The Law Offices of Heather Pietroforte

Ms. [redacted] hired the Law Offices of [redacted] on or about March 30, 2017, to prepare documents for a divorce and restraining order. Ms. [redacted] paid a refundable retainer of $1,500.00 for these services. See attached fee agreement. Ms. [redacted] met with Ms. [redacted] 's paralegal to have the... documents prepared on or about April 3, 2017. Ms. [redacted] 's paralegal prepared a Summons, Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, UCCJEA form, Income and Expense Declaration, Schedule of Assets and debts, and Request and Order for Fee Waiver. This took Ms. [redacted] 's paralegal 2 hours to complete, at an agreed-upon hourly rate of $160.00 per hour, for a total of $320.00. The client never disputed the bill. See attached bill for services. Ms. [redacted] informed Ms. [redacted] 's paralegal that she did not want to divorce petition filed yet. Ms. [redacted] stated that she instead wanted it held until further instruction from her. On May 1, 2017, I purchased Ms. [redacted] 's law practice. Upon being contacted by Ms. [redacted] about her case, I offered to schedule a meeting with her. Instead of a meeting, she requested a refund of her retainer. Ms. [redacted] had only transferred the balance of the retainer, or $1,180.00 to me upon taking over the firm. I informed Ms. [redacted] that I would refund to her the money I had remaining. The $320.00 was deducted by Ms. [redacted] for the work done on Ms. ***'s behalf. It appears that Ms. [redacted] changed her mind about having the divorce completed, however, the work was done by Ms. [redacted] . I took over the firm and gave Ms. [redacted] a refund of the unearned retainer, as requested. If any further information is needed, please contact me.Thank you. [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:
I tried numerous times to contact this office and got no responseThis whole situation has been handled unprofessionallyI never received a contract nor a receipt in the mailThey has me sign paperwork but refused to give me copies which I thought was strangeThat is fine is Ms*** does not want to solve thisI have made contact with the California state bar association regarding both of these attorneys and how I was manipulated and used by bothWhat was done to me is unethical and wrongAnd I will make sure it does not happen to anyone else! I had to hire someone else and pay them for work that was never sent to meMs*** refused to send me the paperwork I paid for, so I had to pay someone elseI want a refund of funds that were taken for paperwork I never received and had to hire someone else to do because she refused to send it to meThe california state bar has copies of emails that her office never replied toThey also have the facebook converstation where I reached out to her to try and solve this nicelyIf Ms.*** has the paperwork like she stated she did why didn't she just send it? Now it doesn't matter because I had to pay someone else to do it because again she refused to send itIn my business if you refuse your service the client is rightfully given a full refund! I want my refund!

I was brought in by *** *** who never disclosed to me that she would not be my attorney and that she was selling her businessThey charged me for a service that was not usedThis is unethical and very wrongI was charged for absolutely nothingI was scammed by attorneys one selling her business and the other who bought the businessI tried numerous times to reach the new attorney to no availThey finally refunded part of my money but kept

Upon contacting my office, I did offer Ms*** a meeting, through my paralegal, Regina FieldsInstead of wanting to set up the meeting, Ms*** asked for a refundI refunded her the only money I had in my possessionThe fees had previously been paid to *** *** before I took over the law firmThe bill was sent to Ms*** by *** *** prior to me taking over the officeMs*** has a set period, per her agreement, to object to the billMs*** informed me that no objection was receivedThe paperwork was held per Ms***’s instructionsShe had Ms***’s paralegal prepare the divorce but did not want to move forward until she gave further instructionsThe first time I heard from Ms***, I offered the meeting, but she declinedThe fees were earned by Ms***I could not refund fees she paid to another attorneyI would have had to pay Ms*** this money out of my own pocket, which I was not able to do as a new businessI maintain that I handled the matter appropriately by providing a refund to Ms*** of her unearned fees If any further information is needed, please feel free to contact meThank you

Ms. [redacted] hired the Law Offices of [redacted] on or about March 30, 2017, to prepare documents for a divorce and restraining order. Ms. [redacted] paid a refundable retainer of $1,500.00 for these services. See attached fee agreement. Ms. [redacted] met with Ms. [redacted]'s paralegal to have the...

documents prepared on or about April 3, 2017. Ms. [redacted]'s paralegal prepared a Summons, Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, UCCJEA form, Income and Expense Declaration, Schedule of Assets and debts, and Request and Order for Fee Waiver. This took Ms. [redacted]'s paralegal 2 hours to complete, at an agreed-upon hourly rate of $160.00 per hour, for a total of $320.00. The client never disputed the bill. See attached bill for services. Ms. [redacted] informed Ms. [redacted]'s paralegal that she did not want to divorce petition filed yet. Ms. [redacted] stated that she instead wanted it held until further instruction from her. On May 1, 2017, I purchased Ms. [redacted]'s law practice. Upon being contacted by Ms. [redacted] about her case, I offered to schedule a meeting with her. Instead of a meeting, she requested a refund of her retainer. Ms. [redacted] had only transferred the balance of the retainer, or $1,180.00 to me upon taking over the firm. I informed Ms. [redacted] that I would refund to her the money I had remaining. The $320.00 was deducted by Ms. [redacted] for the work done on Ms. [redacted]'s behalf. It appears that Ms. [redacted] changed her mind about having the divorce completed, however, the work was done by Ms. [redacted]. I took over the firm and gave Ms. [redacted] a refund of the unearned retainer, as requested. If any further information is needed, please contact me.Thank you.[redacted]