Paul M. Aaroe II

I hired attorney Paul Aaron to negotiate a plea for my first DUI. He accepted my $5000 fee upfront but never met with me to discuss my case. He sent me an email the night prior to court reccomending I take an open plea for a state sentence with a minimum of two years up to 10 and called the offer “g...enerous”. He also admitted in writing that he did not discuss my case with the prosecution either. I find it unconsicienable that an attorney would give a client any advice without speaking directly with his client or the prosecution. He was too busy campaigning for his wife running for judge. In response to his email I demanded he get a continuance as we had not met to plan my defense. He failed to get a continuance and allowed a bench warrant to be issued. His firm refused to provide me with an accounting of the $5000 and failed to refund any of the prepaid fees , calling it a non-refundable retainer. Without any prior notice to me he then filed a petition to withdraw from my case which was heard and granted all in the same day it was filed -proving there was no effort to notify me as required by law. The icing on the cake was a verbal threat to turn me when I demanded and accounting and refund. He should be disbarred for his illegal actions.

Hired Mr Aaroe in January 2018 to represent me after a 2nd DUI, highest rate of alcohol. Don't be fooled by the (probably fake) positive reviews, there's just about a 0% chance of getting a favorable outcome from a 2nd DUI in Northampton county, no matter who you hire as a lawyer. You either apply (...if eligible) for the Alternate Sentencing Program that they offer, or you fight your case and lose. It's not fair or just, but it's the way it is in Northampton county. If you really want to get anywhere you have to take your case to the higher courts which is very expensive. I wish I knew all of this at the time, instead I paid Mr Aaroe more money to fight my case. (Big mistake) Because of the questionable circumstances of my arrest, we were hoping they would either drop my case completely or offer to lower me down to the second tier rate blood alcohol level (a much lesser sentence). Of course I knew that nothing was guaranteed. Mr Aaroe told me there was at least a 50/50 chance, and if we lose he was confident he could get me immediate work release. Because of that, it sounded like it was worth taking a shot. We lost the motion, but that's not why I'm giving Mr Aaroe an unfavorable review. On my court date, the judge did grant me immediate work release. However, a box was not checked on the paperwork. Mr Aaroe didn't catch this critical mistake until several days later. He then emails me a letter from the judge, which I thought meant that he corrected the error. (Mr Aaroe always communicates through short, vague, impersonal emails) So I report to Northampton County Prison on my commit date, thinking everything was in order, and I'll be going to the work release program. This was not the case...the letter that the judge sent back did not say the right thing. I wound up in a Northampton County Prison cell block and spent the whole 90 days there. Mr Aaroe was unable to do anything to get the mistakes corrected and have me moved to the work release facility where I was supposed to be. I spent all that money on a lawyer just to end up with a worst outcome then if I didn't hire anyone at all. The fact is, Mr Aaroe was in a huge rush on my court date. (he was always in a rush) He should have been more thorough and looked over the paperwork immediately after the judge sentenced me. I should have at least gotten that much from him. The only positive thing I can say about the Aaroe law office is their secretary was very helpful and responsive. She even responded to one of my questions while she was on vacation. I wasn't going to take the time to write a review for this guy because I'm trying to put all this in the past. But I can't help but think back to how I was fooled by so many of the good reviews for him online. (They now seem very fishy to me) I hope that sharing my experience can help others facing the uncertainties after a DUI charge. You made a mistake by deciding to drink and drive, don't make another one by choosing Aaroe law.