Colin E Bonus

I received three traffic violations - DUI, Reckless Driving, and Careless Driving. Attorney Colin Bonus represented me and achieved an outstanding resolution through his deep understanding of the traffic and procedural provisions of New Jersey law. Mr. Bonus engaged tactfully and professionally with the prosecutor's office and was extremely knowledgeable with respect to the procedural aspects applicable to my case. Mr. Bonus quickly assessed and advised on the strengths of issues supporting my defense, and worked to achieve an expedient and satisfactory disposition with the municipality. Through Mr. Bonus's efforts, the DUI and Careless Driving charges were dismissed, leaving only the Reckless Driving charge, and most importantly a loss of driving privileges limited to thirty days. This extremely positive outcome would not have been possible without Mr. Bonus's thorough understanding of New Jersey law, his many years of experience, and his tactful approach with the local prosecutor's office. I couldn't have been more impressed with his handling of my case, and am extremely grateful and appreciative of the legal services Mr. Bonus and his firm provided. I highly recommend Mr. Bonus and his firm to anyone facing challenging issues in the New Jersey courts.

I received four tickets - DUI, refusal to give a breathalyzer test, reckless driving, and failure to maintain lane. Mr. Bonus successfully navigated the legal scene through politeness and firmness in the court room. Both the judge and the prosecutor noticed his kind demeanor, and I truly believe that it helped with the end result. The advice, entirely covered under attorney-client privilege, that he gave me was top-notch. I started off with the four aforementioned tickets, and Mr. Bonus was able to successfully drop both the DUI and the refusal to submit a breathalyzer sample. I was then left with the reckless driving and failure to maintain lane tickets, and he successfully reduced the mandatory driving suspension to a mere two months. Without his assistance, I would not have had such a positive outcome. He knows exactly what he's doing. Both him and the other members at his law firm pour lots of effort into dealing with your case, and you certainly will notice it. I definitely recommend Mr. Bonus to others and genuinely thank him for his legal assistance - I could not have hoped for a better attorney.

I cannot say enough good things about Colin. Colin represented me in a case where I was charged with DUI and careless driving. I faced seven months of possible license suspension, thousands of dollars in fines, and the whole other parade of horribles that come with those charges. In the end, the prosecutor dismissed the DUI charge, I paid a $200 fine for the careless driving charge, and agreed to a short license suspension. Here are the three best things about Colin. First, he is an expert and handles these types of cases day in and day out. He knows the law. He knows what facts are important. He developed a great strategy and executed it perfectly. Second, he has a great reputation and experience in the courts. He knows the judges and prosecutors. He knows what arguments will work, how far to push various issues, and can tell you the most probable outcomes based on his years of experience. He is respected by the judges and prosecutors which adds strength and value to his arguments and discussions before trial. Indeed, one day in court, another lawyer came up to me and congratulated me on hiring the best lawyer possible. Third, Colin is a really good guy. He listens, he explains things, he calmed me down and gave really good advice. Among other things in my case, Colin continued to press for evidence, made numerous court appearances, and won a critical motion to suppress (throw out) the breathalyzer result in my case. He retained an expert to challenge the field sobriety tests and subpoenaed additional records to refute the evidence. He continued to conference with the prosecutors pointing out the weaknesses in their case. Colin did such a great job that I had a very good chance of being found not guilty of all charges if I went to trial, even though things seemed very bleak the day after my arrest. Colin deserves the highest recommendations.

I contacted the John F Marshall offices to represent me on my DUI case due to the great reviews I saw online. however my experience with this firm and specially Colin was not what I expected. after you make the first payment, they stop being as responsive, several times days will go by without a response. it took them over 75 days for them to secure an experts letter for my case, a process that they told me would only take 4-5 weeks. when I made a formal complaint Colin criticized my lack of judgment. Colin or the firm never contacted me after my final court date(something they said they would do) to tell me I had to turn in documentation to DMV. Terrible experience, I would NOT recommend him.

I have hired the Jonathan F. Marshall's office and they had Mr. Colin Bonus to handle my DWI case. Initially they sounded like they cared. They did get my Tier 2 violation to Tier 1. However, I can assure you there were MINIMAL COMMUNICATION. 1) I was not able to speak with Mr. Colin Bonus about my case even through phone. I was arrested in September, and I have been to court several times. On 2/14 I was told that I was "pleading guilty" and STILL, I have not seen Mr. Colin Bonus. It was always a different attorney. I had to re-explain what my situation was and it would always be fresh news for them. EX: A week before my first court schedule, I was nervous and contacted the Jonathan F. Marshall Law Office to inquire some information about the first attendance. They told me they would call before 3pm the day before my court date. They did not call. I called at 2:45pm. They told me they usually call after 3pm. They did not call me until the end of the day. The next morning I contacted them and asked when, where, with whom I will meet. Of course, it was not Mr. Bonus. This was a repeated theme throughout. EX: On my day of pleading guilty, I was told that I was going to meet with Mr. Bonus, Finally. However, he was more than 30 minutes late. When 15 minutes have passed after my court scheduled time, I called the law office. (Usually the other attorneys would text me that they are at the court house but go to the prosecutor before they come find me in the waiting room.) They told me he as on his way. I called when he was 30 minutes late. They told me that he was probably almost there ant that the court was already notified (I still don't fully understand what that means). They never told me his phone number (which is understandable in other situations, but I was getting very nervous when he was just late without contacting me). Mr. Colin Bonus got me a very good deal, and I thank him for that. However, I must tell you that he was not very professional that day. 2) They never communicated with the court clerk that I have a change of address. (I have moved 2 weeks before the DWI arrest and I have communicated with the law offices.) The court had been sending the court summons request (I do not even know what this is officially called because I have never gotten anything from the mail - and I didn't realize it was going to my old address). My last court date was 4/25/2018. For more than 7 months, the court had been sending my legal information to my old address. Apparently my IDRC schedule went to my old address during this time. In the suspension notice, it says the IDP will contact me with the IDRC schedule, yet I have not received it. I was also told that sometimes IDRC schedules come out to be after the 90 day suspension period, so I was patiently waiting. And on 8/24 I have received a mail from the MVC that my license has been suspended due to my noncompliance since 8/10. Now I have to surrender my driving privileges when I have been compliant to the consequences that I was aware of, because my change of address was not communicated correctly to the court. I have to attend court again on a workday interfering with work because of my change of address was not communicated correctly to the court. What good did the change of Tier 2 to Tier 1 do when I receive another suspension notice for the lack of communication? 3) Because I was on a visa, I was consulted with another immigration attorney that I they suggested. I paid him the full price and talked to him for around 15 mins. Then the immigration attorney said that he would contact the JFM Law Offices because he has a relationship with them. A couple weeks prior to my last court date, I contacted the JFM Law Offices to make sure they have communicated. They did not.