Symmes Watkins Culbertson Sr.

Mr Culbertson was initially assigned to me as a public defender while I was in Greenville County Detention Center. He insinuated that I would receive better representation if I paid him. Upon my release, I borrowed $7500, and paid him in full. We met at the courthouse an signed a fee agreement that h...e told me he would email me a copy of, but never did. He told me he could get my charges dropped, basically took advantage of me when I was scared, vulnerable, and looking for hope. He maintained that he would get the charges dropped over the course of several months. He told me that he could get other pending charges dropped if I were to pay him more money, going as far as to say "I can get anything dropped". Remember, this is at a time when he was still my court appointed attorney on those charges. After this, he was virtually impossible to reach, via calls or texts. On several occasions I would call and he would ask me who I was. He didn't even bother to save my number. After getting fed up and hiring a different, ethical attorney (Frank Eppes) he told me a COMPLETELY different version of the way things were with my case. The things I was led to believe by Mr.Culbertson were complete falsehoods. After contacting Mr.Culbertson to inform him he was terminated as my attorney, I stated this very directly (i.e."I wish to terminate you as my attorney) , and asking for a refund of unused funds and an accounting, he told me to call him the next day so we could meet and address any concerns, along with a philosophy lesson on criminal law, and telling me to be patient on my case. I told him that a meeting wasn't necessary, and that the only meeting we needed to have was for me to collect the unused portion of my payment along with an accounting of how whatever he had spent was used. He has yet to respond. This man took advantage of a scared young man and his family. He took money we didn't have, by selling me a promise he could never deliver on. He is, in my opinion, a money hungry and unethical lawyer, and it is my sincere hope that through this post I can help another person from falling prey to a man who is, in my opinion, a seller of false hopes. Please email me if you have any questions, I stand behind what I've said here. I have recordings of the majority of our phone calls, screenshots of our few text messages, as well as an audio recording of one of our meetings. I plan to take this to the Resolution of Fee Disputes Board of the SC Bar.