James H Cleary

Good Lord. Where do I begin. I went to this man on recommendation from a friend of mine. This is is for a first time home purchase. I was wholly unimpressed with literally every interaction I had with this attorney. Let me count the ways: 1. He did not place incredibly basic home inspection langua...ge into the contract, which is leading to me about to accept a property without any basic protections. I raised this issue to him at the day I signed, and he not only did not add the provision, but he also told the seller I already wanted certain items fixed, which could have killed the deal instantly. 2. When I further pressed him to add this provision, he said he has "never heard of such language in my life". I found this language instantly on a Google search and everyone - every single person - I have been in contact with tells me that this language is customary and basic. 3. Before finally firing Cleary, he had me in three WEEKS of attorney review. For a 1 bedroom co op. He showed absolutely no urgency in retrieving the necessary documents. I called him one week and he told me we are waiting on pertinent info, and I had to call the building management for him. A task I am paying HIM to do! After my quick phone call, Cleary had the documents within the day. Cleary never should have let it reach this long. My new lawyer got further in 2 days than Cleary did in nearly a month. It's his fault and he is responsible. 4. When I tried to call him for advice and asked him for an update, he hung up on me and yelled at me rudely. I literally asked him when I can expect an update, and he hung up on me. 5. Quite frankly, he was rude and condescending throughout our entire interaction all month long. 6. When I brought up the provision the seller put in for "appliances to be in working order on date of signing", rather than closing, Cleary had literally no idea what I was talking about. He clearly had not even read the rider or seller's response. 7. He constantly says he is "swamped". I'm a paying client too! Don't overbook yourself! 8. I have sent this man multiple emails, clearly angry, asking for him to actually do something to move along my deal and he doesn't even reply. 9. When I expressed my anger at how slow he is moving, and said that I could lose this property over this, he responded "Yeah, you could." 10. After going to my new, responsive, much better attorney, they told me that they couldn't believe he created a contract that literally had pages missing out of it. They had to do it again from scratch! I literally am in awe that he could be this bad. A horrible experience from the moment I met him. STAY AWAY!