1) I used the services of Susan Petro around the same time as the previous poster and had exactly the opposite experience. Around that time I used the services of 3 other attorneys and Ms. Petro provided the best service - and her rate was significantly lower than the other two attorneys rates.
2) Yes - sometimes Ms. Petro told me stuff I did not want to hear (reality is often hard for a client to take in the midst of a complex legal battle as I was). At several times I did want Ms. Petro to do more and make all my problems go away....But, invincible attorneys only appear in the movies, and I had to be content with reality. In the end, I won my case but of course wish I had won more money. (Thanks Ms. Petro!). Regardless, Ms. Petro at that time advertised herself in the local papers as one of the only local attorneys who provided lower rates for clients willing to "be your own attorney" and do most or all of their legal work with her guidance.
3) If a client is really low on funds, as I was at that time, doing their own legal work (including research) can save them a lot of money. Yet,it appears that the previous poster paid Ms. Petro to do the work and then got upset they had to pay her for doing the work that they should have been willing to do. 4) It is 2017...almost 6 years since the earlier post of poster bea s. (sounds like a fake name) and I notice three things: first, over the last 6 or so years, this poster has posted only one review; second, this poster has used a fake name and little or no detail so Ms. Petro probably couldn't have responded or known how to respond to this review; third, I checked the CA state bar website to see whether the claim of "bea s" was vindicated by a state bar investigation as one might imply by her post, and yet I see that Ms. Petro remains an active attorney IN GOOD STANDING.
4) Furthermore, Ms. Petro has an office at a convenient downtown location. In addition to plenty of common sense, I know that Ms. Petro has actual experience with business law, landlord tenant law, and other areas and it appears other people know this too as she has kept an office around that same area for many years now. Technically, I think she moved the office from where it was, but I know of other much higher priced attorneys who have also moved: the difference is that she passes that savings onto her clients.
In sum, as I recall, Ms. Petro charged me around half of what another less experienced attorney charged me for work in the same area. Ms. Petro sometimes used "socratic method" to prompt me to think (which sometimes was painful and upsetting) but she is one of the most generous and fair attorneys I've ever met.
While she didn't do all the work on the case, that was part of our understanding from the start. Also, at times she offered to do more work on the case, but as part of our understanding, I would have had to pay her extra for that - and she would have deserved it - because legal work is hard and time consuming. I did a lot of the work myself but I won my case and I remain grateful for Ms. Petro's help. That's no "bea. s", that's the truth, Ruth! read more