Anahita Sami

I retained this lawyer for a year and a half while waiting for my asylum court hearing. During that time, there were no court appearances, no active legal preparation, and no submission of new evidence. My case remained in a procedural queue, and the assistance provided was limited to basic administr...ative tasks—such as renewing my work permit or retrieving documents that had already been submitted. Despite the minimal legal activity, I received invoices that consistently listed time entries which did not reflect the simplicity of the work. For example: I was billed 0.50 hours for downloading a judge’s order, calling a clerk, and sending a brief email. On another occasion, I was charged 0.20 hours just to respond to a short email about my work permit. Even very minor tasks—like reading or replying to a one-line email—were routinely billed in blocks of 10 to 30 minutes.Additionally, she insisted that I needed a translator, even though I was able to communicate effectively in English. This felt unnecessary and imposed, and I couldn’t help but feel it was another way to complicate the process or create more billable steps.After switching to a new lawyer, the experience was completely different. The new firm provided a clear checklist of what I needed to submit and made it clear that if I provided everything up front, there would be no redundant tasks or extra charges. The process became transparent, respectful, and efficient. In the end, I won my case with the new lawyer, who treated me like a capable client—not a passive case number—and billed fairly for real work.