous
Both the lawyer and his staff are utterly incompetent and incapable of managing the disposition of family estates. My father's estate was medium-sized and uncomplicated, but Paul managed to draw out and complicate this process by failing to itemize and include a substantial number of items in the trust, for which he then attempted to charge us. This process has been needlessly prolonged and complicated for no good reason. Word to the wise: avoid this lawyer.
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06 Jun, 2013 by Anonymous
Beatrice was the real estate associate for a property that I was renting fairly recently. Although we did not go to court, I feel the need to post this review to protect others from this individual. In moving out of my property, Beatrice collected the last month's rent and refused to return any of my or my roommates' multiple phone calls and emails. Then, once the contract had ended she decided to renovate the property at our expense. When we asked for the paperwork regarding the damages from the initial walk through, she indicated that we never actually did a walk through. We then received an itemized document where she proceeded to charge us for items with no receipt taking over $2000 from the initial security deposit. She then indicated that if we were to dispute any of the charges she would take us to court and charge us for additional charges that amounted to an additional amount of money (I cannot recall the exact amount). I am not posting this to speak negatively about Beatrice. I am not saying that Beatrice is an unethical lawyer, because I have no experience with her in the court room. I am saying however, that she is the sole reason why I keep all my paper documents and why I will always ask for signed documentation when I receive any claim from an individual. Please be careful with this individual and do not make the costly mistakes that I have made.
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29 Oct, 2014 by Anonymous
I hired Mr. Myers on a health care business matter. Unfortunately, I terminated our relationship and hired another lawyer after just a few months. Although I met with him in person, he didn't remember who I was when I called. He also seemed to be arguing with other "partners" at his firm over trivial matters -- like office space, furniture, and who gets credit for bringing in a case. I would overhear him arguing because he place me on speaker. But, he seemed too distracted.
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01 May, 2008 by Anonymous
HONESTY
• what he said: that he would litigate wherever the Case was assigned (9/2006)
what he did: resigned, once the case was tranferred from LASC Central to LASC Southeast (4/2008)
• what he said: he supported my wife's appointment as Conservator of the Person of my Mom (10/2007)
what he did: advised and supported opposition to my wife's appointment as Conservator (4/2008)
• what he said: he was committed to getting me the best results possible (11/2006)
what he did: when ruling after ruling went against us and tensions rose on all sides, accused me of setting him up to contest his fees, and accused me of making him look bad to opposing counsel and the PVP attorney, then told me my behavior forced to him to quit my case (11/2007 thru 4/2008)
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
• created a conflict of interest by getting a Professional Fiduciary appointed as Conservator of my Mom's Estate, while I was still his Client (1/2007)
• told me I wasn't his Client anymore, when I disagreed with his and the Conservator's decision to stop working on a Settlement agreement (11/2007 thru 4/2008)
PLEADINGS
• took 3 months to file Conservatorship Petition (12/2006)
• late on filing a Demurrer Opposition - (8/2007)
• late on filing opposition to an Ex Parte application to Dismiss - (3/2008)
• did not file an opposition to a Notice of Related case - (12/2007)
WORK PRODUCT
Incomplete/Pointless work:
1. spent 2 days on argumentative emails back and forth with my brother, Douglas (1/2007)
2. spent 1 day writing a letter with an idle threat to file an action against opposing counsel for receipt of stolen funds
3. never finished court ordered mediation (11/2007)
Inappropriate Billing
1. Bills for work caused by his mistake or his missed deadline
2. Bills for incomplete/pointless work
3. Bills for phone calls where nothing was accomplished due to poor communication
COMMUNICATION
poor listener - frequently interrupts
not able to focus on one topic at a time
doesn't allow enough time for discussions, returns phone calls when he only has a couple minutes to talk
ACCOUNTABILITY
fond of blaming actions of others for 'forcing' him to make a certain decisions (see last point in HONESTY section)
blames Court for un-favorable rulings
PROFESSIONALISM
suggested I do computer work for him and allowed conflict/disputes from computer work to harm effort on legal project
asked me to do computer work to help him with his other clients
asks me to do errands related to getting Pleadings filed
asks me to go to Hearings to file Pleadings
fond of threatening the Client that he will resign from their Case, causing worry, which results in emotional suffering
LOYALTY
I hired him to get me appointed as Conservator of my Mom, today he is assisting and encouraging people to oppose my appointment
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