Noreen was my lawyer, recommended to me by her father, Gustavo Barcena. Unfortunately, I was very…read moredisappointed with many aspects of my experience. I'm writing this review in hopes that Noreen has improved in these areas, including the way her staff handles cases and communicates with clients.
Here are a few areas where, based solely on my personal experience, I believe there was room for improvement:
* Speaking confidently and professionally during court proceedings
* Being knowledgeable and prepared regarding the details of a client's case
* Knowing her clients and their basic case information
* Meeting filing deadlines
* Communication with clients and their families
I do have to acknowledge that not everything about my experience was bad. Noreen did ultimately help get me released from the Adelanto Detention Center. I was not released at my first bond hearing, but I was eventually released at my six-month Rodriguez bond hearing. I am grateful for that.
However, during court proceedings, I often felt that Noreen struggled to speak to the judge fluently, confidently, and professionally. She would frequently get stuck, stutter, or appear to scramble for the right words. In my opinion, part of the reason seemed to be a lack of preparation regarding the details of my case.
I understand that attorneys can have many clients and that it can be difficult to keep track of every detail. However, there were times when I felt as though she went into court without being fully prepared for my case. During court, she would sometimes pause and ask me for important information. For example, on one occasion she stopped and asked me, "Where did you enter the USA?" There were also multiple occasions when she got my name wrong during court. As a client, I would at least expect my attorney to know my correct name and basic information about my case.
There were also many times when the judge would stop the proceedings and correct or scold her because of incorrect or missing information. At times, these exchanges were embarrassing to witness. She would apologize to the judge and then continue after providing or obtaining the correct information.
In my case specifically, there were also issues with filing deadlines. There were times when the judge would ask her why something had not been filed. Her responses would be along the lines of, "I'm sorry, Your Honor, I just sent it in," or that she had the paperwork with her and would be submitting it while requesting additional time. From my perspective, these issues caused unnecessary delays in my case.
After I was released from the Adelanto Detention Center, I was applying for cancellation of removal. Because I had been released and my case was continuing, I expected her to apply for a work permit for me. In my case, that did not happen for months. Eventually, she filed for it. Later, when that work permit was approaching expiration, I was not notified that I needed to apply for a renewal. As a result, I ultimately lost my work authorization.
My family and I also gave her hundreds and hundreds of dollars throughout my case. There were times when she requested funds for applications that, to my understanding, were ultimately not filed. While I was detained at Adelanto, she asked my family for a $1,800 money order to file Form I-485 through my spouse. My family provided the money order so that the application could be filed, even though my case was not yet at that stage.
Eventually, I stopped providing additional money, and Noreen withdrew from my case. I asked her to refund any unused funds associated with forms or applications that had been requested but were never filed. Her response was that those funds had been used to file for my work permit.
Unfortunately, things became more difficult after she withdrew from my case because I needed to obtain my case file from her. This was one of the hardest parts of the entire experience. I was told that part of my file had been shredded and that some documents had been provided to me electronically in PDF format. I was also told that another portion of my file was in storage and could not immediately be accessed. It took several weeks before I finally received part of my file, while I was told that the remainder had already been shredded.
In the end, I can't simply say that Noreen is a bad lawyer. Perhaps I hired her during the earlier years of her career and while she was still building her practice. Maybe she took on too many cases at once. I honestly don't know.
What I do know is that, based on my personal experience, I would not hire her again to represent me in court.
I see that Noreen is now very involved in the community, and I genuinely hope that she has grown from her earlier experiences and continues to improve her practice. Most importantly, I hope she is able to provide strong representation and truly help others who are in need.
