Law Office of Kathy Holton

Client entered into contract as stated beforeClient assured me he could make the payments and my office worked with him and he knew after late payments I would have to withdraw as I could not financially afford to work for free and also because of his threats to my physical safetyClient was suspended from his federal job pending a psychological evaluation as client had told me in NovemberI explained that if he no longer has income he may be able to qualify for a Court appointed lawyer and I would help that lawyer and explain all the work I had done on his cases, keeping him out of jail and prisonClient was able to retain another lawyer who is representing him at this time in his casesI am not exactly sure how he is able to have money now when he claims his only means is disability income which was never disclosed to meClient received skilled advocacy and representation from me which was earnedclient had emailed me the certified letter and I responded to the day receivedI have all this documented but am uncomfortable continuing on with this back and forth because I prefer to protect my ex-clients personal information especially with regard to psychological and criminal actions, despite client threatening me and continuing to file grievancesI have compassion for clients psychological problems but can not refund money that was earned at a discount

Client had entered into a professional service contract me me to represent and defend him in four criminal cases in August of I had given client a $discount because he worked for the federal governmentThe agreed upon price for my legal services was $6,flat fee with $2,down and $$every other weekI represented client in Court by advocating and having a hearing in from of A district Judge to recall an arrest warrant and allow client to be on a pre-trial bond with few conditions for his Felony Charge of Violation of a protective orderI negotiated with the probation officer and prosecutor to keep client's case from being revoked and client going to prisonClient was behind payments and was in constant contact with my office and knew I would have to withdraw from the cases as I could not continue to work for freeClient verbal and physically threatened me which made it impossible to continue defending him and myselfHe has filed numerous grievances and has threaten he will continue to do so if I don't refund the money I have earned defending him in CourtI had to alert Courthouse security when he balled up his fists in a stance to assault me outside the CourtroomClient breached our financial contract and placed me in imminent fear of my physical safetyClient has been able to hire another lawyer with no financial problemClient elected a flat fee arrangement in lieu of my billable hourly rate of $Client is not owed any return of money earnedI have spent more than hours in my legal representationsuccessfully advocating for client to stay out of jail and prison

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:Ms [redacted] knowingly and intentionally took advantage of my financial situation because I was an unemployed federal employeeIt was noted that I am a disabled Army Veteran and my time away from work was due to having medical treatmentI became late on my payments because my only source of income was the disability compensation that I receive monthly for the service connected disabilityWhen I was unable to pay Ms [redacted] stated , "go apply for a court appointed lawyer since you don't have a job." Soon after the withdrawal of her services a certified letter requesting a descriptive invoice of services [redacted] was sent to the address of [redacted] Law OfficeThe notice was left at the business address on 01/19/but the certified letter was never claimed then return to senderWhen a party refuses to accept a certified letter this could be proof of intent to deceive Regards, [redacted] ***

Client entered into contract as stated before. Client assured me he could make the payments and my office worked with him and he knew after 3 late payments I would have to withdraw as I could not financially afford to work for free and also because of his threats to my physical safety. Client was suspended from his federal job pending a psychological evaluation as client had told me in November. I explained that if he no longer has income he may be able to qualify for a Court appointed lawyer and I would help that lawyer and explain all the work I had done on his cases, keeping him out of jail and prison. Client was able to retain another lawyer who is representing him at this time in his cases. I am not exactly sure how he is able to have money now when he claims his only means is disability income which was never disclosed to me. Client received skilled advocacy and representation from me which was earned. client had emailed me the certified letter and I responded to the day received. I have all this documented but am uncomfortable continuing on with this back and forth because I prefer to protect my ex-clients personal information especially with regard to psychological and criminal actions, despite client threatening me and continuing to file grievances. I have compassion for clients psychological problems but can not refund money that was earned at a discount.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:Ms. [redacted] knowingly and intentionally took advantage of my financial situation because I was an unemployed federal employee. It was noted that I am a disabled Army Veteran and my time away from work was due to having medical treatment. I became late on my payments because my only source of income was the disability compensation that I receive monthly for the service connected disability. When I was unable to pay Ms. [redacted] stated , "go apply for a court appointed lawyer since you don't have a job." Soon after the withdrawal of her services a certified letter requesting a descriptive invoice of services [redacted] was sent to the address of [redacted] Law Office. The notice was left at the business address on 01/19/2016 but the certified letter was never claimed then return to sender. When a party refuses to accept a certified letter this could be proof of intent to deceive.
Regards,
[redacted]

Client had entered into a professional service contract me me to represent and defend him in four criminal cases in August of 2015. I had given client a $7.500 discount because he worked for the federal government. The agreed upon price for my legal services was $6,500 flat fee with $2,000 down and...

$$50. every other week. I represented client in Court by advocating and having a hearing in from of A district Judge to recall an arrest warrant and allow client to be on a pre-trial bond with few conditions for his Felony Charge of Violation of a protective order. I negotiated with the probation officer and prosecutor to keep client's case from being revoked and client going to prison. Client was behind 3 payments and was in constant contact with my office and knew I would have to withdraw from the cases as I could not continue to work for free. Client verbal and physically threatened me which made it impossible to continue defending him and myself. He has filed numerous grievances and has threaten he will continue to do so if I don't refund the money I have earned defending him in Court. I had to alert Courthouse security when he balled up his fists in a stance to assault me outside the Courtroom. Client breached our financial contract and placed me in imminent fear of my physical safety. Client has been able to hire another lawyer with no financial problem. Client elected a flat fee arrangement in lieu of my billable hourly rate of $350.00. Client is not owed any return of money earned. I have spent more than 20 hours in my legal representationsuccessfully advocating for client to stay out of jail and prison.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:Ms. [redacted] does not have the capability to speak nor confirm the mental status of her clients especially when she has one of her own. Ms. [redacted] is not able to operate a motor vehicle and suffers from a medical condition in which she is not capable of handling any type of confrontation or stress.  She would often appear late to court and would act is if she is under some type of mind-altering substance. Ms.[redacted] has demonstrated extreme prejudice when allowing other clients to make late payments and still continue to represent them. To describe having a ball up fist, fear of safety and lack of income for justification to withdraw services to keep unearned funds is unprofessional conduct best described as immoral and dishonest. If there was an actual threat towards Ms. [redacted] then where is the incident or police report? It is the right of any client to file an grievance(s) when ones rights have been violated. Ms. [redacted] has violated my rights and taken advantage of my financial situation for her personal gain. Ms. [redacted] clearly can remember when a payment is due but neglectfully provided an invoice for any services in addition to what was required by me to remain on probation.
Regards,
[redacted]