I hired Al Albano of Bacon Wilson for an equity complaint. I gave him a $5000 retainer to resolve…read morean equity complaint at $300/hour late January 2022. He responded to my 4 page summons and charged me for $3000 or for 10 hours. He read previous court documents that were not needed to respond to the summons, plus I told him all of the information needed, and standard protocol for this is to deny everything. He then filed interrogatories, without asking me or going over a strategy for the plaintiff to prove allegations. The responses from the interrogatories were absolutely no proof of any allegations. They were late, but Mr. Albano told me that it doesn't matter they were late and the court does not care if they were late. I wonder of his veracity here. The responses were rambling insecurities from the plaintiff. When he received discovery, or my mother's medical records from a local hospital, I told him, I would not pay him to read her medical records. They are full of errors and contradictory information. Every paragraph or day or a different doctor or nurse says opposing information. I asked him to just ask the lawyer who transferred the deed to state that I did not coerce my mother to transfer the deed to her property, but Mr. Albano's first reaction was, "we don't know what he will say," and the second time I asked him to do this, Mr. Albano told me, "we don't know what his reputation is." The plaintiff, my sister, cannot prove that I coerced our mother to transfer the deed because the only people in the room, was my mother and the lawyer who transferred the deed. Other lawyers stated to me that the plaintiff does not have a shot in hell with this, but Mr. Albano did nothing to get this case resolved in a timely manner. It is my opinion, Mr. Albano, acted with the motivation to make money for him and his firm. I asked him to file a motion to dismiss, and he immediately said, he would not do that without another $5,000 retainer. He kept charging me, for review of discovery, or my mother's medical records for a total of $4800 over the original $5,000 retainer. I finally fired him and asked for $2500 back from my retainer and my client file. I sent him a certified letter for the $2500, and Mr. Albano emailed me that he would not be reimbursing me, and he still expected me to pay the complete bill. I spoke to Lisa Carpenter, the executive director of Bacon Wilson, who told me that she is objective and does reprimand lawyers on occasion. She had my client file sent to me, and I read it all for notes from Mr. Albano, and there is no indication in my client file, that Mr. Albano read any of the discovery. Mr. Albano called me on November 8 because Bacon Wilson has left it completely up to him, to which I would guess he will never admit any wrongdoing for fear of liability. He stated that he does not have to do what his client says, and that he did tell me about the interrogatories, and if he cowered to everyone who threatened to report him, he would not be practicing law. When I asked him why there were no notes of his review of discovery, he stated that those notes were his. He also told me that he would not be reimbursing me any money. The Mass Bar has informed me that they do not enforce or investigate issues concerning bills from attorneys.

From the owner: Full service law firm for all your legal needs in Western MA and Northern CT.read more

I needed a demand letter for an estate problem with a sibling. Attorney Dialessi-Lafley listened…read moreattentively, reflected back what I had told her to check for understanding, outlined a path forward, was very professional, accepting, and respectful. Worked like a charm and got the result I needed. Her legal staff, Jennifer and Felicia, were also exceptional. Best money I ever spent.

I consulted with her regarding a custody/jurisdiction case involving my daughter. She said she knew…read morethe attorneys involved and would be happy to help. The night before the hearing she sent a copy of her retainer agreement indicating that she was representing the other side. After having a detailed conversation with me about the case. She is a disgusting human being. Does not care about what's right.

After suffering through the unfortunate experience of going through a real estate closing with…read moreDavid Brunelle, It honestly astounds me that he is still in business. This "attorney" represented the buyers that purchased our real estate asset. From the get go, he was essentially unreachable. At every stage of the transaction he would simply ignore our attorney's correspondence, both emails and phone calls. He also refused to do any work that is typically completed by the buyer's attorney. For example, when we had accepted and signed the offer letter from the buyers, we waited WEEKS (after he ignored all correspondence) for a draft purchase and sale agreement. It was so ridiculous, that our attorney drafted the agreement themselves and sent it to Mr. Brunelle for review. MIRACULOUSLY, he responded within an hour of receiving the draft P&S agreement along with a long list of edits and changes for OUR attorney to make. Once the work had been completed for him, he was suddenly very responsive! After months of delays, zero updates, and endless headaches, we finally had a firm closing date. The day before the closing, we received a list of fees/charges from Mr. Brunelle for his "services" in this transaction. He had the nerve to add in various charges for overpriced services and unknown tasks that were not required in this transaction. Fortunately our attorney quickly identified them and was able to get rid of hundreds of bogus charges/fees he had tried to add in! There must be some reason people still go to Mr. Brunelle for representation in real estate transactions, but whatever they are, they are simply not worth it. What should have been a straightforward transaction was an absolute nightmare. If you are looking for an attorney, literally anyone else would be better than him. He's simply not worth the headaches and delays.

My company sells 5-10 properties a year. My recent closing with buyers' attorney, David Brunelle…read moreLaw, and his closing team is easily at the top of the most frustrating and EXPENSIVE closings I have experienced. Attorney Brunelle's communication style is rude and dismissive. Through a series of unorthodox actions, the closing was delayed for a week, costing me almost $2,000 in unnecessary carrying costs. They found it "unbelievable" that the Registry--a government agency--closed at noon for Thanksgiving, despite easily finding Holiday hours posted. They also recorded a discharge before even mailing the funds to my lender. Sounds small, but turns out expensive, and no apologies or concessions.

An attorney you can rely on and trust. We used him on numerous occasions to help us in various…read moresituations (from mortgage to estate planning) and every time he delivered an impeccable and professional service.

From the owner: Ensure smooth succession of your assets with a clear, forward-thinking and individualized strategy…read morefrom Nicholas S. Ratush, Esq., your estate planning attorney.