John R. Merlino Jr.

My experience with John Merlino was excellent. The legal aspect of buying a home is such an important part of the purchasing process. John Merlino has the experience needed to get the job done. So many things come up when buying a home that are foreign to most buyers but John Merlino has the knowledg...e and experience to ensure that the transaction is done legally and smoothly. John kept me informed throughout the entire process. His staff is incredible. They are not only friendly and welcoming but they are professional and knowledgeable as well. All of my questions were answered quickly and I felt very confident and secure knowing that John Merlino was handling my transaction. I have worked with John Merlino in the past and have referred my family and friends to his office many times. Everyone who works with John is completely satisfied and impressed by his knowledge and experience and how smoothly he handles the toughest of transactions. I have nothing but great things to say about John and his team, they are the best you can get! He is my attorney for life!

My husband and I could not be happier with the services provided by John Merlino was recommended to us by another lawyer who did not practice in NJ where we were buying a house. John took time to answer our questions (many emails) and made the process very smooth. It was the easiest and most pleasa...nt part of the entire house sale/purchase undertaking. It was not only his incredible expertise in representing us but the customer service aspect of the firm is amazing! We plan to use them for estate planning which is our next venture. We highly recommend them!

My experience with John Merlino was that he is an unprofessional, unapproachable, and condescending individual who abruptly drops his client in the middle of a house purchase without just cause. I used him for a first time home purchase and my experience with him got progressively worse from start to... finish. First, when I received a copy of his retainer agreement via email, I noted it reads that special circumstances will incur additional fees beyond the "flat fee" he had quoted me over the phone. In an effort to guage potential cost amid all the other house/closing costs, I replied to his email simply asking him what might be considered a special circumstance. His exact reply to me via email was, "The circumstances would be if you become an absolute nightmare to deal with and call me 10 times a day." His response should have given me a hint as to his unapproachable and unprofessional demeanor, but I dismissed it as a possible joke at the time. Later, my mortgage lender advised me to ask John about including a certain stipulation in my contract. When I called John to ask him his thoughts on the lender's suggestion, his response to me was, "Lady, I've done this 300,000 times." It was clear to me that John perceived any question to be a bother and did not want to take the time to explain anything or do any work. Shortly thereafter, he emailed me to say the office lost my retainer agreement (I should have read his other negative reviews about his office's poor organization). I resubmitted it. The office then called me to schedule my appointment to sign the contract with John. They said they couldn't schedule anything later than 4 PM, so I left work early to make the appointment; as I was on the way there, his office staff called me (less than an hour before the appointment, at 3:30 PM) to ask me to come in later (despite initially telling me they couldn't meet later), stating the reason was that John suddenly had "an emergency closing for a different client." Prior to meeting with John, I had emailed him to request a copy of my contract so that I could review it ahead of time. He refused to provide me access to my file. His reply to me was, "That's not how we manage our files. We do not release our work product." When I met with him in person, he began to quickly verbally skim my contract and I again asked if I can please have a copy of the contract to review more closely before signing it. He accused me of not trusting him. I explained that, being my first time home purchase, I just wanted to make sure I knew what I was signing and that my request did not mean I didn't trust him. He insisted it was a sign of distrust, said he would no longer represent me ("we aren't the firm for you"), and abruptly walked out of his conference room. Two people who had come with me witnessed this encounter and we were all astounded by how curt and unprofessional he was. As a lawyer, John should recognize the importance of someone reading a contract before they sign it. An individual with such a seemingly sensitive ego as to dismiss a client over a simple request to receive a contract from the client's own file is concerning, and it is clearly evident he does not care about his clients. I called two other law firms afterwards to hire a new attorney to handle the closing, and both attorneys stated they have no issue with providing contracts to clients and that clients are in fact entitled to their files. I did not have any issues with the next lawyer. Hope this review helps others to steer clear of John Merlino, as he's a nightmare to "work" with.