I retained Mr. Valente for a complicated medical malpractice case involving the permanent blinding…read moreof my left eye and lifelong issues with recurring symptoms that threaten the need to have the eye removed. The malpractice involved was clear, easily identified, and devastatingly damaging to me. I received a vastly insufficient settlement dollar amount. I received a settlement despite Mr. Valente's negative input; without his input, which resulted in underestimated damages communicated during arbitration of my case, I almost surely would have been awarded a higher and more commensurate-with-damages level of compensation based on the facts. Some of the issues I faced while retaining Mr. Valente follow: Mr. Valente utterly failed to accurately assess my economic and non-economic damages . The arbitration process was extremely premature: my damages were not fully established by any means or standard; It was his responsibility to understandnd and effectively convey the extent of damages to me and to the defendent's counsel as well as to a jury at trial. There is no evidence of preparation of my case for trial, as he was contracted to facilitate. Instead, he negotiated a small-in-proportion to my damages settlement. The facts suggest that Mr. Valente lacked the necessary resources as an attorney in the process of establishing a new practice, to represent me successfully or effectively. For example lack of knowledge of my case' details, failure to obtain appropriate expert witnesses in preparation of trial, and an overall failure to retain the facts of my case as presented to him by me in our few meetings and many email communications. Mr. Valente did not attend my deposition during which I gave testimony about my experiences with medical malpractice and it's impact on my life. He also failed to obtain a copy of the deposition's transcript. Since my testimony contained in that transcript formed the basis for my case, Mr. Valente was unable to plan an appropriate case strategy. Mr. Valente retained hundreds of dollars from my settlement in addition to his 40 percent fee for expenses alledged but not factually incurred. One such expense was approximately $800 for the never obtained deposition transcript. Many times, Mr. Valente did not reply to requests for information or respond to information that I provided He failed to inform me of over thirty legal motions pertaining to my case over a 14-month period. I self-discovered these motions and documents which formed an outline of how my case was proceeding in the discovery process online months after the fact. As a result of Mr. Valente's failure to keep me informed about my case, the defense attorney was permitted to interrogate any and all healthcare providers that I was currently visiting or had seen for health concerns in the past for any kind of treatment without my knowledge or participation, a clear violation of HIPAA security laws. Mr. Valente or someone in his employ forged my signature on numerous letters sent to the defendent's attorneys permitting the privacy-violating process to take place. Specifically, the letters stated that I had "no intention" of quashing defense' motion to interview my doctors. Thus, the motion was granted. In fact, I had no idea that defense counsel would be permitted to invade my health care related privacy in such a broadly delineated manner. This practice has been prevented as a violation of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) patient privacy law by many U.S. courts. Mr. Valente, was legally required to inform and offer me my right to file a motion to quash the procedure in order to start the process of a legal determination for its necessity by the court system. When I questioned him about it, he indicated that it was insignificant. Perhaps it was not significant to Mr. Valente, however it was my protected Healthcare information at issue. I would say that precludes Mr. Valente from making a moral judgment about its significance. The current law "says" it is not his legal right to do so without consulting with me. Valente became evasively (and ineffectually) defensive in his written communications to me after I learned of the seriousness of his failures. Mr. Valente was deceitful, non-responsive and ultimately refused to respond to my direct questions concerning issues that I had after the settlement, as new facts emerged about his shortcomings in representing me in the case. I would under no circumstance recommend Mr. Valente to anyone. I have filed formed complaints against him with two separate legal bars. Ultimately, working with him was a damaging, galling and self-defeating experience.

My husband contacted The Valente Law Group when I tripped over a piece of cinder block in the…read morewalkway carelessly placed in front of a grocery store to hold the carts in line. I was taken by ambulance to the ER and treated for a shoulder injury which caused me pain for a year. Joseph Chandlee handled my case diligently and worked to achieve a just settlement. It took a long time to finalize the case as the store's insurance company was being resistant; however, Mr. Chandlee held their feet to the fire. I was pleased with the outcome.