This has been the worst experience I have ever had with a law firm. I am not sure if this is…read morestandard practice, but it is certainly what I endured working with Joshua Moses at Robinson and Henry. I found him to be dishonest and felt he did not have his client's best interests in mind.
We contacted the firm for help with an eviction after a tenant stopped paying rent. During the initial kick-off call, everything seemed fine, and we were told the fees would likely run between $800 and $1,200 depending on the work required.
Once Mr. Moses took over, the nightmare began. He seemed professional at first, but the billing quickly spiraled out of control. Our very first bill was $1,100 just for the kick-off call and an initial conversation with Mr. Moses. I noticed that he would constantly reach out requesting additional meetings, paperwork, or information from my wife (who is the legal owner of the property). Every time we spoke--usually at his request--we received an outrageous bill. At a certain point, I was afraid to answer his calls, respond to messages, or send emails because I knew I would be charged for it.
When I questioned these excessive fees, his only response was that he needed to be compensated for his time.
After he finally gathered all the documents, a week went by, and he requested another meeting to discuss the case. During that call, he told us he felt the first demand letter took too long (3 weeks) and that he was uncomfortable presenting it to a judge for fear the case would be thrown out, meaning we had to draft an entirely new demand.
At that point, wanting nothing more to do with the law firm and their outrageous fees, we bypassed them and reached a direct agreement with the tenant to vacate. When we contacted the firm one last time to inform them the issue was resolved, we received a final bill of $1,348.
In total, Joshua Moses billed us nearly $5,000. Essentially, the only actual work performed was posting two demand notices on the tenant's door. The case never went before a judge, and the tenant never contested it.
When a client is afraid to contact their own legal representation out of fear of unreasonable fees, there is a major problem. When a law firm's primary objective seems to be racking up billable hours rather than resolving the case, it needs to be addressed. We will be reaching out to external organizations, including the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel (OARC), to file a formal complaint. As for the retainer, we likely will not bother trying to recover it, knowing Mr. Moses would likely just invent more fees to swallow it up.