Kamb & Kamb

I am responding to the complaint of [redacted] against my law firm which he has made to the BetterBusiness BureauIt is my hope that this matter can be amicably resolved.Mr [redacted] consulted with my father, attorney John [redacted] K***, Srin August regarding filing forbankruptcyOn August 14, a written Bankruptcy Fee Agreement was prepared and entered into(copy attached) under which Mr [redacted] agreed, under paragraph 4, to pay the law firm the sum of$Of the payment, $was specifically designated as the attorney's fee and $was for thebankruptcy filing fee.Mr [redacted] did not pay the $up frontRather he chose to make payments to our office over time.He has paid about $-$per month toward the retainer amountIn Mr [redacted] complaint hemaintains that "he was told" that once he paid half of the legal fees and the filing fee his case would befiledThis was not part of our written agreementParagraph expressly states that "This Agreementcomprises the entire agreement between the parties and the terms hereof shall not be modified except bywritten instrument executed by all parties."Typically a bankruptcy petition cannot be filed until all payments are madeThere is a simple reason forthisUnder Federal Bankruptcy law the filing of a Petition acts as an "automatic stay" effective to allcreditorsAny debt existing as of the date of filing is subject to the bankruptcy and must be dealt with inthe bankruptcy courtIf we have not already been paid our fees we too become creditors as of the dateof filingAs such, our claims for payment could be discharged and uncollectible in the bankruptcy justlike those of any other creditorAn attorney cannot be expected to represent his client for freeWerequire full payment before the case is filedFor this reason Mr [redacted] statements that "he was told"his case would be filed after only Yi of the payment was paid does not make sense to meIt certainly isnot part of the written agreement we had.Mr [redacted] has made the following payments toward his bankruptcy:9/18/$1009/28/$10010/20/$10011/09/$2001/07/$ 2/18/20163/11/20163/25/0164/15/20165/02/2016Total paid$300$100$100$100$100$1400After initially meeting with Mr [redacted] the attorney (John [redacted] K***, Sr.) and his staff took the initialsteps to prepare for filing the bankruptcy petitionThis included the following action:August 14, 2015October 19, 2015December 2015March 29, 2016The initial intake meeting with MrK [redacted] Sr(approxattorney's time, 2hrs),The "Means Test" was run; Values of assets researched; a credit report wasobtained; and all petition forms were completed and printed and made ready forclient review and signature(approx3hrs).Mr [redacted] also met with MrK [redacted] to sign the petition (approx.30-minutes)In December, new mandatory forms became effective from the Bankruptcy Court.Because the case had not yet been filed (because Mr [redacted] had paid only $500toward his $agreed amount by that date), the old forms that he signed wereno longer validThis required us to prepare new documents .This also requiredthe Mr [redacted] re-sign the corrected documentsThe new documents wereprepared in December but Mr [redacted] did not resign the documents untilMarch (approx1-hrs.).The new petition was reprinted and Mr [redacted] signed forms(approxhr.)On January 1, MrK***, Srretired as an attorney after years of practiceHis caseload hasbeen continued by me, John [redacted] K***, JrAs of MrK***, Sr.'s retirement Mr [redacted] had paid only$toward the $agreed upon amount.It should also be mentioned that credit counseling class must be completed prior to filing the petitionAcertificate of completion is prepared when the class is completedIt is valid for only monthsMr[redacted] took the class on September 9, Therefore, since the petition is not filed within six monthsthe counseling class needs to be completed againMr [redacted] must retake the course before his petitioncan be filed.Mr [redacted] has still not yet paid the full agreed upon amount ($2035) and it is for this reason that thebankruptcy petition has not yet been filedTo date he has paid only $1400.Mr [redacted] did write a letter to me on about July 5, voicing his concern that the matter had not yetbeen filedI responded to his letterI asked him to meet with me so that we could discuss the matter toget the case filedSince that time I have not spoken directly to himRather he did come into my officewithout an appointment on August 4, and he demanded my secretary to give him his file and hefurther demanded a refund of the money paid to dateThis, of course, could not be agreed to by my secretary, without my approvalHe was again invited to make an appointment with me directly but herefusedRather he filed this complaint with the Revdex.com.Our Bankruptcy Fee Agreement provides: "The retainer and all other fees that you pay me are nonrefundable."In that our office has provided actual services on this matter of approximately 7-hours Ido not feel any refund is appropriate.It is always been the intention of our office to fulfill our agreementsOur agreement called for a $2035paymentTo date only $has been paidI am more than willing to continue to represent Mr[redacted] to the completion of his bankruptcyI ask that he make arrangements with my office so we canmeet and further discuss the matter Very truly yours, John [redacted] K [redacted] Jr

I am responding to the complaint of [redacted] against my law firm which he has made to the BetterBusiness Bureau. It is my hope that this matter can be amicably resolved.Mr. [redacted] consulted with my father, attorney John ** K[redacted], Sr. in August 2015 regarding filing forbankruptcy. On August 14,...

2015 a written Bankruptcy Fee Agreement was prepared and entered into(copy attached) under which Mr. [redacted] agreed, under paragraph 4, to pay the law firm the sum of$2035. Of the payment, $1700 was specifically designated as the attorney's fee and $335 was for thebankruptcy filing fee.Mr. [redacted] did not pay the $2035 up front. Rather he chose to make payments to our office over time.He has paid about $100 -$200 per month toward the retainer amount. In Mr. [redacted] complaint hemaintains that "he was told" that once he paid half of the legal fees and the filing fee his case would befiled. This was not part of our written agreement. Paragraph 24 expressly states that "This Agreementcomprises the entire agreement between the parties and the terms hereof shall not be modified except bywritten instrument executed by all parties."Typically a bankruptcy petition cannot be filed until all payments are made. There is a simple reason forthis. Under Federal Bankruptcy law the filing of a Petition acts as an "automatic stay" effective to allcreditors. Any debt existing as of the date of filing is subject to the bankruptcy and must be dealt with inthe bankruptcy court. If we have not already been paid our fees we too become creditors as of the dateof filing. As such, our claims for payment could be discharged and uncollectible in the bankruptcy justlike those of any other creditor. An attorney cannot be expected to represent his client for free. Werequire full payment before the case is filed. For this reason Mr. [redacted] statements that "he was told"his case would be filed after only Yi of the payment was paid does not make sense to me. It certainly isnot part of the written agreement we had.Mr. [redacted] has made the following payments toward his bankruptcy:9/18/2015 $1009/28/2015 $10010/20/2015 $10011/09/2015 $2001/07/2016 $200
2/18/20163/11/20163/25/0164/15/20165/02/2016Total paid$300$100$100$100$100$1400After initially meeting with Mr. [redacted] the attorney (John** K[redacted], Sr.) and his staff took the initialsteps to prepare for filing the bankruptcy petition. This included the following action:August 14, 2015October 19, 2015December 2015March 29, 2016The initial intake meeting with Mr. K[redacted] Sr. (approx. attorney's time, 2hrs),The "Means Test" was run; Values of assets researched; a credit report wasobtained; and all petition forms were completed and printed and made ready forclient review and signature. (approx. 3hrs).Mr. [redacted] also met with Mr. K[redacted] to sign the petition (approx.30-60 minutes)In December, new mandatory forms became effective from the Bankruptcy Court.Because the case had not yet been filed (because Mr. [redacted] had paid only $500toward his $2035 agreed amount by that date), the old forms that he signed wereno longer valid. This required us to prepare new documents .This also requiredthe Mr. [redacted] re-sign the corrected documents. The new documents wereprepared in December 2015 but Mr. [redacted] did not resign the documents untilMarch 2016. (approx. 1-2 hrs.).The new petition was reprinted and Mr. [redacted] signed forms. (approx. 1 hr.)On January 1, 2016 Mr. K[redacted], Sr. retired as an attorney after 60 years of practice. His caseload hasbeen continued by me, John ** K[redacted], Jr. As of Mr. K[redacted], Sr.'s retirement Mr. [redacted] had paid only$500 toward the $2035 agreed upon amount.It should also be mentioned that credit counseling class must be completed prior to filing the petition. Acertificate of completion is prepared when the class is completed. It is valid for only 6 months. Mr.[redacted] took the class on September 9, 2015. Therefore, since the petition is not filed within six monthsthe counseling class needs to be completed again. Mr. [redacted] must retake the course before his petitioncan be filed.Mr. [redacted] has still not yet paid the full agreed upon amount ($2035) and it is for this reason that thebankruptcy petition has not yet been filed. To date he has paid only $1400.Mr. [redacted] did write a letter to me on about July 5, 2016 voicing his concern that the matter had not yetbeen filed. I responded to his letter. I asked him to meet with me so that we could discuss the matter toget the case filed. Since that time I have not spoken directly to him. Rather he did come into my officewithout an appointment on August 4, 2016 and he demanded my secretary to give him his file and hefurther demanded a refund of the money paid to date. This, of course, could not be agreed to by my
secretary, without my approval. He was again invited to make an appointment with me directly but herefused. Rather he filed this complaint with the Revdex.com.Our Bankruptcy Fee Agreement provides: "The retainer and all other fees that you pay me are nonrefundable."In that our office has provided actual services on this matter of approximately 7-9 hours Ido not feel any refund is appropriate.It is always been the intention of our office to fulfill our agreements. Our agreement called for a $2035payment. To date only $1400 has been paid. I am more than willing to continue to represent Mr.[redacted] to the completion of his bankruptcy. I ask that he make arrangements with my office so we canmeet and further discuss the matter.
Very truly yours, 
John ** K[redacted] Jr.