Reviews

I hired Michael back in 2016. I was having trouble with my son's father and gaining custody. Michael was ok in the beginning. We went over scenarios and what I was trying to accomplish. I received a job opportunity in Columbus and Michael was able to help with getting the relocation approved. We were also working on child support, which is still an ongoing issue. My complaint against Michael, is it states in his disclosure, that I signed, that I would keep a balance of $1000 in my retainer and I would receive monthly invoices. He has asked for more money to be added, without giving me any invoices of balances and moneys owed. In my desperation, I went ahead and paid him. $5500 is the total I paid him. It's 2018 and in the 2 years I retained Michael, I never received an invoice, not for the lack of trying. I did request invoices periodically. It was just a few weeks ago I finally received one. It showed I owed him $3000. His invoice stated that in order to continue, I would need to apply $1500 towards it. I was shocked. I'm a single mom, and I work 2 jobs to make ends meet. My son's father is oil and gas and makes way more than I do. The child support is reflecting what it was when he was unemployed last year. I asked Michael to file motion to modify back in the summer of 2017, and he failed to do so. Now, Michael demanded the balance in order to continue, even though on the phone he said he wasn't worried about it. I sent an email back, stating there was no way I could come up with $3000 in a few weeks. He then stated that he would no longer represent me. He did state he would not seek further action for me to pay the balance, but this puts in me in a very bad position, considering I had to move to have a better career. I'm 2 hours away from the courts system where all of this is being held. Michael filed the modification, but had not serve my son's father. So now I'm scrambling to get my son's father served. This lawyer left me to fend for myself in the middle of my battle. I would have been able to manage my retainer better if I had the invoices I asked for since the beginning. Michael made it seem like my needs were not worth the effort for him. I would not recommend him in the future.