I had an extremely disappointing experience with Elan J. Dunaev / EJD Law Group, and based on my…read morepersonal experience, I would not recommend him.
I hired Mr. Dunaev for an urgent construction-defect, insurance, and surety matter involving serious safety and code issues at my home. I ultimately paid approximately $8,000 in connection with this representation and the related fee dispute/arbitration outcome. I hired an attorney because I needed real legal strategy, urgency, insurance/surety pressure, and protection for my family and home. In my opinion, I did not receive anything close to the level of service or value I expected.
What I mainly received was a representation letter, one demand letter, and billing for reviewing emails. One of the most frustrating things was that, after weeks of asking for surety action, the demand letter to the surety was not the focused, effective demand I expected. In my view, it did not meaningfully move the matter forward or reflect the full context and urgency of the situation.
I also felt that during communications involving the liability insurance side, Mr. Dunaev mostly just listened or reviewed emails without asking the kinds of questions I expected an attorney to ask. To me, it felt like he was more of a silent observer than an advocate. I did not hire a lawyer to simply read emails after charging thousands of dollars. I hired a lawyer to understand the case, ask hard questions, build strategy, apply pressure, and protect me.
One of the most upsetting parts for me was that communications occurred with the contractor side about the contractor potentially returning to the property or resuming work. That was not the strategy I wanted, and I do not understand why communications about that issue occurred while I was paying for legal representation, especially when I did not want that approach.
This was not a minor disagreement for me. Based on my records and my experience, the contractor was later subject to a two-year restraining order after a threat involving a gun against my family. Given that context, I still do not understand why my attorney would communicate with the contractor side or entertain the possibility of the contractor returning to my property instead of focusing on protecting me, pursuing insurance/surety pressure, and building an enforcement strategy.
After the representation ended, I had to move the matter forward myself. I pursued the CSLB complaint, contacted LADBS, contacted OSHA, built the written safety/code record, pursued insurance and surety issues, served discovery, prepared motion work, and continued the civil case myself. Those are exactly the kinds of legal and enforcement steps I expected my attorney to help lead.
For the amount I paid, I expected legal judgment, strategy, urgency, insurance/surety pressure, and meaningful action. Instead, I felt I received mostly email-review billing, a basic representation letter, and one demand letter that did not move the case in the way I needed.
In my opinion, the work did not justify the fee. I felt unsupported, unprotected, and left to build and advance the case myself. Based on my experience, I would not hire this attorney again.
