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4.9 /5.0

102 Client Reviews

Avvo

4.8

(67)

Lawyers.com

5.0

(35 )

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Showing 66 - 67 of 67 reviews

Posted by Clean | February 01, 2017 | Hired Attorney | Divorce & Separation

Tripled Estimated Legal Fees and Agreed to Unconscionable Terms without My Awareness or Consent

Mr. Cedeno legal representation in my post-divorce matter was extremely deficient in several regards. First, his legal fees estimates were ultimately triple the original estimates ($10,000 originally quoted, to $30,000 final). Second, Mr. Cedeno repeatedly, and unnecessarily, opted to prolong negot...iates and court appearances to artificially inflate these legal fees. Lastly, and most egregiously, Mr. Cedeno, after informing me that I did not need to attend a hearing, agreed to unconscionable terms during that hearing which I did not attend upon his advice, without my awareness or consent, that forced me to maintain a residence in New York City against my will and at tremendous personal expense for nearly two years longer than if I had refused to agree, which I would have had Mr. Cedeno given me the opportunity. Overall, Mr. Cedeno made a bad situation immeasurably worse. He was of no help or value at all.

Peter Cedeno

Replied last February 01, 2017

Its unfortunate that these reviews aren't somehow filtered. I have never represented someone by the name of Clean. More importantly, the facts don't fit anyone i have ever represented. Nothing within the law would force someone to stay in New York for any length of time much less two years. Additionally, I know of no previous client that was quoted or paid those type of fees. Keep in mind that for any case to cost that much money and then escalate to triple the amount, there would have to have been some type of trial and a written decision by the court. Lastly, there are no circumstances in a court proceeding where an attorney is allowed to consent to anything of substance in the client's absence. If i had to guess, this person is the opposing side of someone i did represent.

Posted by Rafael | November 23, 2011 | Lawsuits & Disputes

Poor and unethical

I contacted Perez & Cedeno earlier this year for a minor issue and felt as though they were working on collecting my fees as opposed to actually working my case. Once my fees were paid it didn't only seem as if they they were 'too busy' to handle my case, but they lost all interest before the case... was closed. I was to appear in front of the judge a total of 3 times, 2 of which i was supposed to have representation and yet they (Peter Cedeno and Benjamin Perez) only appeared once. At first i thought I was in good hands considering Peter showed up bright and early the very first day they were contacted, i would even say he arrived near 8:30 AM. But subsequent meeting didnt go so well. I stressed on my next court date that I had to take an exam at 11:30AM and they ASSURED me that i would be in and out in less than an hour. Problem here is that Perez didnt appear in court till about 9:45 AM when they told me to arrive at 8:30 AM, what makes the situation more frustrating is that all other attorneys were there for their clients before i even arrived...already showing me that i made the wrong decision in choosing them. Needless to say i never made it out of my exam since Iwas stuck in court till 1:00pm. I figured they couldnt make things worse but I was so wrong and unfortunately suprised. Second appearance at court I thought they were supposed to show up and reason I had this belief is there was another person there going through the same issue as myself and he had representaion there and yes it was his second of three appearances as well...I was later told that he stated that he didnt need to be there. Whether or not that was the case I had other things on my mind so I let it go. Here is the best part of all. On my 3rd appearance i waited and waited for either lawyer to show up but to no avail. I had to stand in front of the judge on my own and answer a question you would think you would only have to answer in a nightmare 'where is your lawyer today Mr. Pena?' I had to have picked one of the worse 'firms' to represent me. Why couldn't Perez find the court room that they have visited so frequently on time? Why did neither one appear in the very same court room on that last day? When i contacted the office on 350 Broadway, the assistant stated that neither had a court date scheduled on that day i was to appear...so they forgot or flat out didn't care. I don't know what Perez excuse was since they never returned my phone call. You would love to assume that they were professional enough to contact me and offer apologies for their screw up but 3 months later i have yet to receive one. I gave the opportunity for them to rectify the situation but I have waited long enough and everyone should know this 'firm' as a fraud and should seek representation elsewhere. Lawyers for the most part are labeled as sharks and worse but that's usually because they go to great lengths to defend their clients. This was not the case, I have never met a pair more unethical and unprofessional as these two.

Peter Cedeno

Replied last November 25, 2011

Having to do Anger Management classes as a condition of a dismissal of these type of violent allegations was necessary. We told you that Rafael. We also told you that you would need to provide proof of completion of the same. That the judge would ask you and you alone.

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