While I ended up using a different lawyer, I really appreciated his quick and thorough response to my inquiry. I'm unclear about the allegations of his legal standing, but he seemed knowledgeable and responsive so I thought I'd toss him a decent review. read more

Run, don't walk. I hired him for a Marvin Claim. He did nothing but take my money, give me horrible advice, was unlicensed for a period of time while under hire, for which the poured honey slow system is investigating him, destroyed my case that I now have under appeal. Upon paying money for him to represent me in court, he "shows up" on a zoom link that did not even work, for a judge who does not do zoom meetings. That he is still in business is unreal. read more

Highly recommend Mr. Verbeck in any and all legal dealings with landlords. He was able to quickly and smoothly help me get my deposit back from a stubborn landlord who was withholding it illegally for a couple of months. Mr. Verbeck's vast experience in dealing with landlords, and encyclopedic knowledge of the Bay Area real estate and rental laws lead to a prompt resolution and the return of my deposit. Plus, Mr. Verbeck was very professional, quick to respond as well as an excellent communicator, and just a nice and empathetic person to work with all around. Save yourself lots of headache and frustration, and reach out to Mr. Verbeck for help! read more

Respond is timely. Like his approach in providing legal assistance, is that he does not based his fees to his standard fees per hour or what not but I guessed on the weight of work or perhaps consider the financial status of his clients. Not all clients can afford attorney fees and most of us are just normal working people for a living. read more

He is NOT allowed to practice law in California. Did not know that information nor did he tell ever tell me when I hired him. I am filling a complaint with The State Bar of California. Won't give me my money back. He filed papers wrong and missed the date to fix the mistake. He was fired but never sent me my file. I GIVE HIM -- 0 stars read more

Poor communication. Never returned my calls. Never provided documentation request of "court docket #, or proof of service to owner" that he "supposedly" filed in court. I called Oakland tenant services to remove this business from their referral list as this business most definitely cost me my case due to neglect & misrepresentation to say the least. I also never received my rental deposit back. Owner has since sold the condo that I was asked to move out from "intent to sell". I had many laws protecting me at the time and Verbeck law did not represent me as he stated in his contract. Will also be reporting this business to the state bar. I have all my receipts to prove neglect & misrepresentation. read more

I tried writing down various questions. Unfortunately, there was no contact. I don't know if my problem was difficult or if they don't want to accept the request, but if they don't accept the request, I think they should let them know that they won't accept the request. read more

I've hired Alex several times to draft or review contracts. One was for real estate, and the most recent that just finished was an employment contract. Every time he's been extremely helpful, responsive on the rounds of edits, and prompt to our calls. He's deeply knowledgeable about the areas of law and has a great ability to explain them to a layperson. That's why I recommend him to all my friends who need legal things and keep coming back myself. read more

Long overdue review. I regret choosing Verbeck Law for an eviction case. Extremely unprofessional and doesn't even have an actual office. The firm's progress was painfully slow, with virtually no communication from their side. Despite our effort in attempt to reach out for progress, all we received were vague responses claiming they were 'working on it,' which continued for months without any meaningful updates. When we finally decided to move on and requested a refund, they refused. Ultimately, we turned to another firm, and our case was resolved quickly. I would not trust Verbeck Law with my time or money. I felt scammed. read more

Great experience- I will definitely return to Alex in the future. Got what I expected, and was kept in the loop the entire time. Professional, courteous and we achieved my desired outcome! Had an issue with a landlord attempting to keep more that was fair, or legal. Alex provided a no-nonsense consultation for free, so that I could better understand my position. After a brief discussion, he provided me with some options and asked how I wanted to proceed. I choose, and we went ahead with little delay. He contacted me regularly to keep me abreast of developments, and did a fantastic (and patient) job of explaining dense legal issues in terms I could understand. He's the guy you want in your corner. read more

Super helpful, the courts are a mess but these folks helped me through a lot. Tricky divorce, out of state issues, and so on. Strongly recommend. read more

the worst. for 2 years he did nothing for me but take my money. represented me without having a law license for a period of the time. did not show up to court. did not respond to so many requests. does not have insurance. has a fake "office" in berkeley. a total hoaxter and con artist. no ethics at all. no skill at all. the reason why people despise lawyers. read more

My recommendation is to avoid utilizing Alex Verbeck. I had a legal matter and due to his misleading reasonable pricing, I have found myself losing a small case because of a No Show and another placing me in a vulnerable position due to another no show and inadequate paperwork filing. Alex is almost impossible to get a hold of. Profusely lies and attempts to make you feel something is getting done when in fact nothing is getting done and you are made to appear as a fool for it. Alex does not offer valid advice nor does he have an office nor actual practice. The reviews are accurate regarding his poor workmanship and even poorer attorney skills. Alex is more of a liability and my sincere recommendation is to look elsewhere as it will cost you to utilize his service on the back end. Get a real attorney. One that will fight for you. Alex will take your money and make you feel you have an attorney when in fact you don't. All the important case info is being ignored and nothing is up to legal standards. You appear that you've done nothing to the courts. Alex tries to lie that he is taking care of it, he is not. I wish I knew better beforehand but I was in need of legal help and his rates seemed reasonable. I ended paying more than I ever would with a professional. You pay one way or another. Alex screwed me and I am not one to play victim. Just an old school over promise and not deliver. read more

very responsive, Understandable--regarding law. You'll be lucky to get a call back from most. Mr. Verbeck is in top of it. read more

He is just the absolute worst. He doesn't return messages and when he does he manages to somehow provide none of the information you asked him about. Meet him in person? Good luck, he doesn't have an office. He has shared space which is basically a mail drop off location. He doesn't show for virtual meetings either. If you look into him he was once suspended from practicing law in CA and in my opinion he should be suspended again. As others have said , I would give 0 stars if allowed. read more

Alex is an excellent lawyer. My prenup negotiation ended up being much more complex than expected, getting down into some very specific dirty details. He was extremely patient, knowledgeable, and helpful in working with us on writing a document that satisfied my partner, their lawyer, and myself. My experience working with Alex was stellar, and I would absolutely recommend him for your legal needs. A+, would lawyer again read more

Alex helped us out with some of our questions on renting and security deposits. After renting for in SF for a long time, we were getting tired of getting hammered with miscellaneous deductions that seems like ordinary wear and tear. He was extremely responsive, insightful, and patient with all of our questions. I learned things I probably should have already known after 10 years of renting! I highly recommend reaching out. Thank you so much Alex!!! read more

I would give Alex zero stars if I could. I paid him an initial fee of $2750 with the assurance that any unspent money would be refunded. Three months later, almost nothing had happened on my case despite my repeated email contact. His legal assistant was urging me to put more money in. Instead, I asked for a complete accounting of how the money had been spent, and copies of whatever had been done on my behalf. Weeks later, I have received nothing. This guy is a crook and I may have to take him to small claims court. Seriously?! Take a lawyer to small claims court?! I think he's a smart guy but either he intends to screw over his clients or he's simply too busy to serve them. Either way, AVOID. read more

Many people out going through tough legal issues may not be able to afford legal representation. So, when a lawyer presents themselves as a cheaper alternative you have hope. Then you learn that the old adage "You get way you pay for" is true. It's my fault that I didn't look into this guy more. It was my fault for seeking out a lawyer in desperation and trying to save money. However, If you are going to consider using Alex you need to be aware of what happened to me. It was a divorce, slightly contested but not complicated. No kids, not a lot of property and not a lot of assets. I made contact with him on the phone and he assured me he could help me get through it. I paid my initial retainer of $2000 and took the leap. 6 months and $11,000 later, a new lawyer and pending judgement against me I am no closer to than where I was in the beginning. Here are my observations of what dealing with him is like. -He doesn't have an office. He rents a small meeting room at a We Work space where he shows up with his laptop. -It took 2-3 weeks to get replies to emails. -His "assistant" is woman with the same last name, so, not even sure she is a legal professional. -His assistant does not seem to have any experience with family law and often came across as confused about what was going on with my case. -I was told I would get weekly updates on my case. Never happened. -I was told that important disclosures had been filed on my behalf -I found out that he had not filed correctly and I had to resign documents which delayed the process. -Several times, the opposing side reached out to tell me that my financial disclosures were not filed correctly. When asked, Verbeck denied and tried to re-direct stating that it was the other side. In one instance saying "Have you ever considered she is doing this to get you to spend more money on legal fees?" Referring to having to contact him. -He is nearly impossible to get a meeting with. -He divides his time between California and Oregon, so, his availability is very limited in cases where things need to be done urgently. -He's inattentive. I made attempt to call him because I was worried about my case. He finally called me but when he did, he was clearly not working and I could hear him sanding on a personal project in the background. Very disrespectful. -He had me resign another set of disclosures. Stating the "Court f-ed up his stuff" and that he needed to go drop them off at the courthouse. -He clearly does not know family law very well. -He was given a settlement offer to present to opposing council. -2 weeks later that offer still had not been presented. -He failed to file my financial disclosures as required. -He failed to respond to opposing council's request for these documents. -He was served with a court order to compel with a date to appear in court. -He never disclosed the court order. I found out through my ex. -The court order was for $5000 to cover opposing council legal fees for delaying the case and requiring more work to review the documents. At this point I was into Alex for about $4000. It was clear that staying with Alex would be like choosing to stay onboard a plane that is going to crash when you have a parachute. I made an appointment for a consultation with another lawyer. That appointment, really opened my eyes and revealed just how incompetent an un-professional Alex is. The only time Alex ever responded to me, right away, was when I told him I was firing him and needed him to type up and file the substitution paperwork. In the end. I paid m new lawyer an initial retainer of $3500 with another $3500 to be paid within a week. It was made very clear that the first part of my retainer would be required to clean up the mess he left us with. Based on what my new lawyer needed me to provide them it was clear that Alex was absent the semester they taught family law in law school. So, the fight continues. This could have been handled months ago. Because of Alex Verbeck's incompetence I am now the bad guy. I have to go defend myself in court and explain why I haven't provided my financial disclosures. I had to come up with more money I don't have. I had to take more time off from work I can't afford to. What could have been a $4000-$5000 divorce has now become $11000 with no progress and more to come. Several attempts to contact Verbeck Law seeking a refund have gone unanswered. Shocker. Once I get this mess figured out. I am going to file a complaint against him an explore other options to hold him accountable for his incompetence. Save your money. Get a real attorney. read more

I contacted Verbeck Law to attend to an urgent issue. The staff was excellent, and Alex was all that I could hope for in a lawyer! I'd recommend him to anyone. read more

I've worked with Mr. Verbeck to prepare a number of documents for myself and my family. He has been incredibly responsive, and enormously helpful in making adjustments as time and arrangements have changed. read more

The most unprofessional person I've ever encountered in my life, specially for an attorney. Don't waste your time and money, look for another one. We hired Alex for a tenant case back in November 2018, and the case dragged on until now (May 2019). NOT A THING has been solved except the fact that he has taken our flat rate deposit. He takes over a month to reply to any of our emails. We had to consistently reach out for updates. He never returned any of my calls when I left him a voicemail. This unprofessional behavior is unacceptable. Why are you still in business? Very disappointed. read more

I contacted Verbeck Law with an urgent family law matter. The staff was very helpful and quickly arranged an appointment. When I met with Alex, I felt like he listened to my concerns without judgement. I felt comfortable sharing my situation. He calmly provided me with advice and walked me through the next steps of my case. I definitely recommend Alex and Verbeck Law. I'll be back for any future legal needs. read more

Alex explained my rights as a tenant to me in a very easy to understand way and helped me through a change of ownership on my apartment. I now recommend him to everyone I know who has legal issues with their landlord. I would definitely use his services again. Five stars. read more

I called Alex after hours with an urgent legal question. Having a flat rate fee was took some of the stress out of my evening, since i didnt have to worry about the cost going out of control. Alex's calm straight forward manner of explaining my options made everything so much easier. Calling a lawyer right away is an excellent idea, and calling Alex sidesteps a lot of the traditional complaints people have with lawyers. read more

Alex was able to see me on a tight timeline. He was professional and explained some legal paperwork to me so that I was able to make an informed decision. Totally would recommend! read more

I contacted Verbeck Law with an urgent family law matter. The staff was very helpful and quickly arranged an appointment. When I met with Alex, I felt like he listened to my concerns without judgement. I felt comfortable sharing my situation. He calmly provided me with advice and walked me through the next steps of my case. I definitely recommend Alex and Verbeck Law. I'll be back for any future legal needs. read more

Alex was really awesome to work with! He helped me fill out some important legal papers and he was super fast ,efficient and answered all of my questions. I felt that his fee was reasonable for the work that he helped me with and I would gladly use him again if the need ever came up again! read more

I believe in kismet. While out to lunch with a friend several months ago, I was discussing a fairly complicated legal matter I wanted to address but wasn't sure how to proceed. My friend had just the other day met Alex Verbeck and recommended his services to me. Verbeck Law was hands down exactly what I was looking for. My case has multiple facets and I'd already been told it wouldn't be an easy process. Alex blew that out of the water. He was very responsive to all of my questions and communicated his thought process to me every step of the way. I would highly recommend Verbeck Law to any and all. (And he tells a great story too!) read more

I will never recommend it AT ALL!!! it took him almost 3 months to get a paper filled out and was never even sent!! and on top off it he charged me for it. when I asked for my deposited money it took him another 3 months to give it back, he will not answer calls or emails and if he did he did he will say something like " im in the middle of court or I just left" Alex is a waste of time and money he will not get anything done for you, the flat rate thing is just something he uses to get you so you can make a deposit, which when you ask for it he will lag and push it till he feels is ok to refund it. read more

I cannot recommend this firm enough. Alex was extremely easy to communicate with, very professional, worked in a timely manner, and was able to bring a positive resolution to my case. No one wants to be in a position that requires legal intervention, but if you find yourself needing a good lawyer this is an excellent firm!! read more

I would not recommend AT ALL. 2 months gone to waste all because of this UNPROFESSIONAL person. Such a waste of time and going back and forth with Alex. Did not get anywhere, he would tell me he was going to send paperwork which he never did. Never answered calls, barely emails. It got to a point where we had to ask for our money back yet we haven't received our paperwork and money back and its been over a month since we asked for it. I understand it takes time but 2 months or more? Ridiculous. read more

My third time coming back to Alex; I hired him to put together an intellectual property contract that I needed in a hiring situation. To be honest, I had been tempted to just modify some boilerplate type contract from the internet but after seeing what Alex put together I'm glad that I didn't. He covered a lot of situations and contingencies in the contract that hadn't even occurred to me. Once again I'm a happy customer. read more

It was a waste of time and money for me and a really bad experience. He would not also give me the papers that he had prepared for my case and that I had paid for and simply ignored me after I terminated his mandate. The first (and only) meeting with him was in a shared working space! Which respectable lawyer works in co-working space and does not have an office!? I should have known right then that this could be a bad actor. The front desk lady in the co-working space made a guilty face as I told her I am meeting with Alex as if she knew that there is something wrong with this "client" of theirs...I was in doubt even if he is a real lawyer at this point. Alex filed really simple and unthoughtful Restraining Orders for us (just with a couple of sentences describing the cases). One of the ROs he actually misfiled and was never registered in the City system and the other one was registered but incomplete (missing some of the physical characteristics required). As a result the RO was put on hold until I went in the court personally wasting one working day to figure out what is going on and to straighten it. In the meantime our opponent has filed a RO against us and gained valuable time. However, his RO was denied by the judge. Then Alex "prepared" an unlawful detainer filing for us and again I had the feeling he did not put a lot of effort into that neither - it was just one sentence his articulation of the case! At this point I was already getting frustrated as I was feeling lack of responsiveness and thoroughness and it appeared to me that I could never reach him on the phone, neither get comprehensive answers to my questions. So I had showed the case to another attorney. The other attorney reviewed the 3-day notice that Alex had prepared and said that it was defective and missing some important points according to the Oakland requirements. So the two things that Alex worked on (Restraining Order and 3 day notice) were either defective, misfiled, lost or did not achieve the desired result. So I terminated Alex's mandate and requested a refund for all the defective work done upon which he said he settles for what I have paid him so far.. As an evidence of what I felt was a mediocre work, I wrote personally the argumentation for the two restraining orders that we needed and we got the squatters kicked out of the house right away in 5 days (whereby with Alex's restraining order the judge gave us only 10 yards distance and allowed them to stay further in the house). So I solved my case alone and thanks god I don't wish anyone to need or depend on lawyers! Don't be tempted by his "low" price because you may get also "low" service which can take you even further back. It seems to me that he has a conveyor belt approach where he tries to do a high volume of standard cases with minimal time input and consideration and that is not what you want when your destiny is on the line. You want a lawyer who will put so much time and consideration into your case as if it was concerning his personal destiny. read more

I hired Alex Verbeck of Verbeck Law to help me with the eviction of a tenant. In my first conversation he assured me that it would be a very quick and cut and dry case since the tenant had lied on their rental application. This was not actually the reason I was trying to evict them, even though it was true, but Alex said it was the easiest way to evict. He was the lawyer so I agreed. I told Alex that the lease was up in just a few months and asked him if I should just wait it out. I did not want to go to court but he assured me it was be a swift, easy process. As soon as I paid the flat fee to Alex, he never asked me for any of the information I had gathered and he was either extremely slow to respond to me or he failed to get back to me at all. By the time we were at the point of going to court he completely changed this story and suggested that instead of going to court we should settle with the tenant, allow them to keep living there, and drop the whole case. I would of course get no refund for his services. A month after I paid him the retainer he started to say how difficult it was to evict a tenant even if they had done everything wrong, and the courts were completely stacked against landlords and that it would be best for me to just drop the whole thing. I really couldn't believe that he was now saying I should drop the case and I refused. By the time we actually went to court two months after the initial payment to Alex, he persuaded me to accept a deal because he said that as soon as we stood before the judge and had them agree to pay the back rent and move out we would be able to immediately get a sheriff's order to remove them if they didn't abide by the terms. I agreed because I thought was he was telling me was the truth. After court, for three weeks, I asked Alex almost a dozen times to please send the stipulate agreement in writing so that we could sign the agreement. He kept telling me it didn't matter because we had said it in front of the judge and it was enforceable. When the tenant failed to pay rent or leave three weeks after court, I asked Alex to proceed with removing them for violating the agreement and now the story changed again. Now it would not be possible to have them removed after all, and only then did he actually send the agreement for signatures and it was different from what we had agreed to in court. To top it all off he told me we were good to go with a payment plan with the tenant. He then informed me that he would be receiving the payments which I immediately said I did not EVER want him receiving any funds on my behalf. Rent was to go to me, and me alone, and furthermore not only did I not even know that he was trying to reach an agreement with them but I never agreed to any payment plan. Two weeks later and he has still not given me the money he collected from the tenant without my approval or agreement. read more

My experience was so horrific, I got my money back. Don't ever ever ever use him if you want to keep a roof over your head.

This rating is for an interaction with Alex in October, 2015. Contacted Alex to address a Tenant issue and needed professional advice to ensure compliance with Berkeley laws. Played email/phone tag, finally was able to reach him by phone and agreed to a price. I then sent Alex a document to review so we can get the work started. 2 weeks later, still no reply, couldn't reach Alex. Finally, after tired of waiting, I requested to part ways because it was too difficult to reach him. I wasted a month's time trying to work with Alex. read more

I found it very easy to work with Alex on a tenant case. He was very straightforward, up front and clearly answered my questions. He was also patient and worked around my hearing difficulty (phones are hard for me to hear with) with no hesitation. I appreciated his honesty and up front flat rate. Although a shared meeting space is a little confusing (there was no one around the place when I went for our meeting), it does help him keep costs down and that is passed on to client. I didn't feel this was an issue at all. We would not hesitate to have Alex represent us in the future. read more

I've gotten Alex's help with several legal matters, and highly recommend him. Frankly, he was a godsend in a complex, confusing and upsetting situation. He put me at ease (not a common experience with lawyers) because he took the time to explain my situation and its legal ramifications thoroughly, and was calm and confident. He was patient - I ask a lot of questions - and responded quickly to my many emails. He made no-pressure suggestions, gave what turned out to be excellent advice, and was able to work independently without me feeling I needed to look over his shoulder. A thoroughly decent and no-BS guy. Alex was friendly with me but would clearly be a formidable opponent. I wouldn't want to face him in court! read more

I followed up with Alex on a previous case and he was able to help me promptly, it was very smooth with a positive outcome. thanks again!