We hired Bailey & Galyen specifically to help us collect an unpaid construction balance and…read morepreserve our lien rights. Our experience with attorney Michael Cramer was extremely disappointing and, in our opinion, his handling of the matter left us in a substantially worse legal position.
We first contacted Bailey & Galyen on May 12-13, 2026. We were told we could speak with an attorney for a $150 consultation fee, which we paid. Our consultation with Michael Cramer took place on May 14 at approximately 1:30 p.m. During that consultation, all of the circumstances and relevant dates were disclosed to him. Mr. Cramer advised us that, under Texas law, we had until June 15, 2026 to file our lien and that we could seek 18% interest from the homeowner.
Based on that advice, we hired the firm.
We paid an additional $1,800 on May 18 and signed their engagement agreement so they could send a demand letter. My partner followed up on May 21, May 22, and May 27 because we wanted to make sure everything was being handled promptly and that our lien rights were protected. We were eventually told that the demand had been sent by certified mail on May 21, giving the homeowner 15 days to pay while, as we understood it, still leaving sufficient time to file the lien.
The homeowner did not pay.
On June 2, we specifically authorized Bailey & Galyen to proceed with filing the lien. We signed another agreement and paid another $1,850, which included the $50 filing fee.
Beginning June 9, my partner repeatedly called and emailed the firm to make sure the lien had actually been filed. More than a dozen attempts were made to get an answer. We were repeatedly told that Mr. Cramer was in court and would call the next day. Those promised calls did not happen. My partner continued following up because the entire reason we hired the firm was to protect our lien rights before the deadline they themselves had given us.
Despite more than a dozen calls and emails, we did not finally speak with Mr. Cramer until July 24. At that point, we were informed that the lien had not been filed.
That is the part we find completely unacceptable.
We did not hire this firm merely for general legal advice. We specifically paid them to file a lien. We signed an agreement authorizing them to do it, paid the requested legal fee and filing cost, and repeatedly contacted them before and around the deadline to make sure it was done.
It wasn't.
As a result, instead of having the lien rights we hired this firm to protect, we are now left pursuing a potentially costly lawsuit against the homeowner without the security and leverage that a properly filed lien could have provided. Even if we prevail in litigation, we may then have to pursue collection rather than having the remedies that would have been available to us had the lien been properly and timely filed.
We cannot know why this was allowed to happen despite our repeated attempts to follow up. Given the number of unanswered calls and emails, and the fact that we had specifically paid the firm to file the lien, we find the situation extremely troubling.
Based on our experience, we would not recommend Michael Cramer or Bailey & Galyen for a time-sensitive construction lien matter. When you hire an attorney specifically to protect a statutory deadline, pay the attorney to perform that work, and repeatedly follow up before the deadline, you should be able to rely on the attorney to either complete the work or immediately tell you if there is a problem.
That did not happen here, and the consequences to our company are potentially significant.