Philip Schwartz

Failed to timely send urgently needed divorce decree required for foreign court child custody petition. 13 week delay and was actively attentive only after I complained to VA Bar Association. emails from him show he was busy with other lucrative and apparently more important cases (including professi...onal related travel abroad) during the 13 weeks as I had already paid in full and even paid in advance of completion. It appears he may have lost my documents also. Ignores most of my current email including request for "tracking number" of documents reportedly mailed to me. This delay sets me back for additional living expenses abroad and in addition sets me back for the same duration in lost income in my profession as a doctor. Prior to retaining him he wrote in an email that the VA court will grant an adultery divorce if adultery is shown to the court. Other lawyers I consulted told me it was a discretionary decision up to the judge. I figured the other lawyers were downplaying what Mr. Schwartz stated as they did not have his purported vast experience and expertise. It turns out Mr. Schwartz emailed me this very same "discretion of the judge" disclaimer albeit cleverly worded, almost on the eve of the final hearing, well after he got my business. In retrospect, other experienced divorce lawyers were honest up front, and also hundreds of dollars less per hour. I received multiple recurrent confidential email communications between him and other clients. Typically they were of cases of international nature and the headers were "spoofed" so they would appear as not being sent or cc'd to me. Perhaps he was trying to show me how important he is by the international nature of cases, perhaps careless, perhaps confused, although I tend to think they were intentionally sent in light of the "spoofing" I can only assume he also shared my/our confidential communications in the same manner with other clients or potential clients.