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09 Jan, 2024 by Tj forystek
I was referred to this group for a special needs trust. They basically charged me over $450.00, didn't listen, made assumptions, and finally said they were "too expensive" but have to bill me for the first hour. Needless to say, I ended the engagement. I would not recommend this law firm to anyone unless you're interested in wasting money on expensive, inexperienced lawyers that don't take their time to review your request but still charge their high rate.
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09 Nov, 2023 by Jack klein
Awful firm, terrible people. I have nothing but negative things to say about them.
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23 Aug, 2023 by Hannah erickson
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16 Dec, 2023 by Adam lindahl
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25 Aug, 2021 by Maggie ripsin
I am proud to say I work with this wonderful group of people.
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27 Aug, 2019 by Adryauna crawford-townsend
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16 Dec, 2023 by Adam lindahl
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25 Aug, 2021 by Maggie ripsin
I am proud to say I work with this wonderful group of people.
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27 Aug, 2019 by Adryauna crawford-townsend
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16 Dec, 2023 by Adam lindahl
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25 Aug, 2021 by Maggie ripsin
I am proud to say I work with this wonderful group of people.
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27 Aug, 2019 by Adryauna crawford-townsend
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16 Dec, 2023 by Adam lindahl
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25 Aug, 2021 by Maggie ripsin
I am proud to say I work with this wonderful group of people.
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27 Aug, 2019 by Adryauna crawford-townsend
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18 Mar, 2024 by Andrew
I hired this attorney for my workman's compensation case. At first it seemed like she was almost siding with the other side and trying to get me to settle, Including signing a release and resignation form... I knew better and I refused it. Eventually, the lawyer representing me for my I.Personal suit against the company.I worked for sent a letter of intent out and oddly enough within a couple of days.There was an offer to settle from the workman's conversation lawyers on the other side, This time with no form for release and resignation. I got my child support paid for I got accurate information. In diesel and chunks as time went on rather than what would have been much more settling and comforting if I had learned it all at once... Nevertheless I consider the outcome in my case a success... Now I'm just trying to figure out if my lawyer from my personal suit is getting all of the information from the workman's compensation suit as I requested.
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08 May, 2021 by Anonymous
was used for workers comp case. she ruined my case from day one. would not recommend to anyone. stay away
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17 Sep, 2024 by Moira walsh
Professional. Honest. As with any service, be very specific when you communicate your needs.
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23 Aug, 2024 by David nogle
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17 Sep, 2024 by Moira walsh
Professional. Honest. As with any service, be very specific when you communicate your needs.
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23 Aug, 2024 by David nogle
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20 May, 2022 by Wicca leaks
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18 Apr, 2021 by Paul emile
Really good service as always. Staff is really helpful
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02 Feb, 2021 by Cody strasburg
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08 Aug, 2023 by Title search
Dear Bernick Lifson P.A., We understand that you found our service difficult to understand, our company has been practically dedicated to this type of international transactions for over 3 decades and as you can confirm we have been in business since 1984 maintaining an excellent reputation. The main reason why we are talking about our reputation is because your company is making very delicate allegations in which you are trying to defame us and when we ask for evidence or solid proof that we are engaged in such practices you simply refuse to provide it or even answer the calls of our legal consultants which we consider quite unethical and unprofessional, but we will take the necessary legal actions as your false allegations may affect our business. We adhere to the highest standards and focus on providing exceptional services. We expect a public apology since our mutual client is being affected financially due to these allegations and instead of protecting his interests he is about to lose a considerable amount of money thanks to you. For the time being I do not recommend this firm and advise you to be very careful. Respectfully Peter M. Ayers CEO/ Title Search U.S.A. INC.
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19 Apr, 2023 by David freeman
Over many years in business I have had the opportunity to work with several different attorneys at B&L. They are all top quality attorneys. I have worked with many law firms over the years and they are the absolute best!!!
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02 Mar, 2023 by Sydney hlavka
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19 Mar, 2024 by Anonymous
Terrible attorney. Unorganized, unaware and over the course of nearly a year and a half did not one thing for my case. Do not hire this guy if you're looking for anything effective to happen.
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06 Sep, 2023 by Joe
His own words, "I've been doing this a long time, she is the most evil ex I have ever had to deal with". This by far has been the worst 2 years of life I have lived. I had a conversation with the child support lady. She said my job is to collect payments, you need to file a motion to have your child support lowered. This was ordered April 24th 2022. I'm making 8 dollars an hour and I'm getting bills for 925$. My take home a month total was 600$. Ex lied on the support paper work and filed it. Does anyone do there job to make sure the numbers are accurate.... NOPE. So it gets filed and here comes the bill. It's really difficult to live in this time of inflation and survive on 600$ a month. I didn't get a rule book when I got married and have absolutely no clue on how this whole process even works. I told him I have been saving up I got 350$ in the bank should I make a child support payment? "No, it's not important ". He said. I told him and asked several times. I need my child support changed, something not right and I don't know who set the amount but I don't even make that much right now. Something needs to be done. I need a motion filed to change it. No motion was ever filed, and I didn't make the payment. So court date comes and judge says, since there was no motion filed and no payments made, your guilty on contemp. He is 325$ an hour. I even followed the judges orders to collect some furniture from my house. Had a cop with he was angered I even called for this. But she disputed everything but my clothes. I asked him what do I do now? I'll bring it up to the judge. Did that happen. No. So we finally get to mediation and I told him there is no way she will agree to anything. The mediation lady a retired judge. Was absolutely horrible. It was 1000$ for the first time. We never got passed stuff to do with my child. So we had to do another one. And still no agreement. I wanted to bet him over the agreement. He wouldn't do it. So now we are going to trial, he tells me " I need 40k to do your trial". I said" John you haven't got me one dime yet, your bill is at 50k and what do I even have to show for it? a huge stack of papers?" He also at the beginning said my other attorney didn't do anything and I could sue her and he would help. I said file a case against her and you can keep the 10k. "I would never sue an attorney that wouldn't look good". so I ended up representing myself in trial, it was 2 days. It should be a crime to even think 40k for 2 days work. There was so much missing from my case. I thought everything that is brought up, and in every court date means it's on file.... I mean why even have someone be typing it up right. I had given the ex 8k in cash I did have her sign pieces of paper but I ended up losing them and her attorney said yeah he gave her the money all but the last 1800...lol it was funny to me because the payments for the Lexus was 1760. I will say this he is very quick to respond but that's because that's where he makes his money. My ex used to be a paralegal, she danced right around him. The decision was left up to the judge, I am absolutely stunned on how he even has a job.
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18 Aug, 2008 by Anonymous
Jon Miller was caring, professional, and aggressive.
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08 Aug, 2023 by Title search
Dear Bernick Lifson P.A., We understand that you found our service difficult to understand, our company has been practically dedicated to this type of international transactions for over 3 decades and as you can confirm we have been in business since 1984 maintaining an excellent reputation. The main reason why we are talking about our reputation is because your company is making very delicate allegations in which you are trying to defame us and when we ask for evidence or solid proof that we are engaged in such practices you simply refuse to provide it or even answer the calls of our legal consultants which we consider quite unethical and unprofessional, but we will take the necessary legal actions as your false allegations may affect our business. We adhere to the highest standards and focus on providing exceptional services. We expect a public apology since our mutual client is being affected financially due to these allegations and instead of protecting his interests he is about to lose a considerable amount of money thanks to you. For the time being I do not recommend this firm and advise you to be very careful. Respectfully Peter M. Ayers CEO/ Title Search U.S.A. INC.
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19 Apr, 2023 by David freeman
Over many years in business I have had the opportunity to work with several different attorneys at B&L. They are all top quality attorneys. I have worked with many law firms over the years and they are the absolute best!!!
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02 Mar, 2023 by Sydney hlavka
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06 May, 2024 by Peju nordvik
Now I know why this law firm has a 2.9 review. people, believe the reviews! Pro: Sarah, the Paralegal, was such a nice person, great conversation and timely response. Now lets get to Mr. Nate or Nathan Con: 1. he autocorrected my name to "peru"... okay, I can see that happening. 2. I painstakingly filled the form, got to the phone call and this is how it went He was talking about will, trust, power of attorney etc. (keep in mind he already knows my family's worth), and like educated people that we are, we had questions (plus, he was speaking fast too, so I had to halt him to repeat some things). Please ask me why after the 2nd question this "fragile ego entity" decided to tell me I was arguing with him and if I wanted to argue he can't be our lawyer. I was stunned (like where did this come from). And my husband was like :we are just asking questions because we are not the expert and wanted to understand. And he literally said (and I kid you not) I'm not used to people asking me questions right out of the gate ( "sigh in my ancestor's language). Anyway, I just told him, "if you already feel this way just after two questions, how would we be able to ask you questions in the future if we don't understand something. I don't think you are the best fit then". Needless to say, he was like "metlife will find you another lawyer". Dude, I spent hours going through lawyers, no one did the work. Anyway, whatever is wrong with this Nate, he needs to go get some "communication 101" course on his learning path.
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29 Feb, 2024 by Qarni awais
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29 Oct, 2023 by Theresa hopkins
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02 Mar, 2024 by Anonymous
very informative and knowable in many case studies. I would recommend hiring Mr. reed for criminal law.
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03 May, 2023 by Anonymous
He didn't call me when the verdict came in. Communication is poor and I felt under served by my black attorney.
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19 Oct, 2017 by Anonymous
I feel like he didn't put enough effort into really trying to help. He did not ask the right questions even when we told him what to ask. He also repeated questions multiple times, just in a different format. So I feel we just went around in circles and didn't get enough points out in the trial to really prove innocence.
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14 May, 2024 by Anonymous
Obtained Tanner as an injury lawyer after getting hit by a car. Tanner convinced me to settle fast which resulted in a low amount. I agreed with his recommendation since he was the professional. Well after learning what others have received in similar accidents, I should have gone with an attorney who cared. I don’t think Tanner fought for me and just wanted the easy way out by settling. I should have gone with a lawyer that cared and gave more of an effort. I probably would have been better off working with Ask Gary.
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02 Aug, 2012 by Dzmitry
Mr. Almen was the associate who handled my case. I couldn't help but notice that my lawyer did not implement any strategy or a plan in order to negotiate the best possible settlement. It is unfortunate that I had to deal with the mediator myself. I was under the impression that the intent was to settle this case regardless of a settlement amount. The day after the mediation my attorney continued insisting on settling, though I was not satisfied with the amount. My lawyer did not show any effort or desire to continue negotiations with the opposing side. I had to be insistent and spent a lot of time in attempts to encourage my attorney to continue negotiations (and of course I was charged for this time). I was not satisfied with the settlement amount I was offered, but I had to take it, because I was not sure anymore that my interests would be adequately represented during the arbitration. Also, I believe that the settlement amount could be higher if I had received a proper representation during the mediation. I was surprised to see that my bill was not reduced after I had expressed my concerns about the poor representation that I received during the mediation as well as after the mediation.
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11 Apr, 2022 by Anonymous
I had a phone consult with this attorney. Because my story is complicated and heartbreaking, it is difficult to retell it. After a long conversation, he said he would get back to me. He did not do so, even just to say he was not interested.
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25 Feb, 2024 by Anonymous
90% of what your read is right on with Sue. I replayed her words in my head for weeks after. I made sure she know what I thought when I walked out of court. I looked out the 2nd floor window of the Mpls court house. I saw an old woman pulling her black bag down the sidewalk and thought, how can she sleep. Had 3 different attorneys in one yrs work on my case. All 3 quit. 3 mediations, At one, we sat downtown St Paul for 2 hours, nothing was done. I have now found out a 500K life Ins policy, 400k spent on a gf, and more was never discovered. Can't afford anyone to get my unpaid settlement. Everyone she has work on your case is a friend, They all give each other Business. Monica was the only person in the office that had my back and stayed on my case. We lost Monica to cancer. What a fighter! Look a her Law office now. Down to 1 attorney and the worst PL. I had my forensic accountant tell me in the settlement meeting, I should get a 10,000 refund. 75 characters is not enough. Drive as fare away from 494+394 as possible. Beside my marriage, M Sue Law is the worst decision of my life.
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09 Jan, 2024 by Anonymous
Just in it for the money. Won't settle unless it benefits her financially. Do not use!! You've been warned.
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02 Jun, 2023 by Anonymous
If you want to lose all your hard earned money and children’s financial security hire this law firm. Just ask around and you will know how this woman is and what she represents. Avoid at all costs.
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10 Jun, 2024 by Samantha
He seems like he might be a nice guy, but after he agreed to take on our simple case, we've only progressed inches in the 6 months that we hired him. It takes him weeks to respond to emails (after I've sent multiple follow ups) and it's been a month since we cancelled his services, requested our invoice and a refund of the retainer we paid him, and we still haven't received it. Again, probably a nice guy, but I've been nothing but tirelessly disappointed since hiring him and would recommend people look elsewhere for their legal needs.
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08 Apr, 2022 by Lena
It's taken me a lot of internal struggle to write this review (I've honestly never written one before), but ultimately I've come to the conclusion that it's important that nobody else gets into the same situation that my husband and I have been in. We are intended parents in a surrogacy journey and we came to John for both our Gestational Carrier Agreement and our Parentage Agreement/Pre-Birth Order. During our time working with John, he lacked communication and we would often go for weeks without communication. He also failed to meet deadlines on submitting important documents, which almost caused us to miss our transfer date. John apologized for this lack of communication and assured us he would "do better" if we hired him again for our Parentage Agreement/Pre-Birth Order. Once we hired John a second time, we experienced the same negligence and would ghost us for weeks at a time. He would tell us that he would have our drafts ready to go by a certain date, but that day would come and go with no word. This got to the point that our GC's lawyers became involved in trying to get ahold of him. Then, John finally reached out to us letting us know he couldn't provide services and that we should seek other council. He said a refund was on the way, but a week later we hadn't received a refund. I called Square to inquire whether a refund had been initiated and it hadn't. In the end, our new lawyer had to get involved so that John would pay us back.
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20 May, 2021 by Jennifer
The initial phone consult in August for step parent adoption had me very hopeful. We retained (paid) this lawyer on 8/26/20. Received our initial information after consult/retaining 10/13/20. We have received 5 “updates” usually 1-2 months apart and typically after much prodding with no movement in our case. For reference, 3/3/21 was his last email to us and we have asked for updates (any sign of life!) 3 times (and a fourth today). I would really love to get some help for our family but I’m running out of hope that John Buchholz will do anything with our case.
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07 Sep, 2023 by Anonymous
Jade was easily manipulated and favored my ex-wife. Not only do I NOT get to see my kid, Jade overlooked the alienation and mental abuse that my ex-wife has done to my child. Jade prolonged decisions for extended periods of time to gain profit for herself. I was left with thousands of dollars more to pay to my harassing ex-wife on top of child support obligations. Jade opened the door for my ex-wife to be able to harrass me daily and I'm still not be able to see my kid. Very Bias with no morals.
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28 Mar, 2023 by Anonymous
Jade Johnson is a father's rights parenting consultant who will give equal time to the dad no matter what.
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08 Aug, 2022 by Anonymous
Jade did not do a very good job as a parenting consultant. Her work was not thorough. She simply accepted what one party said without further investigation. She misquoted others in her report, and her report contained many factual and typographical errors. Her final report was unprofessional and not at all child focused. Jade’s work was a big disappointment, and I cannot recommend her.
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22 Aug, 2015 by Kathryn
Jennifer represented my husband and I , new homeowners, in a multi-party lawsuit brought forth by our home's general contractor, and countered by us. While Jennifer was well versed in the rule of the law, she was not very savvy in the execution of the law. Most glaring, was her failure to find an acceptable solution for the damages caused by the builder, contractor, and architect, that resulted in our house not being built to code, and not being able to pass inspections. The answer that Jennifer and her experts agreed was acceptable, and the absolute best we could hope for, turned out to be wrong, and completely unacceptable by the county, who had jurisdiction over our house. You would think that when you're being charged upwards of $510.00/hr by Jennifer and another partner, who was "consulting" on our case, that they would at least try to get the solution right. After all, Jennifer does promote herself as an expert in the field of "Construction Law". And why is it that experienced lawyers, who are partners, not associates, require such extensive consultation between one another throughout a case? We've since learned that the Bar does not look kindly on this type of billing practice. It has prompted us to seriously consider have an independent legal-billing audit, of Jennifer's invoices, to determine whether or not we were unfairly charged. When we attended our first mediation, which was not successful, Jennifer seemed disconnected and tired. She yawned excessively throughout the day, and seemed to have a difficult time staying awake in the afternoon. Even if the chances of success are slim, I expect my lawyer to be alert and focused during an important, expensive, process. Following Jennifer's lackluster performance during mediation, we really lost confidence. We privately voiced our concerns to a Senior partner and asked if he would be willing to take over the case. He declined and assured us he was confident in Jennifer's ability. With our legal bills reaching over $75,000 and our legitimate concerns having been "swept" under the rug, we felt put off and stressed out. Soon after, and somewhat by chance, we had the opportunity to discuss our situation with a Minneapolis attorney who was retired from private practice. Having no skin in the game, he was able to provide an honest assessment of our case and give advice about how to proceed. From behind the scenes, he helped steer us out of the money pit we were heading down with Jennifer's style of representation. In the end, we requested a settlement conference with the Judge, which Jennifer denied us, as predicted by the retired attorney. Instead, Jennifer insisted on trying to mediate over the phone. After SIX WEEKS, and lots more billable hours for Jennifer, she settled the case. Not surprising, she got the lion's share of the payout and we ended up with a whopping $,7800.00 on a settlement that was valued over $140,000.00, and we still had to fix all of the problems with our house! Imagine our shock when the county informed us that Jennifer's "expert" solution was unacceptable. It's important to note here that we were charged over $17,000.00 in expert-related fees alone, and not once did Jennifer or her "experts" contact the county. In my opinion, the top motivator for Jennifer, when it comes to being a lawyer, is stacking up billable hours. Unfortunately, she seemed more concerned in representing herself, rather than us. She's was more of a rule follower than a fighter, and she often allowed attorney's for the opposing parties to get away with not following the rules. In the end, she was not very savvy. In cases where a homeowner whom, more than any other party in a construction lawsuit, needs a strong advocate, she was not worth her high prices. I only wish I had read the previous poster's review of Jennifer before hiring her. It was absolutely right on.
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02 Aug, 2012 by Dzmitry
I couldn't help but notice that my lawyer did not implement any strategy or a plan in order to negotiate the best possible settlement. It is unfortunate that I had to deal with the mediator myself. I was under the impression that the intent was to settle this case regardless of a settlement amount. The day after the mediation my attorney continued insisting on settling, though I was not satisfied with the amount. My lawyer did not show any effort or desire to continue negotiations with the opposing side. I had to be insistent and spent a lot of time in attempts to encourage my attorney to continue negotiations (and of course I was charged for this time). I was not satisfied with the settlement amount I was offered, but I had to take it, because I was not sure anymore that my interest would be adequately represented during the arbitration. Also, I believe that settlement amount could be higher if I had received proper representation during the mediation. I was surprised to see that my bill was not reduced after I had expressed my concerns about the poor representation that I received during the mediation as well as after the mediation.
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30 Nov, 2021 by Renee
She is everything the last guy said, and she does cover up for slum lords. She likes to come across as these properties attorney, but will not do what normal civil attorneys do. And Pugh also likes to use her title to intimidate residents. She has sent letters to me threatening that she will remove my cameras if I do not. She takes it upon herself to send out letters threatening residents like this, because the neighbor is a meth head and Pugh doesn't want to deal with the drug addicts, so she goes after the cameras which proves all my claims. ****REPORT HER. the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility, 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 2400, St. Paul, MN 55101-2139, (651) 296-3952.
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05 Aug, 2021 by Lawrence
Shouldn’t even be allowed to practice law in the state Minnesota. Practices unethically! She represents criminal slum lord property managers. Makes a living by throwing by throwing poor people out on the street. This woman is all around bad never hire her for anything she should be ashamed of herself. Should never be taken seriously...
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28 Aug, 2017 by Anonymous
I went to Greenman and Toomey for my court case, and they asigned me to Ryan Miner. He was by far the worst attorney, I ever came acrossed. Although Greenman and Toomey were just as bad, you can't even get questions answered they throw you aside and do absolutely NOTHING! So Before you sign anything know this! IF YOU WANT TO LOSE, SIGN AWAY!!!!!!!!
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21 Mar, 2018 by Anonymous
Zaidee Martin will not fight for the client. She sits back and allows the other party to run the show. She is not aggressive in getting responses or answers for the client or to try and prove the case in their favor. Any time I asked her for status updates she just responded "haven't heard anything" She didn't actively pursue answers.
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10 Mar, 2016 by Kimberly
My child was permanently injured for life. Accepting Stephen Rathke was the worst decision of my life. This lawsuit was against a powerful drug/ formula company. He had years to work on this case. On the plane trip to arrive for the case the next day he still did not know some of the most important information needed to try the case. He did not even understand or know how to lay the required foundation to get the evidence to the jury. The Judge threatened to throw him in federal prision at one point during the trial. He dudnt even offer me the plantiffs a seat at the plantiffs table. After I testified I was sat in room as a audience member. He wouldn't allow my child who is diabled, the very reason for the case to come to court. I saw a document presented and given to the jury that had been altered. I had the original document in my hand. He wouldnt say anything about this. He sat in his chair with his chair turned away from the judge. He seldom objected to obvious things he should have. After day 3 of the trial I questioned if he was working for me or the other side. I told him before the trial he was not ready. That we would lose. He needed to delay the case. So I could find a attorney. He was so incompetent. He would not listen to me at all. I feel I could have won the case without him. My child and I live knowing justice was not served. This man should step down from doing any work that involves the welfare of others. His memory is very bad.
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23 Jan, 2020 by Anonymous
I worked with Sonja for a number of months. Ms. Larson represented me in my divorce. She failed to mention critical details regarding asset valuation that are elementary to even the most inexperienced attorney. Additionally, she clearly had a sexist tilt when advocating for my custody rights. Ultimately, I terminated her employment but not before much damage was done. I do not recommend Sonja C. Larson.
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25 Aug, 2012 by Anonymous
She is difficult, vindictive, and abusive. She complicates proceedings to increase her billable hours. She also makes decisions unilaterally without consulting her client. Hiring this attorney to handle any family dispute will only make things worse. Steer far away from her.
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09 Sep, 2016 by Anonymous
Melissa was an attorney involved in my husband's divorce case. She would lie and make up stories, knowing they were not true, to get what her client needed. If you want a dishonest lawyer, she's the one for you. Just be cautious what you might get in return
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13 Feb, 2023 by Joyce donaldson
I found Margaret listed on business-plans.com as their website which is a company that is defrauding people. I'm not sure if she's involved but she's gotta know what's going on.
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21 Jul, 2021 by Lori halderson
You imbeciles really cannot be serious. All life on earth was destroyed by this hideous indigent's cult. They have no natural ability from inbreeding and they still acting like entitled Royalty which also has already proven to be an idiot's fantasy. Are the brilliant imbeciles aware a plant cannot be grown from their catastrophic damages???
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When meeting with a lawyer for the first time, it's important to ask the right questions to understand their expertise and determine if they're the right fit for your legal needs. Here are some top questions to consider:

  1. What experience do you have with cases similar to mine?
    Ensure the lawyer has relevant experience in the specific area of law pertaining to your case.
  2. How do you charge for your services, and what are the estimated costs?
    Understand the fee structure, including hourly rates, flat fees, retainer fees, and any additional expenses.
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  8. Do you have references from past clients?
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  10. Are there alternative ways to solve my legal problem?
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  2. Experience and Specialization:
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    Honors from reputable organizations reflect expertise and a positive reputation.
  7. Consultation Assessment:
    Use the initial consultation to evaluate their communication skills, responsiveness, and willingness to address your concerns.
  8. Ask for References:
    A credible lawyer should be willing to provide references from past clients.

What Should I Prepare for My First Consultation?

To make the most of your initial meeting with a lawyer, come prepared with:

  1. Relevant Documents:
    Bring all documents related to your case, such as contracts, correspondence, legal notices, court papers, or evidence.
  2. Written Summary:
    Prepare a concise written summary of your situation, including key dates, events, and involved parties.
  3. List of Questions:
    Write down any questions you have about your case, the legal process, or the lawyer's experience.
  4. Financial Information:
    If applicable, bring financial documents like pay stubs, tax returns, or bank statements.
  5. Contact Information:
    Provide details of any witnesses or other parties relevant to your case.
  6. Personal Identification:
    Bring a valid ID for verification purposes.
  7. Pen and Notebook:
    Take notes during the consultation to remember important points.
  8. Budget Constraints:
    Be ready to discuss your budget and any financial limitations.

How Much Does a Lawyer Cost?

The cost of hiring a lawyer varies widely based on several factors:

  • Fee Structures:
    • Hourly Rate:
      Lawyers may charge anywhere from $150 to $500 or more per hour, depending on experience and location.
    • Flat Fee:
      For routine legal services like drafting a will or handling an uncontested divorce, lawyers might offer a flat fee.
    • Retainer Fee:
      An upfront payment against which the lawyer bills hourly fees.
    • Contingency Fee:
      Common in personal injury cases; the lawyer receives a percentage (typically 25% to 40%) of any settlement or award.
    • Monthly Retainer:
      For ongoing services, businesses might pay a monthly fee for a set number of hours or services.
  • Factors Affecting Cost:
    • Complexity of the Case:
      More complex cases require more time and resources, increasing costs.
    • Lawyer's Experience:
      Highly experienced lawyers may charge higher fees.
    • Geographic Location:
      Legal fees can vary significantly by region or city.
    • Additional Expenses:
      Court filing fees, expert witness fees, travel expenses, and administrative costs may be extra.
  • Estimating Total Costs:
    Request a detailed fee agreement outlining all potential costs.
    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.
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