Robert Ohlweiler ALC

Review: Paid Mr. Ohlweiler 900 dollars for representation in a D.U.I. court case,once he had money he never returned any of my attempts to reach him. He failed show in court for me case.Desired Settlement: I would like my money back.

Review: I am filing this complaint against my attorney Mr. Robert Ohlweiler due to the fact that I believe that this attorney has failed to represent me in the manner which I believe I was promised.

I initially contacted Mr. Ohlweilers office on May 21st, 2012 after speaking with numerous attorneys in the San Diego area to represent me on a criminal matter in South Bay Court for charges against me on case number [redacted] in Judge [redacted]’s court. The charges were for two counts of False Impersonation and two counts for Perjury by Declaration which occurred on June 26th, 2002.

I was never sent an agreement for representation and I was told that I would pay $3,500. To have Mr. Ohlweiler resolve this legal matter. And I am attaching a list of bank transfers made to Mr. Ohlweiler from my account at [redacted] and the final payment of $1,200. USD was given to Mr. Ohlweiler by my son and Mr. Ohlweiler confirms payment in his email to me dated July 27th, 2012.

When I retained Mr. Ohlweiler I explained that I was a U.S. citizen and had been deported to Mexico on 3 separate occasions and had a bond set in the amount of $80,000.00 which we both agreed was extremely high given the charges against me. He assured me that we could get this bond lowered so that I could post this bond and return to the U.S. I explained that I needed to post this bond prior to returning back to the U.S. because there was the possibility that I could be arrested at the U.S. border and sent to prison for up to 20 years (after 4th deportation) I need to post an immigration bond to return as well. He stated that his fees would be $3,500. USD to represent me and I agreed. Mr. Ohlweiler was paid in full well over a year ago.

Mr. Ohlweiler asked me to sign a document (Waiver of Presence) for him to appear on my behalf and request a bond reduction, which I did. I sent me Ohlweiler all the documents affidavits from my attorney in Colorado proving my citizenship as an American as well as documents indicating that I had been deported 3 times from the U.S. beginning in February of 1990. I understand that he went to court on my behalf and requested the bond be reduced to which I understand this was denied and it has been well over a year and nothing has happened on my case.

I attempted to contact Mr. Ohlweiler over a month ago to see if there were a way possible for my wife and children appear in court and plead with the Judge to set a lower bail. I sent several email messages to his offices and left over 5 voice messages for him to which he never responded. Finally, after calling his office I was able to speak with Mr. Ohlweiler because he himself answered the phone. After I reminded him of who I was and he seemed disorientated or under the influence and somewhat unsure as to who I was. I explained to him that I felt that maybe my wife and children could ask the Judge to lower the bond. At this point he said this is a great idea and I reminded him that the bond was $80,000. And he said “this is way too high and we can get this lowered way down” He promised to put this on calendar for that Friday and give me a date for my family to appear. After this date passed and contacted him once again after numerous calls and emails he said that my wife had to go to the courts and request this hearing. I explained that I had spoken with the court clerk and she stated that my attorney had to do this. He said that this was not true and that he would send me the forms for her to fill out and take to the courthouse. To date I have never received these forms and continue to have problems contacting Mr. Ohlweiler.

I believe that Mr. Ohlweiler was fully aware of my situation from the start of my initial contact and has failed to provide the legal representation for which I am entitled to. I have contacted him to try and resolve this matter and expressed my frustration and anger due to his lack of support in resolving my legal matter. I have asked him to reimburse me for legal fees which I paid to him in good faith discounting the fees for work he has done which I believe were minimal since he appeared in front of the Judge once to request the bond reduction.

His obvious lack of interest and desire to respond to my communications to represent me is very disappointing and I cannot continue to harass him to represent me in a manner which I believe I truly deserve. I ask that you look into this matter and assist me in resolving this as soon as possible so that I can appear in court and move on with my life and return to the U.S. I have all the correspondence between myself and Mr. Ohlweiler for your review and I am attaching the last email which I sent Mr. Ohlweiler last week, with no response from him as usual. Earlier today I went online to see if there was a new phone number for Mr. Ohlweiler since his email and phone numbers are no longer working and I found a long list of complaints against Mr. Ohlweiler for the same reasons I am filing and find that he has been suspended previously and has had problems with the Bar Association and problems with many other clients. Had I read these I would have never retained him as counsel on my behalf. Now all I want is a refund for the monies which he is not entitled to for his failure to provide effective service.Desired Settlement: I believe that he should only be paid for the few hours he put into my case and refund the balance so that I can get a real attorney who can best represent me. I am asking for $2,800. of the $3,500. I paid Mr. Ohlweiler over 13 months ago and noting has happened. I beleive that $700.00 for the work he performed is more than fair given the level of service and time which has transpired.

Review: I hired Mr. Ohweiler to represent me in a court case, specifically DUI. He charged my credit card immediately in two separate charges of $600 and $650, for a total of $1250. I signed a contract stating I would be hiring him to represent me in court, and he informed me I would not have to go. He failed to appear to my court case, therefore, causing a warrant out for my arrest, as well as a $10,000 bail. I tried numerous times to contact him by email, phone and fax, and never received any response. I had to hire another attorney, pay an extra $700 because of the warrant, and have added stress of having to deal with all of this.Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund of $1250 credited back to my credit card.