Henderson, Mokhtari & Weatherly Co. L.P.A.

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10450450, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
Regards,
*** ***My response to *** *** of Henderson & Weatherly CoLPA is as follows:
First of all, I would like all who view Henderson & Weatherly's response to keep in mind that it is coming from an attorney, a licensed, practicing, defender of the law of United Statesnow read it again! The most important thing I would like to point out first, then you will see how the rest of the *** just kinda falls in place after that! How dare *** use the safety and security of other officers of the court/law to indirectly threaten my son ***If he did in fact have evidence of *** "making threats" to judges, prosecutors and any one else involved in this case (or on the planet), isn't HE OBLIGATED BY LAW TO TURN THAT EVIDENCE IN and not use it to make "indirect" threats instead? The fact that he's an attorney should make him want to protect others knowing the law instead of stating what he did? That's because he doesn't have no such evidenceIt also shows how "scandalous" these attorneys are if they wouldn't even protect their own "bar assocbuddies" instead of trying to rob me/prove a point! I tell you what, my son *** did record it (with ***'s permission) and I heard it over and over again, no such words ever came outta his mouth. *** knows the law (he just can't practice the law) and is not dumb enough to make such "threats" which HE STATED clearly during the recorded conversations What he did make *** Weatherly aware of was "he knows how it works with attorney's having to pay off the prosecutors/judges out here & he has heard how nas was buying murder cases for $10k back in the day in Youngstown, you charging $5k for a rape case? Put the *** aside and defend his brother as you were paid to do so OR "HE'LL MAKE SURE NONE OFF YOU PRACTICE LAW IN OHIO AGAIN", that's exactly what he said! I can bet ***'s law license he doesn't even remember his own response he was so shockedgood thing it's all recorded! *** even "warned" him in the recording not to "be dumb enough to put his license in jeopardy over a few bucks, just give back the money & evidence and part company on a good note" but as you have seen, they remain ignorant to the fact that their careers/licenses are in jeopardywhich is a fact, not a threat! *** is also smart enough to make copies and gave them to a few people to hold just in case they want to try the old "okie doke" on him again!Secondly, after you have noticed how *** indirectly threatens my son *** with accusations/evidence, pay close attention to how he tries to belittle him nextMy son *** has explained to me the fact that he has decided to obtain a "body camera/recording device" is not against the law and neither is using it (especially with "public officials)Now what may not stain court is if he used it without the other person's knowledge which is why he's always sure to get their permission firstNow just because they're in a rush to prove a point or ready to get right down to business and don't remember what they said much less giving him permission to record the conversation in the first place, isn't his fault! The point I'm getting to is: as explained earlier in the previous post, *** decided to obtain this body camera/recording device more so as protectionWhy would an attorney of the law, find it "abnormal" that an individual (who has proven to have been sbefore) wants to protect himself from further accusations by obtaining a "body camera"? Shouldn't the attorney be commending *** instead of finding him "abnormal"? I guess he finds it "abnormal" that all the police departments in America who have okayed the use of "body cameras" are also "abnormal" for wanting to do the same, protect themselves.Lastly, I would like to once again use *** Weatherly's response as means to prove my pointI've always been told "it's not what you say, it's how you say it"! After reading ***'s response again, notice the tone taken and how he expresses the "charges" against the accusedDoes this sound like someone who is ready to "defend" your freedom or rights? My point exactly and why "we" decided to terminate services with Henderson & WeatherlyFollow me as I explain why this "tone" is taken: You see, whether it's counts of rape or counts of murder the accused is "innocent until proven guilty", charges are only accusations and that should be how any defense approaches any case cause it's lawWhen Henderson & Weatherly Co., LPA initially took the case for $5K there were only counts against the accusedJust because the court decides to "over-indict" or add charges, doesn't mean the defense gets to use that as a means of leverage to gain more funds which we believe is what took place here charges laterWithin hrs. after obtaining the $5k from me, they were already asking for more funds when they were told "there will be no more funds until they show they've earned their pay for the $5K they just received the previous day"Now, as you read in his response "as attorneys on record, we we're obligated to continue representing the client despite the fact that our original fee agreement, would not be met.."REALLY? C'mon now, how many legitimate businesses in America would continue working for free or knowing they won't be paid? I don't know one! *** also has a recording where *** is actually "apologizing" for Brandon's behavior, then "advising" that we can deal only with him in the future if we'd like, next he "promises" that they would be working as hard as they could for us and the accused.. OMG he must've forgotten about that oneHe better hope this NEVER ends up in court, they are going to look so bad when the recordings are played on top of them making such "accusations"My son *** may actually have a lawsuit against these guys when he proves they were lying on him instead.In closing, I would just like to add that this whole process seems to be draggiwith no "amicable" resultsEnough with the back and forth if it's not going to result in some kind of conclusion for us here shortlyI am now moving forward in the next step to re-obtain my funds from Henderson & Weatherly CoLPAby involving the proper authorities/governing officesMy son told these guys "paperwork as long as *** ***." and now they're going to find outThese guys are deliberately delaying returning the funds for the simple fact that the accused is still in the middle of what looks to be a trial so delaying the funds would delay obtaining new counselThey filed a total of motions and appeared in court twice (to ask for continuances) over a period of a month(Doesn't equal $5k)Biggest question of the month is: If services were terminated on the 6th of February 2015, why would they still appear at court on March 2nd, for a hearing for the accused, nearly a month later after knowingly being fired? Yes, *** *** was present in the same court, at the same time as the accused and would have attempted to remain on as counsel if my son *** hadn't made it be known to the court that "that is a direct violation of the code of ethics for all who took part in that hearing"These are the same attorneys who were terminated on February 6, 2015, told me to come get a check for $3k and the evidence packet then when I got there, he attempted to have me sign a form keeping them on as attorneysWhen I refused, he didn't give me anything which I have a recording of me leaving the office empty handedThen it took them more weeks to submit a release of services to the court which they claim they did by mail (who would they use regular mail for something so important/with all this today's technology and if they can file it in person knowing they we're going to be out here anyway because they have cases in the same court)The release actually didn't happen until I took a hand written/notarized notice to the clerk of courts and prosecutors office notifying them of that Henderson & Weatherly had been terminated and wouldn't return the remaining balanceNotice how I submitted my rejection to their response the same day while they (Henderson & Weatherly) waited over a week to respond, particularly after the March 2nd hearing mention in the last response. That's why *** decided to respond so late then use it to "indirectly" threaten my son *** to "back-off" instead of trying to bring this conflict to a conclusion. They're all in on it and upset that my son and I were present to "throw a monkey wrench" in what ever they were attempting to doI would like to use the courts cameras to support my claim*** Weatherly was present in the court and made no attempt to return the funds or evidence*** also didn't actually enter the courtroom but was caught on camera near the judges chambers which I would also like to use as evidence in case they're dumb enough to continue to delay this instead of "parting amicably" as previously agreed! I was attempted to make a call to *** *** and let her know "the cat's outta the bag", give back the money so we can obtain new counsel for the accused and leave my son *** alone, all he wants is "due process" for his brother who is already facing tough charges but decided against it now that I realize the FEDSmaybe getting involved in this one. As far as being an accredited business, that's out the window from step oneThey don't care about some title, the money is more important obviouslyJust ask these guys to see their "advertising" adsTheir pamphlet has a high rise skyscraper from downtown on the cover like their office is in a lavish space on the 10th floor or something when I actually went to a rinky-dink, whole-in-the-wall, used to be bar/club located on the West side of Cleveland with tint on the windows (not tinted glass) and holes in the wallsThat's when it all hit me "these guys probably can't afford to give my money back from the looks of things!

The complaint references a very complicated case, for which this office was paid a down payment.  The complaining party seems to misunderstand the nature of our representation of her family member.  The complaining party was quoted a total fee for the case as a whole, and informed via...

telephone that our office would begin working on the case requested after an initial payment of $5,000.  She was informed further that the total fee for the case would be $15,000 assuming the case could be resolved without trial.  The complaining party was also told that trial fees would be additional, but could not be accurately quoted at the outset of the case.  The complaining party agreed to these terms and retained our office with an initial down payment of $5,000.  This office immediately began working on the case.  Attorney [redacted] attended one court proceeding.  [redacted] visited the client multiple times, met with the family multiple times, engaged in multiple phone conversations with the family as well as the prosecuting attorneys on the case.  Mr. [redacted] spent a great deal of time discussing the case with the prosecutors, submitted standard discovery motions, and spent a great deal of time reviewing the voluminous evidence pertaining to the case as well as to schedule future court proceedings.  Both attorneys engaged in multiple discussions regarding defense strategy.  Attorney [redacted] also attempted to track down witnesses for the case.  All court proceedings, client meetings and meetings with the family took place in [redacted]o, a forty-five minute drive from this office.  All tolled, attorneys [redacted] and [redacted] spent approximately ten hours each on the case referenced by the complaining party over a period of nearly a month.  During this time, the family of the complaining party called and repeatedly requested that this office attempt to reduce the bond for the client so he could get out of jail.  The family was told repeatedly that to accomplish this, evidence would need to be provided to the judge to support a reduction significant enough to allow the family to post it.  For example, even were the judge to reduce the client's bond by half, the family would still be unable to afford a $500,000 bond.  Rather than waste precious resources on such a fruitless effort, this office suggested spending additional funds on a private investigator to collect evidence that might be used to persuade the judge to reduce the bond to an affordable level.  The complaining party responded by stating unequivocally that no more funds would be forthcoming.  This office interpreted that to mean that not only would there be no additional funds for a private investigator, but also that this office should not expect to see the balance of the agreed upon retainer fee paid either.  Despite the knowledge that this office would not be paid as agreed upon, the attorneys continued to work on the case until family members of the complaining party began issuing threats against the attorneys.  These threats were recorded.  The prosecutors and the judge were informed of these threats, which included an implied threat of bodily harm to the attorneys of this office.  Shortly after, this office was informed that the family, and the client, wished to terminate this office's representation of the client in the matter at hand.  Per our policy, the attorneys applied their hourly rates to the time spent on the case to determine what funds should be reimbursed to the family, if any.  Mr. [redacted]'s hourly rate is $350 per hour.  He rounded his hours down to ten, billing $3,500 to the case at hand.  Mr. [redacted]'s hourly rate is $300 per hour.  He also rounded his hours worked down to ten, billing $3,000 to the case.  Having billed a total of $6,500 to the case, this office should have sent an invoice to the complaining party for $1,500.  However, it is always the goal of this office to part ways amicably under the rare occurrence that this office is asked to withdraw from a case.  As such, this office offered to remit to the complaining party a check for $3,000.  The complaining party rejected this offer and hung up the phone on attorney [redacted].  The complaining party has recently requested that a member of this office drive the check out to her residence.  Unfortunately this office cannot afford to spend any more time on this matter.  As such, this office considers the matter closed.  Those items in the file that are not public record are available for pick up at our offices, and we will forward the entire file to whatever attorney takes over on the case.  We have already mailed a motion to withdraw as counsel of record on the matter.  We are no longer considering any reimbursement to the complaining party.  We will also not be seeking payment for unpaid hours applied to the case.

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]
My response to the complaint is as follows:
                              First of all, I would like to make clear, I completely understand exactly how representation works seeing as to how I have family members who work in the profession and have taken time to explain to me the process. With that being said, why would I "EVER" agree to an open-ended case that can reach fees of up to $15,000. The only thing stated was "he'd take the case for a fee of $5,000".. no hourly pay, travelling expenses or filing fees were ever mentioned/discussed. [redacted] placed a "sense of urgency" by stating "we should meet as soon as possible to retain the fee so his office could begin to work on the case immediately, time is crucial in cases like these". We decided to meet the next day where he retained the fee of $5,000, with no receipt booklet or contract. Remembering what my family member told me a "red flag" went up so I asked "shouldn't there be a contract or written agreement" after noticing he was writing out the receipt for $5,000 cash on a piece of blank paper. [redacted] stated that "he was actually coming from court on another case in the area and didn't have time to grab the contract or receipt booklet but will have it sent via reg. mail upon his return to the office". Needless to say, I never received it! Question is or what we really need to be asking here is "why would an "ATTORNEY" come to an agreement with a client for such costs/fees without some sort of contract or written agreement? You would think "ATTORNEYS" of all would know better unless their intention weren't legitimate from the beginning!                             Secondly, I would like to make it clear that "Henderson & Weatherly" were only on the case for all of a month (1-8-15 to 2-6-15) [redacted] appeared in court with the accused one time (1-9-15) in which he tricked him into "accepting conditions of the bond" with a "Waiver of Right to be present at all hearing proceedings". A total of  6 motions were filed. [redacted] stated in this report that he "visited the client multiple times", when he actually visited only once and we would like to use the county jails cameras to prove that this is in fact a lie and further support my claim of "misrepresentation" by these attorney's.                               Lastly, I would like to add the fact that a family member has in his possession a "body camera" which he uses to record correspondence with "ALL" , "official" dealings with public officials. He has chosen to do this for his safety because of prior dealings with public officials who have made false allegations of threats & harm against them by him because he catches them and calls them out on their "[redacted]" & lies. Well good thing he decided to record the correspondence between himself and these attorneys. The accusations reported by [redacted] of "threats and bodily harm" are and will be readily contested in any court with this evidence, followed by a counter-suit of course. He has this material available for use upon request.. trust me he is waiting.                                I would also like to include the fact that I also have recorded conversations with [redacted] and a "[redacted]" from the office stating on Monday & Tuesday (Feb. 16th & 17th) that they have a check for $3,000 and the evidence file waiting at the front desk for pick-up. Unfortunately, because of the weather, I wasn't able to make it out there until Thursday, Jan. 19, 2015. I arrived at the office on 3238 Lorain Rd. and asked [redacted] for the remaining balance of the retainer fee and the evidence file I had given him, it was supposed to be at the front desk. [redacted] proceeded to invite me into office and ask that we talk for a second. I stated that I "needed to go cause I have a family member waiting in the car" which I did but I really didn't feel comfortable talking to him anyway, he was notably upset. [redacted] then stood up rapidly and stated he needed me to sign some form and I that I would drop my complaint from the Revdex.com. I stated "I'm just here to pick-up what was promised over the phone, I'm not signing nothing"! [redacted] then stopped in his tracks, turned around and stated "then I'm not giving you nothing". I then proceeded to my vehicle after learning my trip was for nothing and returned to [redacted]. My son then called to find out why he would do such a thing (have me come out for nothing) and [redacted] responded that she wasn't cooperating. My son [redacted] stated that he has one more chance to correct this by coming out to [redacted] with the check & evidence or they would proceed to take the proper steps, through whatever government office/agency that needed to in order for them not to be able to do this to anyone else again, no threats of harm were made. He also stated they would have to come to [redacted] now, no more trips to Cleveland for nothing.. no one ever asked them to come to my residency... we always meet in a public setting with cameras. This is also recorded and available if needed to support my complaint. I also have witnesses to the fact that I returned to my vehicle from their office with no check, evidence or anything after being told to come pick it up.                                The services for Henderson & Weatherly were terminated on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015. Anything filed there after, I feel I am not responsible for. The accused has a hearing scheduled for March 2, 2015 and I am in strong belief that this is some sort delay tactic to stop me from obtaining other counsel. They were notified of the termination of services through text message & voice message on all available numbers on February 6, 2015 so if they were trying to part "amicably" why do we have yet to receive a check & the evidence.. also the court has yet to be notified that you are no longer the attorneys on the case.. today's date is February 23, 2015. Again, I would like all materials turned over to me along with the check for the remaining balance, Henderson & Weatherly are absolutely not to have any contact with the new attorneys what-so-ever. Thank You.

Though it is never the intent of the offices of Henderson & Weatherly to insult or disparage any former, current, and certainly future potential client of this firm, the rejection posted by the complaining party in this matter seems to have inflicted such a consequence upon herself.  This client, and her family, was, from the outset, difficult and unreasonable.  Certainly any person who finds it necessary to wear a body camera and record conversations can at least be categorized as abnormal.  As criminal defense attorneys, however, we are familiar with dealing with all kinds of persons, and do our very best to accommodate them all to the best of our abilities.  The complaining party was treated no differently.  The questions and issues raised by the complaining party do more to highlight this person's unreasonable expectations and complete misunderstanding of the nature of legal representation in criminal proceedings than to expose any fault in the professionalism, policies or procedures of this office or its attorneys.  The complaining party asks why she would ever hire an attorney for an "open ended case" and insists that all legal fees discussed were to be covered by the $5,000 fee paid.  That statement is patently untrue.  The case for which Henderson & Weatherly was retained involved over twenty (20) counts of rape and sexual abuse, and was significant enough for the judge to set a one million dollar bond for the defendant in that case.  What attorney in their right mind would agree to accept $5,000 to not only handle a case of that magnitude, but in all likelihood, take such a case to trial? Given the time and attention such a serious case like that requires, to agree to take on such a case for only $5,000 would result in an hourly rate payment of approximately ten cents.  A case like that costs tens of thousands of dollars to properly defend.  Though such a fact might not necessarily be considered common knowledge, certainly the average person, having no real experience with hiring criminal defense attorneys, would at least be aware that $5,000 is not nearly enough to cover the cost for that type of case.  The complaining party was informed prior to the initial meeting that the $5,000 payment was merely a down payment towards the total fee should the case be resolved without trial, and that additional trial fees would need to be assessed should the case proceed to trial.  This information was provided to the complaining party during the initial, over the phone, consultation.  The complaining party refuses to acknowledge that conversation and further refuses to acknowledge that $5,000 is simply a ridiculously insufficient amount of money to pay for proper legal defense in a rape case.  This firm would earn higher payment from the state were we to have been appointed to represent the client in that case, so why would we ever agree to take less.  Shortly after this office was retained, we were informed by the complaining party that despite our agreement, absolutely no more funds would be forthcoming.  In fact, when it was suggested to the complaining party that it might be in the client's best interest to hire a private investigator, we were told that the cost for that should be taken out of the $5,000 paid for legal fees.  To my knowledge, no attorney as ever agreed to such a ludicrous suggestion.  As attorneys of record, we were obligated to continue representing the client despite the fact that our original fee agreement would not be met by the complaining party, so we did.  With only limited resources, the attorneys at this office devoted the time and effort to the case that it required.  The complaining party refused to pay for any further representation, but had no issue making further demands on this office.  One such demand was for us to submit a motion to reduce the defendant's bond.  This office did not expect the judge would grant such a motion.  Furthermore, even were to the judge to authorize a 50% reduction in bond, if the complaining party could not afford additional legal fees, how would it have been possible for her to afford a half million dollar bond.  This office made the decision not to waste resources on such a fruitless endeavor.  It was this decision in great part which caused the complaining party to terminate the services of this firm.  We were happy to comply with the request.  Further contention arose, however, when the complaining party demanded that we return $4,500 of what was paid.  This office spent a great deal of time on the case for which we were hired.  We more than exhausted the resources we were provided and are confident that we earned every cent paid to us and more.  As stated, however, we were still willing to remit to the complaining party $3,000 of the $5,000 paid so that all parties could part ways amicably.  Before the complaining party could pick up the check and sign the release, however, she submitted this complaint to the Revdex.com.  The reason this office was willing to refund some of her money was due to nothing other than goodwill, as we no doubt earned every dime paid to us.  Having destroyed any possibility of parting ways amicably as a result of this compliant, this office no longer felt any reason to remain charitable and are no longer willing to offer any refund whatsoever.  This decision was made in part due to the fact that the complaining party and her family engaged in a pattern of harassment towards this office during this office's withdrawal of the case.  During one particularly heated discussion, the complaining party's son, on a recorded conversation, threatened to make it so that no one would ever practice law again, and included the judge on the client's case in his lengthy rant.  Additionally, a statement was made indicating that this person knows people that bury bodies for $10,000 and we were paid $5,000.  This was considered a thinly veiled threat by this office and immediately disclosed to the appropriate prosecutor, who also happened to be the prosecutors on the case at issue.  They immediately informed [redacted] Police, who are very interested in the recording, as what was said about the judge could be construed as retaliation against the court having jurisdiction over the case for which we were retained.  This office was also instructed to make a report with [redacted] Police regarding the harassment and threat of bodily harm.  This office is not interested in using up any more time or resources on this case or the subsequent fee dispute.  As such, the recording has not yet been disclosed to [redacted] Police, and no report has been filed with the City of [redacted]  Should such groundless complaints persist, however, this office will likely have no choice other than to follow the direction of the prosecutor's office and allow the arrests to fall where they may.