I paid them my savings. I feel like an idiot. You will too if you hire them. Check the BBB and REAL reviews. Public defender would have done better and spent more time on the case. Mayes Telles and Chris Culbert leave a bad taste in my mouth. read more

I retained Meyes Telles in early 2025 after being contacted about a potential unemployment-related investigation. I paid $6,782 up front based on the understanding that this would cover the investigative phase and early representation. During my consultation, the conversations repeatedly emphasized that my "future," "freedom," and "life" were at risk if I didn't retain the firm immediately. At the time I was scared and vulnerable, and looking back, the tone now feels unnecessarily alarm-driven given how my case ultimately resolved. Over the following months, very little seemed to happen on my case, but I was still charged recurring $500 "criminal investigation minimum" fees plus additional charges for brief emails and short calls on top of that. My understanding of a "minimum fee" was that it would apply only when less than that amount of work occurred, not as an extra charge added regardless of activity. The wording in the agreement felt unclear, and the way the fee was applied didn't feel consistent. When I requested a full accounting, the billing appeared fragmented across many tiny time entries in months where the minimum fee was also added. I asked for clarification and said clearly that I wanted to resolve my questions internally and amicably first. After one reply from the firm, my follow-up request went unanswered. When the matter finally became a formal case, I was then told I would need to pay an additional $15,000 for "pre-trial work," even though only one hearing was expected. This was never clearly disclosed at the beginning, and it felt like a sudden financial surprise at the worst possible moment. I had also previously been told that unused funds would roll forward if the case escalated -- but when I asked about that, the explanation changed completely. At that point I no longer felt comfortable remaining with the firm. I hired a new attorney for $3,500. Within one round of plea negotiations, we obtained a highly favorable resolution that removed all felony charges and resulted in a much better outcome than what I had been led to believe was realistic. My new counsel also expressed concern about how the early strategy and billing from my prior representation had been handled, and explained that my situation was actually fairly straightforward -- not the extreme, catastrophic scenario I was initially presented with. Based on my experience, I strongly recommend that anyone considering this firm ask very direct questions about: * what their "monthly minimum" fee actually means in practice * when and how large additional fees may be * whether funds truly roll forward if the case progresses * what realistic case outcomes look like before being told worst-case scenarios I left this experience feeling financially taken advantage of, misled about the severity of my situation, and ignored when I asked reasonable questions about billing. I would not use this firm again. read more

** CAUTION ** STAY AWAY! You would probably get a better defense from a public defender! Save your money or go elsewhere! I paid this firm almost $40,000. The attorney assigned is James Simpson a former prosecutor who is actually still working for the state! He is listed as a criminal DEFENSE attorney but has no intention of actually defending his client! I complained from the beginning that all he talked about was " let's see what the state has to offer " NEVER ONCE did he show the slightest intent of actually doing what he was paid for!! I complained to Candy Maruffo who is supposedly the supervisor over the attorney's then Lupita who is also supposedly the supervisor! I requested to speak with Mayer or Telles directly but got absolutely nowhere!! I requested the case file to have another attorney review the case for 3 weeks! I finally got a text message Friday AFTER I left their office which I waited 40 minutes on my lunch break! By then it was too late to go back as zi was in Queen Creek. The decision to go to trial or take a plea is Monday..today! Too late for any attorney to go through the case! Trial is the direction we want to go BUT how do you go to trial NOT HAVING CONFIDENCE in your $37,500 attorney! That is ALOT of money for a poor person like me! How do these devils sleep at night?! I am a child of GOD! This firm WILL reap what they sow!! Mark my words! God is good and KARMA is a bitch!! They don't deserve a star but have to pick one in order to leave a review FOR THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PLEASE CONTACT THE STATE BAR OF ARIZONA read more

MayesTelles - Criminal Defense Law Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I truly feel misguided and mislead from the very beginning of meeting Josh Hall at this office, although they claim to be the best criminal lawyers in Phoenix. When we received an attorney Sean Coll something just didn't sit right he never fully answered any questions and just repeated talking points over again. He gave my partner who was faced with charges a range he could expect if we accepted a plea deal and he ended up with nowhere near that time. My partner received almost double time and had to accept a plea deal sent by the other party with no negotiation. Then Sean said how notorious the bureau is for being unwilling to work with defendants. If that's true then why would he even take the case? He knew the bureau and the details of the case from the beginning. My partner spent over $50k on credit cards to pay for an outcome we could have received on our own. Our daughter could have use that to invest in her future since she will be losing her father. I am very disappointed and dissatisfied with the handling of my partners case. Let this serve as a warning to others. This place doesn't fight for you. They just want your money. read more

If I could put lower than a 1 star I would. This law firm was terrible. They don't communicate and when you try to call them it takes a least a day or more for your lawyer to get back to you. If fact, his lawyer was late for the first hearing. My son ended up with a harder sentence than he would have had if he would have accepted his sentence at the initial court hearing. It took over 5 months for his sentencing due to the lawyer constantly requesting an extension. He tried calling his lawyer a week or so after he finally was sentenced. He found out that his lawyer was fired from the firm. This company didn't even offer a partial refund due to the lawyers incompetence. If they thought he was bad enough to fire him you would think that they would have at least apologized for the poor representation their firm provided. I am very disappointed and dissatisfied with the handling of my son's case. Let this serve as a warning to others. This place doesn't fight for you., they don't even really care about you as a person. His lawyer wasn't very knowledgeable or experienced. They don't care about the outcome of your case. They just want your money. read more

I retained this firm to helpy son whom has a traumatic brain injury. It ended up being a complete waste . I wish I hadn't bothered. My poor son has enough issues to deal with already and now I have money down the toilet that I truly didn't have to waste . I researched online prior to going in to sign up and found Marischia Gilla was going to be the perfect help fory son . She was the only reason I went into this firm at all. I found out later NOT by her that she wasn't even with the firm any longer. She left to become a judge . It would've been nice to have heard from her seeing that she was why I went there in the 1st place . I never heard from anyone . I actually heard from a friend of my sons that the whole reason that I feared that I needed to get a lawyer for my son in the first place was over . There wasn't a need in the 1st place yet here I am a worried to death mom just trying to make sure and this law firm doesn't do anything to take care of anything . Here I have a son with a brain injury and he would be easy to take advantage of and instead of being a good ,honest law firm that looks out for people they happily took the payment without having to do any work for it . Sad . Really sad. Especially in a situation where they were approached by people that are in a bad way already. (Not legally but physically) Definitely something to consider when signing up for legal help. If you do work for the money you are given thats one thing but to be given money for something that is already taken care of and you don't return the money that is messed up. There is zero reason why you needed to have that money. I called to let you know that the case was closed a long time ago and I was told that my son's name could still come up . There is ZERO reason that anything would come up. The case is done. It is sickening that I would be told that when I knew 100% that there was nothing else to be handled. I have no respect for your law firm. read more

We retained the law firm of MayesTelles immediately after our son was arrested and charged with four felony counts. We previously had a good experience with them and knew our son needed more than a public defender. The case was assigned to Mark Mendoza and was overseen by David Telles. If you need COMPETENT representation DO NOT HIRE Mark Mendoza. Mark's lack of empathy, lack of understanding of the procedures, and laziness/incompetence in handling the case, especially the evidence, almost had a detrimental outcome for our son. After multiple meetings with Mark Mendoza, we realized he was not committed to giving our son the best representation possible, all he gave us was "lip service". Our son qualified for indigent status, which would have covered the cost of independent investigations and expert witnesses. Mark Mendoza NEVER brought it up or filed a motion for this. We repeatedly asked for a bail reduction/modification. Mark Mendoza NEVER filed a motion; he just kept giving us different excuses as to why it was not done. It seemed like Mark Mendoza had limited time/availability for our son's case. He would show up to visits with our son unprepared and would rush through them, making us feel like his case was not important. He also told us he would not be available AT ALL for a couple of months because of another case. He told us he "reviewed" evidence but that there was nothing in it to help our sons case. Later on we found out that the evidence he had very early on in the case proved our son's innocence on 3 counts. We hired a new law firm and from day one we had a dedicated lawyer working on behalf of our son. The difference with the new lawyer was night and day, and we were astonished at how badly Mark Mendoza had handled everything with the case. The new lawyer filed for indigent status and for a bail modification. The new lawyer was always available and communicated updates with the case immediately, was always very well prepared when meeting with us and was transparent with legal strategies. Private investigations were performed and an expert witness conducted interviews with our son. Evidence was thoroughly reviewed. Again, we stress that it was the same evidence Mark Mendoza had very early on in the case, which proved our son's innocence on 3 counts. Mark Mendoza wanted our son to accept a plea deal with a prison sentence of 10-20 years. The new lawyer successfully had 3 counts dropped and our son plead guilty to the 4th count with a sentence of 3 years' probation. Our son would have been better off with a public defender than Mark Mendoza. We filed a complaint with the State Bar of Arizona. read more

In my opinion, the communication with this law firm is atrocious! At least after they collect fees from you... is the feeling I was left with. After my experience, I would save a lot of frustration and time and go elsewhere! read more

While my individual attorney was amazing, the firm's practices surrounding accounting and financials when it comes to the client are dishonest and quite honestly, shady. I had a misdemeanor case. Very simple, required barely any work. Upon the consultation discussion to determine if they would defend my case, I was told a "base price" of $6,450. Then I was pressured by their scheming intake person to ask family & friends for money (first off, this was a private matter and second, not everyone has the luxury of overcharging for services). I was pressured to borrow against my 401k (so these guys clearly don't think about the additional financial burden with taxes, etc. They probably don't even pay taxes), which I could not do anyway. When I informed them that I was not going to be able to pull money from the 401k, I was told by their accounting department that was the only reason the firm took my case - was for that money (this should have been the red flag that made me walk away). The "intake" person called me and worked out a payment plan. I'm still paying these fees, even though my case is DONE! Literally, here is what happened: retained the firm in March, they entered the motion to represent in April, reviewed the police report in June/July, talked to a prosecutor in July, my hearing was in August to enter a Diversion Program (which costs money as well) and it's done. That was it. Does that seem like $6,450 worth of work to you? Me either. I"m going to guess that about 15 hours, maybe 20, worth of work was done. The intake person had told me during the consultation meeting when I signed the paperwork that when it was all said and done, I could ask for the payments to be stopped or just pay the amount in full if I was totally happy. I called the week after my hearing to ask for payments to cease. I was told by the woman in accounting they don't do that, it's a flat fee. First off, I used to work for law firms, I know that the time is billable and must be itemized. I asked for a breakdown and she said they also don't do that. Then she said that she would have the intake guy call me. Really? The person whose job it is to lure you in under falsities? No thanks. I read several reviews about this firm, only to find that several others have had similar issues. The firm spends time to respond, unprofessionally and in a snotty, snarky tone. Your time would be better spent reviewing the shit practices and actually representing people. One review I had found even stated that when they asked for an itemized statement, the firm responded with a fear based response that the client might end up owing more if they did the review and broke the fees down. Turns out, they owed that person money. Funny how I can't find it now, so the firm probably paid Google to remove it. You're better off representing yourself or at least shop around. read more

The Best decision I have ever made was going to MayesTelles PLLC. I initially started with Nicole Lopez who is exceptionally amazing, but family circumstances placed me in hands of Melanie Laboy. Melanie handled my case exceptionally professional and she is by far a Spectacular Attorney. The knowledge she will bring to your case, her honest and integrity say it all! Thank you Melanie for the first step in helping us restore our home!! read more

Overall very professional area to go to speak to the supervisor attorney. At not cost free consultation spoken to Josh Hall and Toby Lee in person and over the phone professional name Alex. I enjoyed the time they spent and going over options to help a love one in their bad situation especially for the start of 2021. Recommendation for anyone who's looking for personal injury or criminal defense attorney read more

MayesTelles - Lobby - Criminal Defense Law Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I was harassed by the police for being in the wrong place at wrong time. I paid over $4000 dollars(fixed income) only to be ignored and my (winnable) case not taken seriously. The attorney the assigned me never consulted with me and day of court tells me the judge didn't like him so I'm better off pleading guilty. So, feeling defeated, i did. I asked for a refund and still haven't heard anything. Never again for this wounded vet read more

Melanie Laboy I have no words but you are a bulldog! You were amazing at handling my case! I would 100000% recommend. I don't think anyone else could have handled that prosecutor the way you did. Thank you for everything!!! read more

Took my friends' thousands of dollars, lied about having met with the accused, never provided any work product, won't provide trust statement, won't discuss returning any of the money, don't return phone calls. When my friends demanded their trust fund deposit back, they told her to sue them. Much like the review already offered by Rudy G. read more

I needed a law firm to represent me and get me out of bad situation and they did just that. I avoided jail time and got probation. I am not saying they cleared me of the crime, but they gave me a second chance and i am still able to take care of my kids as a single full time dad. The partner Melanie Laboy was straight up with information and helped me with every step along the way. I'm not a hugger, but Melanie Laboy got three big hugs from me with a big thank you. I recommend MayesTelles and i will pass their business to anyone i know that needs legal help. read more

My fiancé was in a collision in California, but we live in AZ. The driver of the vehicle had stolen the car and fled the scene. He needed medical care and it took a couple of years to get him cleared by the doctors. Kristen Wong and Roberta Schmidt handled the case. They were amazing to work with. So professional and so prompt to reply when we had questions. We could not be more pleased with the outcome of the case. We would recommend them to anyone and would not hesitate to use Mayes Telles in the future. read more

This is the best law office and the best lawyers in the world, they take care of business. I recommend Mrs.Candy Marrufo, she's one of the best read more

Faisal Ullah represented me in my only ever criminal case. Initially I felt very relieved that I had a proficient and capable professional on my side. I was given information by Mr. Ullah from a meeting held in the Judge's Chamber which made signing a plea agreement a no brainer. However, things are not always as they seem. To be fair, I am withholding my indepth review of Mr. Ullah until my case is completely resolved as Mr. Ullah said it would be. read more

Thank you Shahin Damoui you did a great job. I'm very happy with the experience I had with that law firm. I can't say enough. I'm currently going through a divorce and wish the attorney I have was half as good. If you had divorce attorneys there I would certainly hire one of them. The subordinate staff was excellent. read more

I just wanna express how professional and receptive this law firm is. I personally worked with attorney Shahin Damoui and his paralegal Jeanine. From the beginning they listened to me as I explained my situation and mapped out a plan to restore all My rights from some mistakes I made in my younger years. It was definitely a process but anytime I emailed or called I had a response right away. If you ever find yourself in a situation that you need legal help then I would definitely hire this firm!! read more

I used meyes telles for a felony diversion case. I wish i had just gone with the court appointed attorney. The communication was extremely poor i never knew where i was meeting my attorney or what court room i was in. she was even late to one of the meetings. i received no feedback on how my case was going or what to expect going in to the court room. This was my first run in with something like this and i was very nervous and the lack of communication on their end even made it that much more difficult. The lack of communication is so bad that here i am 4 months after completing my diversion program CALLING THEM to confirm the charges had been dismissed??? Ultimately, I paid for a lawyer that really did nothing to change the results of the case and i recommend going through a different attorneys office if you need any kind of legal advice or representation. read more

Super helpful and very professional! MayesTelles was able to professionally guide me through a difficult situation where I was at a dead end and had done all the I could do. Once hired they went above and beyond my expectations! Being in a situation like this was a first for me, not knowing what to expect or who to turn to I'm glad I found them! The issue was resolved quickly because of their expertise and I can now continue on confidently with my troubles behind me. Thank you Blake! read more

Nicole Lopez was super competent and supportive--a wonderful attorney!

Our Family and I are beyond blessed to have selected Candy Marrifo as the attorney for my husbands case. She knows exactly what shes doing and understood what he was going through with proficiency. Since day one she started to move quickly as soon as the case was in her hands. She got my husband out of custody in no time. We are eternally grateful for her service and dedication. Thank you for being an intelligent and trustworthy attorney, but most of all for changing our lifes. I hereby recommend Ms. Marrufo and the MayesTelles law firm to anyone without reservation. read more

We had to retain Mayes Telles for our son. We were assigned Nicole Lopez and she was AWESOME throughout the process. She was always available to answer any and all of our questions. We definitely would recommend Ms. Lopez as well as the firm she represents, Mayes Telles! read more

Melissa Simo kept me us informed and Mark Mendoza was very clear about the outcome, Mark offered the best advise and gave options, Mark was very professional in representation and attire. Whoever said they were horrible- just know this, everybody can't be given what they want, when they want it, consider the source. Have a clear mind and respect the process, they get the job done. I wish the firm the best of success in the future. read more

I had the worse experience with this law firm. First time in trouble I found the law firm online read reviews thought they would be

Where promised my brother no prison time, they swore they would handle this. Felt betrayed after we payed this humans... super nice at the beginning but we should of known better all they wanted was our money, hardly ever answered any questions, they would call us everyday super kind and nice. & as soon as we payed them they stopped giving a shit. Our lawyer was new didn't seem experienced at all. My brother still ended up getting a lot of time for first offense, drug charges. Would look somewhere else if I where you. We where just desperate and where charged over 20,000 dollars. horrible experience. read more

Decent law firm, charge way more than other quotes that i received, but being in customer service work like myself, I believe you get what you pay for..... $7500 later for minor drug possesion, and it's impossible to get any sort of info about your case or even get phone calls back after calling and leaving messages multiple times, poorly ran office staff. A year later they did Dismiss and drop my charges, but have to walk on egg shells throughout the process. I understand my case is not a HUGE Serious one on their level, but too me any case/charge shall be treated with the same professionalism. read more

I hired Mayes Telles law firm to represent me and was very disappointed in the way my case was handled. Just 4 days after I hired them my case was dropped by the prosecutor due to my ex not wanting to move forward with the case. They did no work on my case and I let my lawyer Nicole Lopez know that I no longer needed representation. They basically kept giving me the run around when I asked for the billable hours and if I could get a refund for the $4,500 I put down for them to do nothing. I have to speak to 4 people from their team and send emails. After all of the calls they told me that accounting department would reach out to me and it could take weeks or months to get any billing information. Basically, they gave me a run around. They just want to keep your money for doing absolutely nothing! Highly unethical business practices.. I'm still waiting for a response from the account department. If you need a good lawyer that will conduct themselves ethically from a business stand point.. do not go with this office. They act like used car salesman rather than a law office. read more

From the moment I called the MayesTelles office I felt so much better about my case and what I was going through. Everyone was so nice and understanding and my lead attorney Nicole was amazing! she kept me updated on everything and I never had issues getting ahold of her if I needed something. She worked hard until my case was resolved. I coudnt be more happy with the outcome. Nicole even offered to help me through an expungement from an old case and gave me some advice. I can't recommend them enough! thanks to Nicole and the whole team at MayesTelles! read more

SCAM!!!!!!!!!! I hired this firm to work a small misdemeanor case. After explaining to the firm serval times over the case situation several weeks in I knew they didn't care or listen as I was being asked my birth date? I've put down serval thousand dollars with you and over a month in and you don't even know my dob? The only communication is when I would have to reach out and see the status of my case. Their was Always an excuse as to why nothing had been done yet. The first of the month like clock work I wouldn't get a call from the attorney for an update oh nooo their office calls to run your card for another several thousand dollars. Which was upsetting if you're going to take money at least call with an update after weeks without being told anything. I felt as though the girl was more focused on getting you in and getting paid then the case. The moment I decided to change firms things really fell. Over twenty five days ago I ended our relationship. The firm has hung up in my face when asking for my refund back and sent over what they say is my case file containing a 3 page document with two being their withdrawal Letter?! So as I thought I work had been done. I was alarmed to find out I have a court date pending and they are refusing to refund back over four grand!!!! I was told last week someone who handles their financials is on vacation? That's the stupidest thing to tell a client whom paid you! Then last week after being told that I receive another call the same day from their office saying they ran my card but it declined??? I was so upset how dare you re run my card for more money and Im contacting you for my refund. Now Mad that I fired them their get back at me is to hold all my money and wait until my next court date so that I have no finances to fight or be represented? This is the lowest most trashy scam artist firm!! If I could give negative zero that would be to nice. I used Kalon Metz from their firm and i was better off representing myself then being stolen from, lied to, and take full advantage of. read more

MayesTelles takes great pride in the services provided to their clients. Lawyer Gail Barsky and Paralegal Michelle Lopez make an awesome team....keeping their clients informed through out a difficult process.. Mayestelles has experienced lawyers who fight hard to get the best possible outcome. read more

I needed a lawyer to represent me in a case that pertain myself and to my son, Ravindar did great, kept me informed at all times, helped me understand the process and believed in me the whole time. I am grateful for MayesTelles and will be using and referring them in the future, thank you! read more

It's not an exaggeration to say that MayesTelles has changed my life for the better. My lawyers Jessica Hernandez and Nicole Lopez went above and beyond for me, and I could not be more pleased with the result. From the very start the entire office staff were extremely respectful and kind to me, as well as supportive and helpful. I knew I wanted to hire them from my first encounter at their office, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. I feel like I can finally put my past behind me now and move forward with a FRESH START! Thanks to MayesTelles, I am able to hold my head high. Thank you Jessica Hernandez SO MUCH. Thank you Nicole Lopez SO MUCH. Thank you for your faith in me. Thank you for never giving up on my case. read more

Best attorneys ever. Attorney Mark Mendoza helped me so much when my entire life could have drastically changed. I was accused of assaulting this crazy guy. I was with my 3 year old son and daughter. I was walking out of the movies (Coco), and this guy asked me for some money. He then got between me and my 3 year old and asked in an aggressive manner. I have a little background in the arts of MMA and I felt threatened so I calmly told him to step aside and when he didn't and said "f you" and I proceeded to punch him in the neck and the face. He swung back and I ducked. Front head lock to the ground where I broke his arm in an arm bar submission. Cops were called I was arrested. Thanks to Mark, everything got dropped after 1 night in the clinker. Worth it though, to protect my children. read more

Needless to say I never thought I'd require the services of a criminal attorney, but I found myself in somewhat of a pickle this past year over a legal technicality. I knew attorney Mark Mendoza from our college days and reached out to him. He's a good, honest guy, which is always a great start. He had experience dealing with my particular issue and was able to get charges reduced to something reasonable--the cops had done quite a bit of exaggeration in their report and blew up something pretty minor into something that looked very serious on paper. Sadly, this is par for the course these days. Anyway, Mark stretched out the case just long enough to get the DA to listen and managed to reduce it down to something I could live with. A minor mistake could have been much worse, so I'm glad I called Mark for help. read more

Jessica Hernandez and David Lish were professional from beginning to end with regard to my case! They were knowledgeable, patient, and sympathetic. I was always kept in the loop about court dates and appearances as well as whatever was to be needed of me from the court. I got the resolution I'd hoped for and am thankful to both Jessica Hernandez and David Lish for their dedicated effort and phenomenal insight into the justice system and how it pertains to everyday citizens. I'd recommend this firm, particularly these two attorneys, to anyone in need of a criminal defense. Thank you again Jessica and David!!! read more

Jessica Hernandez is an excellent attorney. She's reliable, knowledgeable and hard working. She has a way of making you feel calm during what's usually a stressful experience. Trustworthy and professional. read more

My husband and I used Mayes/Tellez Law Firm to get an old felony cleared from his record. Our attorney, Nicole Lopez and her paralegal Sarah did a fantastic job. After the initial consultation we paid a flat fee. They were both readily available via telephone any time we had questions and answered messages quickly. Our case was more complicated than anticipated, but we were never asked for any more money. After two years of work by them, it's all cleared. Very happy with the service we received here. read more