Need to file a complaint?
BBB is here to help. We'll guide you through the process.
Complaint Details
Note that complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. See details.
Initial Complaint
03/24/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I retained Mr. Brian ******* of The ******* Law Group, to represent me in a family law matter in the ****** Superior Court. After meeting with Mr* ******* and paying a retainer fee of $********, I was scheduled to meet with his paralegal to discuss my case and prepare for an upcoming court hearing. I was contacted by his paralegal via phone and after a few minutes of discussing what needed to be done in the case, the paralegal informed me she would be unable to help and referred me back to speak with the attorney, Mr. *******. I then spoke to Mr* ******* and received a late phone call, that lasted only a few moments that seemed extremely unprofessional. At this point in time I decided not to have Mr* ******* and his law group represent me any further in my case and began seeking a refund. I did not file a substitution of attorney with the court, nor did I sign a substitution of attorney form. At the court hearing, Mr* ******* appeared remotely, unexpectedly, even though I had not signed his substitution of attorney form, and informed the court he was uninformed of what was going on and had not been substituted as my attorney. I again continued to seek a refund and was continuously ignored by his office and even rudely told I would not be refunded. On the next court hearing, Mr. *******, again appeared remotely, without being substituted as my attorney, and again informed the court he was uninformed regarding my case and had not received a substitution of attorney. I continued to contact Mr* ******* and was rudely informed by his office manager that I would not be refunded my retainer fee of $********. Shortly after this conversation I was sent an invoice for $5,010.00, from The ******* Law Group, with 3 pages of work they claimed was performed, none of which they have proof of. Mr* ******* was never substituted as my attorney, never filed a single document on my behalf, and both of the remote appearances by Mr* ******* were without my permission.Business response
04/07/2023
Dear *******:My firm was retained by this client pursuant to a written fee agreement. We performed legal research and analysis as requested and asked the client for specific evidence which was required in order tosupport the client's arguments in the underlying matter. The client refused to supply the requested information. As a result of this lack of evidence we were not able to assist the client in this matter.Should you have any further questions regarding this matter, please give me a call.Sincerely,***** *. *******, ***.Business response
05/01/2023
Ladies & Gentlemen:I was retained by the complaining client and performed extensive legal work for him. I appeared in ****** County Superior Court on his behalf. We prepared legal documents based upon his representations regarding evidence he told me he had in his possession in order to support legal claims. Unfortunately, the client never produced the evidence required to support his case. I provided the client with an itemized bill which reflected all time spent on his case by my law firm. Should you have any further questions regarding this matter, please let me know.***** *. *******, ***.The ******* Law Group**** ** **** ******* ***** *********, California *****Cell: ************Telephone: 5***********Facsimile: 5***********Customer response
05/02/2023
I am rejecting this response because:
Mr* ******* and his law group continue to make false claims that they provided "extensive" legal research regarding my case and provided me with legal assistance, which never occurred. As I have included evidence, correspondence, and other proofs showing that this was and still is not the case.
Any and all claims made by Mr* ******* and his law group are false in their entirety and they have continued to fail to provide any such proof that such extensive work was completed. Not a single document was filed on my behalf or provided to me as proof that this work was done or completed. A retainer fee for legal services does not include funds for tuition to send Mr* ******* and his law group to legal school.
As further evidence, I have attached the entire true and correct, Case Docket, for Case No. ***********. This docket includes all events and hearings that occurred in the case and I have highlighted the events and hearings that correspond with the dates and times that is billed on the invoice sent to me by Mr* ******* and his law group.What the docket and further evidence, unmistakably, shows is:
1. There was never a substitution of attorney filed by Mr* ******* or his law group to represent me during this time, nor was one ever signed by me.2. Absolutely none of the Events (Court Filings), were filed by Mr* ******* or his law group on my behalf. To this day, I have never been provided with a single legal document, motion, or otherwise that was completed by Mr* ******* or his law group.
3. The only (2) two Court Hearings that Mr* ******* appeared for during that time period was:
- 12/13/2021 (Mr* ******* appeared via Zoom) - I have included a copy of the true and correct Minute Order of this hearing in which it specifically states that, "Court will grant the continuance request and Attorney ******* is to file his Substitution of Attorney Form and response with the court no later than 12/22/2021", no Substitution of Attorney was ever signed by me or filed by Mr* ******* or his law group, and no Response was ever provided to me to sign, nor was a response ever filed. Mr* ******* and his law group have also failed to provide any proof this was ever completed or filed in defense of their charges.
- 01/06/2022 (Mr* ******* appeared via Zoom) - I have included a copy of the true and correct Minute Order of this hearing in which it specifically states that, "Attorney Packer informed the court that she has never receive the Substitution of Attorney form from Attorney *******. Attorney ******* states he has sent the form to ****** ***** to sign weeks ago and his office is waiting to receive back from ****** *****. Attorney ******* states he will get that back and will get it filed soon". During this time, I never returned or signed the Substitution of Attorney because I was already requesting a refund and no longer seeking representation from Mr* ******* and his law group.
In conclusion, this is a very straight forward refund request as Mr* ******* did not earn the $******** paid to him and in accordance with Rule 1.5 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, Mr* ******* must refund me the unearned portion of my retainer fee. Mr* ******* appeared via Zoom for (2) two court hearings, that he was unauthorized to appear for, as well as unprepared for. Mr* ******* and his law group have ignored my requests for a refund, and instead have drawn up a bogus, fraudulent invoice claiming that they performed numerous line items of work that some how perfectly added up to $5,010.00 ($10.00 more than the amount paid to him), work that was never actually completed and Mr* ******* and his law group have failed to provide anything proving otherwise.
I have requested complete certified transcripts from the Court Reporters that were in each of those court hearings, which should be received shortly showing exactly what was said. I have also ordered certified copies of all of the Court Filings and Minute Orders that correspond with the highlighted dates to show that nothing was ever filed in this case by Attorney Brian *******. (It also would not have been possible for Mr* ******* to file anything, as he was never substituted as a party in the case).
Mr* ******* and his Law Group need to do the right, legal, thing and refund me the money I paid, that they did not earn. This type of behavior is unethical, unprofessional, and illegal.
Initial Complaint
01/31/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I retained this attorney in july 2021 For child custody. He had the gift of gab sold me on his services and took 4500 to address my case. We had an order made aug 12 2021, i had asked for a copy for months did not receive my copy till the week of jan 10 2022. Finding out there has been may violations and now i cant report this. One reason i hired an attorney was to address all this stuff. He has not addressed ant thing or in a timly matter. By late aug 2021 he became inpossible to get a hold of so was his paralegal. Nothing in the concrat was addressed. he dose not know family law at all. he has called me a criminal and started working against me with the family that has done nothing but lie about everything. He had the Judge yell at him every court session. I payed in full so i was not deliquent on payments and he has not provided any thing that is in my contract. would go months with out hearing from him. didnt file stuff properly or on time. The judge was always mad at him because he is not educated in family law. he created a bigger mess that is costing me so much more money and I have almost lost my child due to him. My childs father beat us severly and lost all his parental rights stll on felony probation. i have all the documentation for well.Business response
02/07/2022
Prior to hiring me for her child custody case, this client was charged with two felony counts of Driving Under the Influence and child endangerment since her young daughter was present in the vehicle on both occasions when she was arrested. Because of these very serious charges, this has been a very difficult case. However, through many hard fought hearings, I have allowed her to retain primary custody of her child despite the pending felonies. I am an expert in family law and was recently given an AV or "Pre-eminent" rating by the widely respected **********-Hubble organization. This is an attempt by the client to avoid an outstanding invoice in the amount of $7,979.50. I have been an attorney since 1991 and take great pride in the professionalism and dedication I provide for my clients on a daily basis. The **********-******* rating system is described in detail below:**********-******* Attorney Peer Ratings and Client Reviews
For more than 130 years, **********-******* has been evaluating attorneys for their strong legal ability and high ethical standards through a Peer Review Rating system. Prior to the 1887 edition of **********’s American Law Directory, which was the first publication to provide such ratings to attorneys, there was no way of truly knowing if the lawyer you were considering to do business with was trustworthy, ethical, or skilled in the legal field.
Today - **********-******* continues to provide verified ratings for attorneys based not only on their legal ability and ethical standards as judged by their peers, but also based on reviews from their clients. While the criteria and format of the Peer Review Rating system has evolved since the 1800’s - the goal of **********-******* ratings remains the same: to help keep the public informed when making the decision to do business with an attorney or law firm.
**********-******* Peer Review Ratings
AV Preeminent, Distinguished and Notable
Peer Review Rating Awards
Historically the **********-*******® Peer Review Ratings™ system utilized an “A - B - C” scale to estimate the legal ability and ethical standards of an attorney. To qualify for an “A” rating an attorney had to be reported as “Very High” in their legal ability and had been practicing for at least 10 years, a “B” rating meant an attorney was rated “High” and had to be practicing for at least 5 years, and a “C” rating meant that the attorney was rated “fair” with no limitations on how long they were practicing. A second rating was also given to go along with the “A - B - C” rating and that was a “V,” meaning that the attorney's peers stated they had "Very High" ethical standards. Over the years this transitioned to “AV”, “BV”, and “CV” ratings - with an “AV” rating meaning that the attorney had reached the highest of professional excellence and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity.
Today, **********-******* conducts a thorough review of attorneys who wish to receive a **********-*******® Peer Review Ratings™, through a secure online peer review survey where a lawyer’s ethical standards and legal ability in a specific area of practice is assessed by their peers. Once the review process is completed an attorney may receive 1 of the following **********-*******® Peer Review Ratings™:
AV Preeminent®: The highest peer rating standard. This is given to attorneys who are ranked at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards by their peers.
Distinguished: An excellent rating for an attorney who has some experience and is widely respected by their peers for their professional achievement and ethical standards.
Notable: A rating given to a lawyer who has been recognized by a large number of their peers for their strong ethical standardsIn sum, I have done an excellent job for this client. Not only is a refund not warranted, I will be sending her bill to collections in order to recover the outstanding amount owed for my exceptional services. Should you have any other questions, please call me at (***) ***-****.
Very Truly Yours,
***** ** ******** ****
Customer response
02/08/2022
I am rejecting this response because:
THis is a lie and i can prove that i do not have any DUIs at this time nor have i lost my child or had any issues with endangering her. Again i can prove this. This false claims.Business response
02/10/2022
I am confused and perplexed by Ms. *********** response. I am attaching her paperwork that was filed in court, and the current charges pending from ****** County, and ****** County. Unfortunately she does not understand that this information is public record, and that she does indeed have DUI cases that are still pending.Regards,***** * ******** ****
Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩
BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.
BBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles.
When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.
BBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for a BBB Business Profile.
As a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business. Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation.