Jeffrey Lawrence Forte

Update addressing the atty's reply and correct the record. This review is based on contracts, billing statements & written communication. None of those facts were disputed in his response. Trust funds and contract terms Neither contract I signed authorizes absorbing my remaining trust balance. I re...viewed both the hourly retainer and the later fixed fee agreement. No clause allows trust funds to be absorbed, rolled into, or applied toward monthly installments. When I asked for clarification, no section was cited because none exists. I was told to pay $9,500 to replenish the trust when I still had $5,039.50 remaining. When I said I couldn't pay another $9,500 upfront, the fixed fee monthly plan was offered instead. Monthly charges without contact I learned I was being charged monthly regardless of contact only after requesting an accounting twice. When I realized I had been paying for mos of no work, I asked for the remaining trust balance to be returned. Only then was I told it had been rolled into the installments, despite no such agreement in either contract. The fixed fee contract used "installments" in one section and "monthly fee" in another without clearly stating I would be charged monthly whether or not any work was performed. Communication patterns Comm was consistently steered away from written records. Even simple emailed questions resulted in phone calls instead of written replies. I didn't understand why; now I see it avoided creating a written record. This is why I emailed outside the firm's system whenever possible. Loss of portal access My Clio portal access was removed after rep ended. My former advocate still allows full access to every msg, doc, and billing entry in same portal. In this case the entire matter disappeared from my acct. Fortunately I copied everything beforehand. PPT scheduling and participation I have a documented text thread with the paralegal showing the full sequence of the final PPT sched. The dist first proposed Nov 5, five days after my contract ended, and I was told the atty would not attend. When I asked to sched within Oct, the dist offered multiple dates and I was told the atty would be out of the country for all of them. We eventually secured an Oct date. The atty attended but kept his camera off, did not participate, and did not address the one issue I identified as my priority before the mtg. I emailed the next day documenting this lack of advocacy. Records and follow-through I ultimately had to file a federal FERPA complaint myself. After spending six hours reviewing the records the dist sent to his office, I identified multiple critical docs that were missing and brought those omissions to his attention several times. Because those issues remained unaddressed, I had to pursue a federal complaint on my own, and I am now preparing a State complaint as well. That was not the outcome I expected after two yrs of paid rep. Original experience summary My experience with Jeff Forte did not match the cost or the advocacy he promised. He presented as warm during intake, but once hired, comm and engagement dropped. His intake person told me he'd offer a flat fee; at the consult he denied that and said all calls were recorded, but none were ever provided when I asked for them. When I tried to record calls myself, he refused to continue, so I switched to email. During the first contract all he did was attend one PPT, after which the dist made changes I had been requesting for yrs. In the second yr, even with over $5,000 left in trust, I was billed $9,500 to replenish it. Across two yrs I paid $13,675, including mos billed despite no contact. A PPT was sched after the contract ended and I was told he wouldn't attend. When moved inside the contract period he attended with his camera off, barely participated, and didn't advocate for the one issue repeatedly raised. Based on my experience, the level of commitment I received did not match the trust or financial investment.