Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired **** Moore Law Group on February 2024. I went to the firm after reading ****'s reviews but upon arrival I was greeted by her junior associate lawyer ******. I was having a custody issue with my ex wife over our two younger children. After explaining the situation to ******, I was told that the question was really what I wanted to do. From the first court appearance to the two other appearances that followed there was no preparation for court and very poor representation throughout. I was left confused as to why the case was on the course it was on as it seemed as the judge was not being informed of the situation and of any of the things that was happening during the process. As there was almost no communication or guidance to me from my lawyer, there was also none to the judge In the form of any written information or explanation of the goings on. I finally had to hire a different law firm and it was at that time that I began to gain understanding of why my case was not making any sense. My new lawyer informed me that my firmer lawyer had not provided the court with any information but only submitted documentation that I had provided him without any explanation of the facts by my lawyer. I did meet with **** mid way through the case with my complaints about ****** and his lack of representation. I asked **** to step in as that was an option that ****** said could take place if needed. **** refused to take over and the case continued to take a negative path. I am just thankful that I did hire a new lawyer before it was to late, it is just sad that I must now pay my new lawyer to essentially start over from the beginning to bring understanding and clarity to the court. **** then offered to drop $600 off the bill, I wasted over $14000 dollars and put my case in a hard place when this should of been a pretty easy issue for her firm to handle. Thank you.

  Business response

  07/12/2024

  **************** and his wife retained our firm after he had been served with documents from his ex-wife for withholding visitation of their children from her.  Thus, we were on the defense in this case from the very beginning.   At our first hearing, the Judge not only ruled against ****************, but made it quite clear that he did not sympathize with his position nor approve of his behavior as a parent.  The Judge even awarded attorney fees to the ex-wife, which is somewhat unusual, but ordinarily intended to send a strong message to the party who did not prevail.  From that point on, the case was labor intensive and a great deal of time was spent preparing and filing various documents with the Court, including lengthy Declarations we prepared and filed from **************** that fully explained his position and the facts, information, and documentation he wanted brought before the Court.  In the meantime, **************** insisted on micromanaging his case and felt that he and his wife knew more about the law and legal proceedings than myself and my other associates.  I did personally meet with the Mercers to explain that if they continued with our firm, my associate, ******, would continue to be the lead attorney on their case, but that I would continue to oversee their case management and prepare the majority of their pleadings, which was what **************** was informed of from the very beginning. **************** would repeatedly push to have us file various things with the Court against our advice which not only resulted in increased attorney fees, but further irritated a Judge who was already  unimpressed by ****************. We also received email after email from him and multiple requests for office meetings, all of which resulted in attorney fees, which the Mercers would then complain about.  This is true despite the fact that, as a courtesy, I wrote off numerous charges throughout the case and offered them a reduced payoff figure.  After he retained new counsel, **************** wrote me an email in which he expressed, among other things, that "we do not wish to part ways with negative thoughts of our interaction with your office and you seemed like a sincerely good person and great lawyer. "  The next communication I received involving **************** was notification that he had filed a BBB Complaint.  I have practiced law for over 25 years now and this is the first time I have had to respond to any complaint of this nature. 

  Customer response

  07/18/2024

   
  Complaint: 21969018
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  **** Moore is either being misled by her Associate Lawyer or is attempting to mislead this inquiry. When my wife and I went to **** Moores law firm, we initially went to meet with ****, but upon arrival, ******, her associate lawyer met us, and we went over our situation in great depth. After we explained to ****** the situation, he said that it was really going to be up to us what happened because we had a strong case.   When we got to court, most the time was spent in the Judges ********. Upon exiting the ***************************** came out and said right out of the gate the judge said as a father I would do the exact same thing and no makeup time but, then he said that it changed when my ex-wifes lawyer brought up a new passed law that required make up time.  Then ******, said it was normal to pay the other sides cost, but he would get it slashed and file a motion to contest the costs. From there each court appearance just got worse as ****** came to court unprepared and all throughout this case there was no communication from Garret or the office staff with **** Moores Law Firm. He would also file motions weeks after we would talk, but he would continue to assure us that the judge sees right through my Exs victim act. So finally, after multiple court appearances that made no sense at all compared to what ****** had been telling us, we requested to meet with ****.We did meet and she seemed like a very capable lawyer and ****** had told us that if needed **** would take over the case, but he did not think it would be needed with our case.  Upon meeting with ****, she refused to take over as promised by ****** when we hired ***** firm. She did prepare a motion which was later denied, and she had a different associate lawyer show for the next court date. At this point we had to seek out a different Law Firm because what was happening in court was not making sense with the situation that took place at my kids mothers residence during their visit as it was so inappropriate,dangerous, and continued to get worse. Every time we went to court with ****** everything took place in the judges ******** and when they came out, we would not prevail. Everything became noticeably clear once we met with our new Lawyer and we were informed after reviewing our case that Denas firm and or ****** had not explained any of the documentation or evidence that we had sent to Garret.  ****'s office had charged us thousands of dollars for processing what we had sent and then just submitted it to the court without any information or explanation as well as not all of the documentation and or fact of law. Our new Lawyer said that when they had looked at what the court had for submittals, it did not make sense the way it had been submitted. So, if the judge honestly said that he was not impressed with me I would guess that was a big reason for it, especially since I havent had any interaction with him,only through my lawyer (******).  I did say **** seemed like a good person after one meeting, yet after reading her dishonest response I have had to reconsider. Also, my saying I do not want to part with negative feelings was dependent on an explanation and partial refund since her firm did not even come close to providing any of what they had so confidently promised.  I have added some reviews that I have found of other people that were treated in the same manner sadly they were also in very stressful situations at the time.  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  07/28/2024

  My recollection of the circumstances and history of ******************** case, as well as the recollection of ***************************, the attorney in my office who was assigned to the case, is vastly different than what has been stated by ****************.  One of the primary reasons that ******************** case became so expensive is that he insisted on frequent communications with my office, sometimes multiple times per day, rather than gathering up his questions and addressing them in one email or phone call as we suggested.  In addition, the Retainer Agreement signed by **************** clearly states the various rates of each individual who would be performing any kind of work on his file, that he understands and agrees that any of the attorneys in our firm may appear on his behalf in Court for any type of hearing (in bold and initialed separately by ****************), and that we do not guarantee the outcome of his case.   These were all separate provisions in the Retainer Agreement **************** signed and each of these provisions address the very issues that **************** is now complaining about.  I believe that everything I've stated above, as well as the statements contained in my previous response, could be easily proven by a review of ******************** itemized billing statements as well as his written Retainer Agreement.  With ******************** permission, I would gladly supplement my response with these documents.  

  Customer response

  08/04/2024

   
  Complaint: 21969018
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

      I would like to know what part of my recollection differs from yours or Garrets?  I believe you are being told a different version from your associate attorney is telling you.   It is not like my case has ended and I am upset about the outcome but rather is  still ongoing. I knew something was off when I recieved no communication from your office or at the last minute I would get a phone call or email at the end of the day prior to the day before court or when motuons were due to be filed. It was apparent that I was not being represented properly when in our first apperance ****** came out of ******** saying that he was caught off guard by a change in the parental time law that had been in place for nearly seven months.  When I did finally change law firms everything started making sense when my new lawyer said that there was no information or explanation of the evidence that my wife and I had submitted.  You continually charged me for processing of documentation I submitted, but each time I spoke with ******, he seemed as if he didn't review any of it. Furthermore he continued to show lack action as well as familiarize  himself with the information submitted. When in court he didnt argue our side just sat there and fumbled over his words proving again how unprepared he was. We were informed by ****** that if this case got above his ability that Dena  would step in and would be 350 an hour, but would likely not be needed. It was also stated that we could request her to represent us at anytime. Once we did request ****, she was unavailable due to getting mattied and having a surgery. When we were able to meet with her we asked her to represnt us and she declined, but would draft the motion for the *** as well as the request for discoveries. Then when the Motion for the *** went to court we were represented by another associate attorney, not ****** or ****. The Motion was denied and we were told that they would contact us to go over the case and the ruling to which we never received a phone call or an email. Again no follow leaving us confused and witg nonother option to seek out another law firm to represent us. In one court appearance with my new lawyer he has been able to go back and get the a *** granted even after your firm failed to do so.  Also in court the opposing council attempted to argue that the documentation i supplied your firm had been previously litigated by your firm in the last court appearance.  It was then stated that my previous council had not entered any explanation of the facts and with that the Judge granted the *** once my new lawyer did go back and explained the facts in this case.  Bottom line is your firm did a terrible job representing me in court, was very unprepared and submitted no information or explanation of the facts.  If I had hired my current lawyer In The beginning I'm sure this would be over by now.  I can't make you do the right thing and issue a refund of some sort but I would hope that you never treat a client in this way.  Your firm not only didn't represent me but in fact your firm made my position in this case far worse which in turn put my children in a dangerous situation. 

  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

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