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03 Sep, 2024 by Jay robinson
If she is appointed to your case as a Guardian Ad Litem, I’d recommend your attorney request another one. She was nearly impossible to get in contact with (emails nor phone calls), and she literally waited until the night before her report was due to write it.
She saw me interact with my child that I had not seen for a year for only a short period of time (not enough for a decision of this magnitude), and left out or didn’t go into depth about important factors of the case in her report, such as evidence I had shown her.
When I met her, she spoke of her job as a realtor and how she was dealing with a client rather than discussing my case. If you research her you’ll see that she has other interests and it is my opinion that she uses this as quick side money. She gets paid $2,000 upfront and does a few hours of work at most while just quoting whatever you say to her in her reports to fill the pages to make it look like she did her job.
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24 Jul, 2024 by Sarah bernard
If I could give less than one star, I would. As an "impartial" guardian ad litem, she outright LIED in her report to the court. Lied. I'll stand by that. She is not impartial, and I find it no coincidence that she tends to favor fathers as does the magistrate who appointed her. Be wary around her.
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10 Apr, 2024 by Aileen grech
01 Aug, 2023 by Regina sharpe
Dalma Grandjean showed up 45 minutes late to court, with her hair messed up, stack of ruffled papers, completely unprepared, provided no defense and told me to plea guilty resulting in the judge charging me horribly.... After she had been paid many thousands of dollars to defend me.
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27 Jan, 2020 by Charles garland
15 Jan, 2020 by Carlos salas
01 Aug, 2023 by Regina sharpe
Dalma Grandjean showed up 45 minutes late to court, with her hair messed up, stack of ruffled papers, completely unprepared, provided no defense and told me to plea guilty resulting in the judge charging me horribly.... After she had been paid many thousands of dollars to defend me.
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27 Jan, 2020 by Charles garland
15 Jan, 2020 by Carlos salas
17 May, 2024 by Terri sullivan
02 Mar, 2024 by Melissa “bipolar bear” smith
06 Feb, 2024 by Erin deliman
23 Apr, 2019 by Anonymous
Mary Ann Thinnes has handled multiple cases on my behalf. She has proven to be assertive as needed and informative during my case. She is an experienced attorney in the Dayton Area. Highly Recommended.
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07 Apr, 2015 by Anonymous
Mary Ann handled my divorce & neglected to tell me that I could have asked my husband to pay for our child's college as part of the agreement. She had a very harsh manner that made it difficult to communicate.
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13 Oct, 2015 by Anonymous
I got this lawyer through Legal Aid of Western Ohio, they referred him to me. I gave him a lot of money to represent me and we talked about making motions and getting custody within 2 years. He made it an absolute promise that I would have my children in the beginning, he said he had done this many times before. After all this time and much money his promises were not fulfilled. There was an instance he didn't show up in court and another instance he told me that the court case was cancelled and then attended it without me. I asked him to file motions on my behalf that I feel would have helped me win the case and he told me that he was 'completely powerless' and 'is not the type of lawyer to file motions'. I really felt abandoned by him and that I had invested my money for no reason. On one occasion the court date had been moved, he was notified and was supposed to notify me, he didn't, so I showed up in court only to be calling him and asking him where he was. Then he explained it was cancelled and he forgot to tell me. What kind of lawyer says "I don't file motions?"
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26 Aug, 2010 by Anonymous
found through a recommendation, will use again
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12 Sep, 2018 by Anonymous
Brian Huelsman was appointed to me as a public defender. I had contacted his office as well as he by phone prior to my hearing. He made no attempt to contact me prior to my hearing, I was only able to consult with him after court proceedings had begun the day of my hearing. At that time there was no to time to review or discuss the charges I faced, he only relayed the information put forth by the prosecutor, he did not provide any advice or opinion he only wanted to know if I wanted to plead guilty or a to schedule a trial date. I ask what good is a public defender who has no inclination of providing advice let alone a defense?
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10 Aug, 2014 by Will
Mr. Huelsman is a GREAT attorney. He kept me well informed about my case and got me the best deal law would allow. I would recommend him with the highest confidence and will retain him again if ever necessary.
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18 Feb, 2024 by Teresa ratliff
Wonderful attorneys! Wonderful people!
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15 Mar, 2023 by Jacqueline collins
Ohio State Bar Association Ethics Board
Re: Complaint Against Attorney Carlo McGinnis
Dear Ethics Board Members,
I am writing to file a formal complaint against Attorney Carlo McGinnis, in connection with the legal representation he provided in our recent case. Regrettably, the experience we had with Mr. McGinnis was far from satisfactory, and we believe his lack of competence and professionalism had a detrimental impact on the outcome of our case.
Upon seeking legal counsel for our case, we were informed by multiple attorneys that we had a strong position and a straightforward path to resolution. It was our belief that any competent attorney would be able to successfully navigate the legal process on our behalf. Unfortunately, we were unaware of Mr. McGinnis's academic background and the fact that he graduated from a law school with a less than stellar reputation.
During the course of the trial, it became evident that Mr. McGinnis was ill-equipped to represent our interests effectively. He was consistently outmaneuvered by the opposing counsel, ultimately leaving our case in a precarious position. There were moments when Mr. McGinnis seemed visibly flustered in the courtroom, turning noticeably red when confronted with questions he appeared unable to answer.
While we acknowledge that Mr. McGinnis may possess some level of legal acumen, particularly in areas such as drafting wills or contracts, we believe that his performance in our case demonstrated a lack of the requisite skill and expertise necessary for successful litigation.
Given the gravity of the situation and the implications of Mr. McGinnis's actions on our case, we respectfully request that the Ethics Board of the Ohio State Bar Association conduct a thorough investigation into this matter. We believe it is vital to uphold the standards of the legal profession and protect clients from the potential consequences of inadequate legal representation.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We are confident that the Ohio State Bar Association will take appropriate measures to address our concerns and ensure that the integrity of the legal profession is maintained.
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02 Feb, 2022 by Ann
He's a very honest and guinuine man. He actually cares about helping people and does make sure to get paperwork and court dates. Never lied and was very straight forward! He helped change my life!
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18 Feb, 2021 by Anonymous
He told me he would do a conference on the day of the hearing prior to the hearing.. That did not take place which had a detrimental effect on the outcome. Then claimed that the phone call about the conference was the conference!
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26 Jan, 2022 by Michael dillon
Arragant
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06 Aug, 2021 by Destiny ballein
He’s a fraud he took a thousand dollars an did nothing as a guardian of Leiden he seen the mother once an father twice made one report an didn’t show up but to one court date an missed the rest. He did nothing in the child’s best interest he never showed up to any visits or did random stops at the house as a lawyer he dose the bare minimum to make a payment he does not understand his job or role of a guardian of linden I wouldn’t never recommend his as any kind of lawyer
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22 Sep, 2020 by Zach burge
01 Aug, 2023 by Regina sharpe
Dalma Grandjean showed up 45 minutes late to court, with her hair messed up, stack of ruffled papers, completely unprepared, provided no defense and told me to plea guilty resulting in the judge charging me horribly.... After she had been paid many thousands of dollars to defend me.
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14 Dec, 2020 by Anonymous
James “Jim” Miller, is a con artist. He was fired from his last few jobs for stealing money. Look up EGCC Jim Miller...he stole money!!!! Never hire him.
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27 Jan, 2020 by Charles garland
01 Aug, 2023 by Regina sharpe
Dalma Grandjean showed up 45 minutes late to court, with her hair messed up, stack of ruffled papers, completely unprepared, provided no defense and told me to plea guilty resulting in the judge charging me horribly.... After she had been paid many thousands of dollars to defend me.
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27 Jan, 2020 by Charles garland
15 Jan, 2020 by Carlos salas
21 Jun, 2023 by Mark
Dave Duwell is the worst attorney you can have. He did no discovery at all in my case over two years. He blew my case. I would recommend that you get someone else.
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04 Mar, 2019 by Anonymous
Easy to work with. Up-front, honest and always look out for my best interest. Have always been quick to get back to me and never waste my time i.e. money.
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02 Jan, 2013 by Anonymous
I had an open and shut case, documented proof, and the person that caused the harassment was in jail on other charges WHILE I was reporting him. It was a solid case. We settled out of court. Even though it was settled, I was disappointed in Mr. Duwell's behavior. Every time he sent me a letter to review that he sent to the opposing side, it was full of grammar mistakes and misspellings. That would have been fine, but the frustration level rose when it was sooo hard to get a call back. If he had nothing to report, he should have said that, not just not return my phone calls. The only time I really got a call back is when I would call his secretary and ask to make an appointment. Then I would get a call. Not impressed. Glad sites like this exist to tell my side of the story, I have been looking for a lawyer review site since 2009. When you call around asking to speak to lawyers, they all tell you you have to pay $80-$200 dollars just for a consultation. And, when you talk to them, they say they can't give you references because its all confidential. So, without these sites you can't even do a good background check before you have to pay a large fee to find out if they will even take your case or not. I will use this site definitely for the future for this opportunity. I have worked with lawyers in the past, some responsive, some not. I will always go with the responsive ones as that is very important to me in a client relationship; especially when I am the client.
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22 Aug, 2022 by Darryl thomas
I had the honor to meet Tom eight years ago. I'm forever thankful that I have him as my legal representation. He has assisted me in small matters that other big name lawyers, such Vanoy and Gil Switala, we're unwilling to do. His background and expertise is profound. He also has an excellent reputation among the judges in the Miami Valley area. He is very efficient in providing appropriate costing legal representation and has assisted my whole entire family with all types of issues, even the small claims court and traffic offenses. For Tom, to not have a phone tree of paralegals and secretaries to decide if he wants to take your call, He has remained throughout the years to be productive, efficient, and not "too big" for his loyal and long lasting clients. I don't know what the other reviews are even talking about, however, while I was deployed Tom handled matters while I was fighting for this country and assisted my wife. I'm honored to have him as my lawyer, and privileged to serve a country with Thomas Manning, ESQ practicing law. Tom Manning is my "Lincoln Lawyer", however he is better than a Lincoln Lawyer. Thank you Tom for nine years of representation, sir!!!
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03 Jul, 2018 by Renee
I hired Tom Manning to represent me in family court. He did very little to help. He had another lawyer that had no knowledge of my case show up in his place the day of court. Nothing went the way it should until I fired him and hired a lawyer that went in and cleaned house. I would never recommend Manning.
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21 Mar, 2010 by Anonymous
Since he does not have his business address, I cannot confirm this is the same attorney; however, if your Thomas Manning uses a PO Box as his address --- this is likely him. This guy PAINFULLY slow to do anything. His knowledge in the field of DIVORCE is sub-par...when told to leave things conditions out of a dissolution agreement...he disregards the clients wishes and enters the information ... causing delays and rework at the clients expense. I would NOT recommend this using this attorney for a dissolution let alone a divorce.
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18 Apr, 2021 by Anonymous
I Hired Mr. Wright and retained his services in regards to a injury due to a product.
After hiring Mr. Wright it took over 5 years to settle the case and I am not happy with the outcome as I feel he was not fighting for me like I thought he would. I constantly had to call to get updates throughout the years, and I was not happy with the secretaries lack of knowledge regarding my issue.
I feel I could have done better representing myself than hiring Mr. Wright.
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13 Apr, 2021 by Anonymous
I hired Mr. Wright in regards to the just for men lawsuit I hired him and retained his office to help me settle the case after my life changing injuries. Instead I got a low settlement and he did not fight for me , and now I'm left dealing with this pain. This is my opinion and experience.
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24 Dec, 2014 by Anonymous
I contacted Michael Wright's office about my concern about a case he was handling. The office was patient and thorough and addressed my concerns.
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15 Dec, 2023 by Lori wilson
Extremely expensive for services provided..Non-communicative. Finally, I had to seek other legal council to distribute irrevocable trust funds from an estate. Felt like my business not important to the firm.
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07 Nov, 2023 by Bradley bohus
Rude, inconsiderate, incompetent law firm.
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06 Nov, 2023 by Naiz vega
15 Dec, 2023 by Lori wilson
Extremely expensive for services provided..Non-communicative. Finally, I had to seek other legal council to distribute irrevocable trust funds from an estate. Felt like my business not important to the firm.
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07 Nov, 2023 by Bradley bohus
Rude, inconsiderate, incompetent law firm.
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06 Nov, 2023 by Naiz vega
15 Dec, 2023 by Lori wilson
Extremely expensive for services provided..Non-communicative. Finally, I had to seek other legal council to distribute irrevocable trust funds from an estate. Felt like my business not important to the firm.
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07 Nov, 2023 by Bradley bohus
Rude, inconsiderate, incompetent law firm.
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06 Nov, 2023 by Naiz vega
15 Dec, 2023 by Lori wilson
Extremely expensive for services provided..Non-communicative. Finally, I had to seek other legal council to distribute irrevocable trust funds from an estate. Felt like my business not important to the firm.
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07 Nov, 2023 by Bradley bohus
Rude, inconsiderate, incompetent law firm.
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06 Nov, 2023 by Naiz vega
10 Oct, 2022 by Alicia
Sarah is an amazing lawyer and I wouldn’t hire anyone else! She kept me updated with everything going on and she was so professional. I would definitely hire her again in the future if needed!
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05 Aug, 2021 by Anonymous
As others in her review had mentioned, her and the paralegal Peggy returned calls or emails. I felt as though she did not fight for me at all. Paralegal Peggy was borderline rude with answers and advice when I couldn't get thru to Ms. Decker-Hall. I believe she is not with Fox Law anymore, but where ever she lands at, STAY AWAY!
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08 Jun, 2021 by Anonymous
I hired her October 8
To fight my kids mom who took off to Vegas with the kids!
The day I hired her I told her I was in a crunch for time.
Only for her to wait till the last possible day I could file!
When it came time for court she showed up right at the time of my court
The phone call the night before didn’t ask 1 time if I was good with dates!!!!!!!!!!!
Soon as she walked into court she asked my gf if I was good with dates!!!
I had till the 26 to file
I told her the 28 from what I was told
Needless to say if she would have done her job and filed within a week of me hiring her I would have won!!
But now I’m out the money for filing and something else
Which I find a bunch of bs seems how you never had time to call me or do your job
Do yourself a favor and don’t even think about hiring her
Waste of your time & money
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27 Jan, 2024 by Anonymous
I do not like to disparage another person, but the management of my case was continually unprofessional. Simple things like failing to bring proof of my income to a temporary orders hearing—the most essential document— requesting multiple times the same document that I had previously sent and blaming me when the other party expressed frustration for her mishandling papers. She didn’t respond to emailed concerns. She scapegoated me to the other party as I saw in conversation threads and only skimmed my messages regularly as I could see by her response—one time acting very dramatic about the shock of something I mentioned in a previous email she replied casually to when later it was an issue for the other party. At 35 days to the trial, I confronted her on various concerns which I had previous brought up and that second opinions from other lawyers seperately identified where she was failing. She withdrew that day as counsel rather than demonstrating accountability and maturely responding to my concerns and I was left to myself at the trial. The outcome was dismal because of her unethical behavior and my family with many children is permanently harmed.
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20 Mar, 2022 by Kevin
I used Duff back in 2006 for a divorce. The case lasted 2 years and cost me a fortune. She did not answer phone calls or emails. She does not have her clients best interest at heart. She is a scammer who makes deals with other attorneys depending on whose turn it is to win. I am still paying in some aspects of life due to her negligence.
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28 Mar, 2021 by Anonymous
I hired Trisha for my divorce. She did not return calls or emails usually for weeks. When I did sit down with her, she was brusk and did not take my concerns seriously. I felt like she was more interested in playing nice with the other attorney than advocating for what was most important for my child. In the end, I have an agreement that is so poorly written, that no one can figure out what should happen. Several lawyers have also told me how inappropriate the agreement Trisha pushed me into is for my situation.
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09 Oct, 2021 by Dee
Did his job very poorly. Did NOT do what was in the best interest of the child despite everything he knew. Thankfully our heavenly father stepped in and had the parenting modified. Very unprofessional
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23 Aug, 2013 by Darrick
After taking my money his zeal to go out and get information was poor. He showed very poor skill of communication ,being a skilled professional . his knowledge of the law was not as sharp as one to charge the amount of money he received from me. He had me to dig up my own evidence to defend myself. I seen his laziness from the beginning to the end of my case, which by the way he loss. I felt it was because he didn't,t prepare.
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31 Aug, 2012 by Jade
Once Ben Swift received the retainer in my child custody case, his concern waned. He was unresponsive to calls or emails from me and once missed a filing deadline. Needless to say, my child custody case had devastating results. I had to settle for an unfair decision. Once I took my business elsewhere, I had to spend thousands of dollars to undo the damage Ben's laziness and ignorance of the law cost myself and my daughter. Fortunately, a true professional was able to rectify this case. I would never recommend Ben's services (and I use the term loosely).
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26 Oct, 2019 by Anonymous
Unbelievable high fee, $3,500, he requires for work he does not perform. He could not even or was too lazy to find our previous court case that was relevant to our current case, which would have lessened the punishment. We had to find that ourselves and send it to him! Do not be per sumptuous that the more money you spend the better result you’ll receive. I saw these two bad reviews of his and chose to ignore them because someone I knew used Brian and seemed to have received a decent result, only to find out they spent way more than our $3500.I also know of another person who used a different attorney for only $1000 and received a huge positive result. The two other cases that I am referring to were for the same charge as ours, OVI. Brian obviously does not keep in mind that a referral basis is necessary for his business.
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27 Aug, 2017 by Anonymous
Hired this man. Was a huge mistake. Cost a fortune. Was charged for his mistakes. I think this man has no soul.
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16 Mar, 2016 by Anonymous
Best way I can describe him is that he is a "better call Saul" lawyer. He didn't care about me, my particular case or my wishes. He did VERY little work for A LOT of money. The only reason he even has one star is because I had to put at least one. He has made it more difficult to get the things I want when it could have been easy to get it to begin, he just didn't want to put in the effort.
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22 Mar, 2024 by Florida33181
This is my opinion and based on my 5 months of being a client. I really felt I was given what I wanted to hear from Steve when I questioned him about representing me as my new lawyer in my divorce case. He was responsive for the first two months via email and phone calls and even texts. Then everything changed and I don't know why. My calls and emails went unreturned for weeks and his admin would tell me she was working on getting a con call set up and then nothing. I would call back in a week and receive more excuses. The opposing counsel is difficult at best to deal with and in my opinion just pushed Steve around. I was forced to file an extension of my 2009 taxes because of lawyers from both sides. My case did not move along and we were not prepared to go to trial so I had to eventually find new counsel.
In my opinion I would not recommend Steve for a divorce lawyer and would suggest you find a lawyer who specializes in Family Law
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10 Dec, 2013 by Dennis
I hired Steve for OVI charges. His fee was 3500.00, but what I got for that I believe I could have done just as well arguing for myself. He was on time to the several court hearings, but that is about the only positive thing that I could say with my experience with the man. Each time we met at the court , he would go behind closed doors to talk to the prosecutor which is probably the norm. He didn't hardly explain anything to me afterwards about what went on or what was said. As I write this review, I'm still waiting for him to return two previous phone calls that I made to his office within the last week. He hasn't returned one of them. After the court sessions, he would just state let's go home and told me when we were suppose to meet again. In the end, I feel he didn't fight near hard enough for me. I think I was basically an easy payday for him. I don't feel he explain my situation well enough to the prosecutor or judge. In my opinion, Steven didn't me justice in the court room and it cost me a lot of money.
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23 Jul, 2015 by Donald
John really represented me well and was aggressive with the opposition to get the result I deserved and desired. He was very easy and available to communicte with and kept me posted on the progress of my case.
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23 Jul, 2015 by Don
John was very helpful in getting my case done. He was aggressive with the other side and got the result I wanted and deserved. He kept me up to date on the progress of the case and was very easy to communicate with. Would highly recommend him.
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30 Aug, 2021 by Anonymous
Tends to use legal language. Will not answer questions unless you make an appointment. Left me with legal issues and questions unanswered.
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08 Apr, 2023 by Anonymous
Meghan Richmond seemed very misleading to the point of blatant dishonesty. She seemed very inexperienced. Even in small talk she appeared to be very inexperienced in life in general as well. Basically seemed like a child with a law degree. If your case matters to you do yourself a big favor and find a different attorney or refuse her if her firm tries to appoint her to your case.
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20 Nov, 2023 by Anonymous
I give this guy a big fat NOPE. He took $350 from us to write a letter on our behalf. He never wrote the letter and we never again heard from him. We tried to contact him, and even went by his office - he had closed up shop and was nowhere to be found.
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06 Jun, 2012 by Unhappy with henke
I hired Mr Henke to handle a case for me. He did not accompany me to the deposition or keep me up to date with my case. Approximately 1 week before we went to trial he decided to review the case and suddenly was not aware of things that were disclosed in the preliminary documents and the transcription of my deposition. He advised me that I should not continue on with the case due the attractive nuisance laws in the state of Ohio. Apparently there were not enough comparable cases to support our claim. He told me that it was in my best interest to not continue to trial because we would likely lose. I spent approximately 1 year dealing with this drama and was advised to walk away owing him approximately $4000 additional to what I had already paid during the course of the case. When I went to court for my final hearing to drop the case he sent his previous partner with me. His partner told me that he had advised him not to take the case initially and that he responded with "it's easy money one way or another". Wow!!! I had a tragic event in my life and it was just easy money. I don't see how the man can live with himself. I have talked with other attorneys since this event and was told by those attorneys that I would have more than likely won regardless. I realize that no amount of money was going to make me happy again, but I felt that the parties responsible should have been held responsible and had I had an attorney who participated in my case during the entire course, things would have ended differently.
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21 Mar, 2023 by Anonymous
A hired Mr. Stowers for what should have been a simple case. The court even told me it should be easy, I just needed help with the paperwork to get things done. I provided him with everything he needed. Case was never opened and the billing department demanded I pay more money for him to continue even though I had half my retainer fee left. Mr. Stowers told me he would have them wait until the case was opened. Billing told me he told them he never said that. I can’t trust them to be working for me so I fired him. A couple weeks later, I’m still waiting on the remainder of my money to be returned.
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Discuss any additional expenses that may arise during the case. -
Negotiating Fees:
Some lawyers may be willing to negotiate fees or offer payment plans, especially for clients with financial constraints. -
Pro Bono Services:
For those who cannot afford legal services, some lawyers or legal aid organizations offer services at reduced rates or for free.
