I would be amiss if I did not first express my satisfaction with the entire AVVO website; the site represents exactly what the legal community should be doing to encourage the access of justice and legal assistance in the new digital world. With that being said, I was referred to the Avvo website by... an Attorney who practices within my field, the property casualty insurance industry. He explained that it is the BEST way to find local attorneys whom's practice is pertinent to your legal needs,etc., especially for matters of traffic Court.
I must also say that I was generally impressed by all of the Attorneys who participated in my original post, as they all had very good insight and I appreciated the their commentary.
When choosing Attorney Harold Dee, my decision was based upon his STELLAR reviews and reputation within the Avvo community, as well as the unique benefit that HE would actually be the one representing me, and not just a "staff counsel". His communications prior to retainer were of a personal manner, and he actually respected my layman attempt to describe the issues pertaining to my situation and the possible remedies available to me.
Due to my profession, I am in contact with Attorneys on a day by day basis, as much of my client base are of the legal community, so my perspective is based on a rather professional experience with counsel as opposed to the typical limited experience that the average person may have.
As of such, my realization that Attorney Dee was of the utmost professional and competent pedigree was rendered promptly, and was completely impressed by him. He was very detailed on issues that were of concern to me, he understood the inherent financial concerns that are relating to any traffic court matter, and assured me that he would consider the expenses when conducting himself in Court to minimize such.
Allow me to address an issue common to the client attorney "relationship"; it is common that an Attorney plays a "salesman" role early on, prior to executing the contract. However, this is typically followed by a "switch" to most communications being conducted between the client and the attorney's paralegal, staff counsel, etc. I actually expected this!
However, Attorney Harold Dee surprised me again here, as upon executing the agreement of representation and paying the relating fee, he did not "suddenly become extremely busy, unexpected summary judgement trial work, "not available", etc.", but rather, continued through out the ENTIRE process to communicate DIRECTLY with me, calling him more than I was ever calling him! I must say, throughout the entire span of his representation, I had not spoken to a single member of his staff; every single communication was directly with Attorney Dee.
Now, as I am in my early 30s, I am very accustomed to communicating via text/email, etc., while I also communicate with Attorneys all day and realize that they commonly lack a shared interest in "texting and emailing". Again, Attorney Harold Dee surprised me again, and was completely prompt and receptive to my various text messages, emails, etc. This was a huge plus, as he seemed to enter right into realm and responded very well to this method.
While communicating with him, I never felt rushed nor like I was wasting him time, actually much of the opposite. He is a GREAT communicator.
Attorney Harold Dee was so professional regarding communication, that he actually took the time to call me personally every day we had court, to "remind me that Court was at 5:30pm today"! Never a call from his office staff, or even the requirement for me to remind my Attorney, he actually made efforts to ensure that I was aware of all Court dates. And, although the prosecutor was "new" to the Court, and none of the Attorneys had a prior rapport with him, Attorney Dee was able to eventually convince the Prosecutor to agree to our "plea offer". HE DID GREAT, AND I WALKED OUT WITH ONLY A $150 COURT FEE!