REALLY good at adjournments, charging for travel, filling out paperwork that may or may not see the inside of a courtroom, doing nothing while statutes expire, and charging DAILY interest as line items in increments as small as .01. A PENNY! One invoice had 4 1/2 pages of interest charges as line-items. I've never even heard of a business in any industry billing like this.
NOT outstanding at things like explaining process and procedure, providing realistic expectations and timelines, showing up to important court dates or reading pertinent details of the case before session.
I already had a signed and executed separation agreement; custody was agreed upon and temporary support was established when I first stepped into this office and met Mr. Dujmic, a professed 'father's rights advocate'. I needed help defusing my ex's explosive temper and enforcing my parenting rights under the terms of the separation agreement my ex so readily and flagrantly violated.
My attorney sheepishly accepted family court's recommendation that my combative, borderline ex and I attend the comically useless 'PEACE' program. An attorney has to register you for this. My ex's attorney signed her up immediately. Mr. Dujmic forgot to sign me up in time (3/4/2015). I had to wait 3 MONTHS to attend the next session (6/16/2015).
The complete absence of any real-world consequence only emboldened my ex to step up her arrogance. I didn't see my kids for weeks at a time. They wouldn't talk to me on the phone. My ex would call the police because I "threatened" to show up at her house... to pick up my kids at the scheduled time. She would disappear with my kids as I drove up to the house to pick them up. Over the next 18 months I had 3 family court restraining orders and one criminal stay-away order of protection against my ex.
My attorney DIDN'T show up to a child support hearing in 2016, instead advising me to accept paying through CSEB collections unit, a bureaucratic nightmare you would wish only on your worst enemy.
He DIDN'T file to amend child support when I lost overtime and my 2nd job, a significant pay cut - and never applied to modify pro rata shares for extracurricular and medical expenses despite my continued pleadings. He DIDN'T subpoena my ex's income statements for nearly TWO YEARS and DIDN'T challenge a letter from one of her employers suggesting my ex didn't work there (she took home paychecks, so... I think she worked there.) He DIDN'T present the court with the problem of my ex quietly emptying her 401k as this affected marital assets, statements of worth and her income for the previous year.
He DIDN'T advise me that I should never, ever talk to SCPD ever, especially after a vindictive sociopath files a fraudulent restraining order against you. He DIDN'T pursue charges against my ex for false police reports she filed (in person, at the precinct!) or for perjury and stalking. He wouldn't pursue malicious prosecution against SCPD or my ex's various attorneys. Those statutes ran out.
He DIDN'T recover a red cent that my ex indisputably owed me for childcare expenses, car payments and medical bills.
He DIDN'T file a violation of the restraining order I had against my ex when she accosted me, screaming vulgarities while I dropped off my kids - Mr. Dujmic insisted this was not a violation. By contrast, 2 SCPD cops later told me it was EASILY a violation of the stay-away (8/12/2015) and my ex would have definitely been arrested - if I'd just filed the complaint. Instead, the RO expired and the statute ran out.
He DIDN'T notify the commissioner or the DA that my ex had filed a provably false report accusing me of assault, then sent the police to arrest me while I was camping with my kids... ON FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND. I had recordings of the non-incident, illustrating how my ex was the aggressor and she absolutely, undoubtedly lied to police in her report. In 22 years, the responding detective had never seen a case like mine, where someone was smart enough to catch a scheming ex in such a blatant lie. Miraculously I avoided consequences of the white-knight mentality forcing cops to cater to the whims of a liberal agenda-driven DA. Mr. Dujmic could have written a letter to the commissioner and the DA, highlighted the details of the case, and my problematic ex would have been in jail. It was Mr. Dujmic's battle to lose. He did nothing. That statute ran out too.
Nothing came of the dozen-plus additional violations my attorney may or may not have filed. I'm confident this office didn't forget to invoice me for filling out that paperwork, though.
My persistent regret is that if I'd gone pro se I could have done just as well without incurring tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees with nothing to show for it.
I expressed my extreme displeasure to Mr. Gemelli and discharged Mr. Dujmic. I asked for a partial refund of the amounts I paid to this firm. Mr. Gemelli threatened to sue me.
Avoid. read more