I had to submit a complaint against Mr. Alvin Garcia to the NM Bar Association because of his…read morehorrendous conduct and representation. Mr. Garcia represented me in a civil case, and I was the defendant. All he had to do was keep the ball away from the opposing team, play not to lose. However, at every hearing, deposition, filing, and event, Mr. Garcia simply handed the ball, gift-wrapped, to the opposing team, and walked away from the endzone. The case lasted nearly three years, and the best I can ascertain, it lasted that long solely because of the numerous shortcomings and incompetence of Garcia. The plaintiff's case was so weak that the plaintiff had four different attorneys represent her during the case, and again, she did not prevail, not on even one single allegation.
His performance and conduct at both hearings and depositions was deplorable and unbecoming of a licensed professional. Case in point, there was a hearing whereby the plaintiff was provided the opportunity to testify to the alleged assault and alleged harassment I committed against her. Prior to the hearing, Alvin Garcia had in his possession our own evidence to exonerate me from the allegation, however, Alvin Garcia was completely unprepared on nearly every front. First, his opening statement consisted of him stammering, an overabundance of, "ums," mumbling, shuffling of papers, and long awkward silences. Garcia was essentially the proverbial deer in headlights. No less than eight (8) times did the judge have to stop the proceeding and admonish him. Then he had rapid fire freestyle questions without giving the respondent an opportunity to respond, did not seem to listen to the response because he jetted from one topic to another, and mostly irrelevant topics at that. The ineptitude never ceased, not submitting evidence prior to the hearing, unable to use evidence because it was not submitted, and submitting evidence and not using it during the hearings.
Next, his billing practices are certainly the most bizarre. He would constantly make thinly veiled threats to me that if I did not pay him, he would stop working on the case. The best I can ascertain, he stopped working on the case multiple times, causing irreparable harm. However, not once was I ever late on a payment.
Then, by sheer ineptitude sent by email to the opposing counsel, protected attorney client privileged information intended only for Garcia. He was habitually late to meetings, unprepared, and would take phone calls during our meetings, constantly interrupting me and others, wasting time and my money by talking at length about other cases, disparaging the opposing attorney. The best I can ascertain, 90% of his work products and deliverables were complete waste. In other words, work products unfit for use and unfit for purpose along with the most pathetic representation.
Alvin Garcia could have easily destroyed the plaintiffs credibility with a single deposition within the first year of the case, however, by sheer recklessness, he did not depose the plaintiff a single time over a period of three years.
I attempted to work with him, detailed feedback, the importance of quality control, the importance that speed wins, and quality work products win. However, his attitude was that he was doing great, and if I didn't like it then he would quit, then followed by threats to stop work and his response that if there was an issue, it was the fault of the opposing counsel, not his.
In closing, I have worked with many attorneys in the past, thus I am aware of what constitutes professional attorney work products, and I am aware of the overall conduct of a competent and professional attorney. Not only is Garcia a travesty to the legal profession, but he is also dangerous because he is easily going to bankrupt some poor innocent victim, or incarcerate a completely innocent person. Must be disbarred!
