Blumberg & Associates

Mr*** initially contacted our office on December 6, 2012, regarding potential representation for multiple criminal matters in *** *** *** ***. At that time, Mr*** spoke at great length with our criminal legal assistant, ***. *** then discussed the specifics with Mr
*** who set the retainer at $3,and agreed with the proposed payment plan of $1,down and the remaining balance of $2,payable on or before February 4, 2013. Mr*** called back on December 7, 2012, to retain our services at which time he paid the $1,down payment (See attached receipt). As you will see in the attached Agreement Between Attorney and Client said retainer is a non-refundable flat fee retainerThis Agreement was emailed to Mr*** on December 7, with a request for his signature (please see the attached email)Mr*** alleges the charges
were dropped before he received the Agreement Between Attorney and Client which was sent to him on December 7, This is not accurateHis payment was made on December 7, at 12:PM and the Agreement was sent to him shortly thereafter at 12:PMOnce the down payment was made *** began researching the case and the court to which it was assigned. With the information she obtained she drafted a Notice of Appearance to be filed with the *** *** *** *** which Mr*** reviewed and approved for filing (See attached NOA). On or about December 10, 2012, *** then prepared the pleading for filing, made the necessary copies and sent the original pleading with our runner for filing with the court (e-filing is not yet accepted in justice courts) and mailed and faxed copies of the same to the prosecutor's office and the assigned JudgeTo date, Mr*** never paid the remaining balance of his retainer. Please note that the Agreement has a clause that specifically
states:
The fee is non-refundable, however, Client may nevertheless discharge Attorney at any time and in that event may be entitled to a refund of all or part of the fee based upon the value of the representationIn the event that BLUMBERG & ASSOCIATES is discharged or withdraws for any reason prior to the completion of the case, Client will be charged $an hour for any time spent by Attorney
Mr*** states he called and spoke with *** on occasions about getting his money back and was told to wait a yearHowever, there are no notes in his client file regarding the sameOn or about June 30, 2014, a year and a half after Mr*** retained our services he called our office requesting a refund. Mr*** spoke directly with Mr*** and was advised that the fees paid were non-refundable pursuant to the Agreement Between Attorney and Client but that he could send us a request in writing and we would respond to the sameWe never received a written request from Mr***. The time spent on Mr***’ case, including speaking with him at length, researching his case, drafting the Notice of Appearance, reviewing the Notice of Appearance, preparing the same for filing and transmittal to the judge and prosecutor (including costs for the runner), calling the Court to confirm receipt of the Notice of Appearance and verifying the hearing was vacated, would accumulate more than two hours of time spent on Mr***’s case

Mr. [redacted] initially contacted our office on December 6, 2012, regarding potential representation for multiple criminal matters in [redacted].  At that time, Mr. [redacted] spoke at great length with our criminal legal assistant, [redacted].  [redacted] then discussed the specifics with Mr....

[redacted] who set the retainer at $3,500 and agreed with the proposed payment plan of $1,000 down and the remaining balance of $2,500 payable on or before February 4, 2013.  Mr. [redacted] called back on December 7, 2012, to retain our services at which time he paid the $1,000 down payment (See attached receipt).  As you will see in the attached Agreement Between Attorney and Client said retainer is a non-refundable flat fee retainer. This Agreement was emailed to Mr. [redacted] on December 7, 2012 with a request for his signature (please see the attached email). Mr. [redacted] alleges the charges

were dropped before he received the Agreement Between Attorney and Client which was sent to him on December 7, 2012. This is not accurate. His payment was made on December 7, 2012 at 12:19 PM and the Agreement was sent to him shortly thereafter at 12:32 PM. Once the down payment was made [redacted] began researching the case and the court to which it was assigned.  With the information she obtained she drafted a Notice of Appearance to be filed with the [redacted] which Mr. [redacted] reviewed and approved for filing (See attached NOA).  On or about December 10, 2012, [redacted] then prepared the pleading for filing, made the necessary copies and sent the original pleading with our runner for filing with the court (e-filing is not yet accepted in justice courts) and mailed and faxed copies of the same to the prosecutor's office and the assigned Judge. To date, Mr. [redacted] never paid the remaining balance of his retainer.  Please note that the Agreement has a clause that specifically

states:

The fee is non-refundable, however, Client may nevertheless discharge Attorney at any time and in that event may be entitled to a refund of all or part of the fee based upon the value of the representation. In the event that BLUMBERG & ASSOCIATES is discharged or withdraws for any reason prior to the completion of the case, Client will be charged $500.00 an hour for any time spent by Attorney.

Mr. [redacted] states he called and spoke with [redacted] on 5 occasions about getting his money back and was told to wait a year. However, there are no notes in his client file regarding the same. On or about June 30, 2014, a year and a half after Mr. [redacted] retained our services he called our office requesting a refund.  Mr. [redacted] spoke directly with Mr. [redacted] and was advised that the fees paid were non-refundable pursuant to the Agreement Between Attorney and Client but that he could send us a request in writing and we would respond to the same. We never received a written request from Mr. [redacted].  The time spent on Mr. [redacted]’ case, including speaking with him at length, researching his case, drafting the Notice of Appearance, reviewing the Notice of Appearance, preparing the same for filing and transmittal to the judge and prosecutor (including costs for the runner), calling the Court to confirm receipt of the Notice of Appearance and verifying the hearing was vacated, would accumulate more than two hours of time spent on Mr. [redacted]’s case.