279 Client Reviews
Showing 56 - 60 of 276 reviews | 5 stars
Posted by Carolina | August 24, 2022 | Hired Attorney
Best defense attorney I could’ve asked for
I am so fortunate to have such an amazing, intelligent, dedicated, kind, caring and professional attorney to help me with my case. Since it was a very complex case, Michael was able to manage to get my privilege to drive for business because he knew it is very important for me to work. Also helped me...
Dear Carolina, Thank you so much for your kind words and heartfelt Client Review (#HaberPA's 224th on AVVO). Noting that your choice of adjectives is "blush-worthy" and that you've not identified yourself I'll take a few moments to elaborate on the complexity of your case, how we approached it and why we accomplished our litigation objective. You were arrested for DUI and Felony Drug Possession. The DUI was predicated upon a traffic crash where you had rear-ended another vehicle and in which you blew more than twice (double) the legal limit. The felony charge was based upon the police having located controlled substances within your wingspan (on the ground immediately beside your driver side door) and for which they claim that you verbally admitted both knowledge and ownership. Compounding this was the unavoidable driver license suspension and necessity to navigate DMV's protocols and painstaking processes. Noting the complexities I put together a team to assist you in complying with requirements (be them DMV, bond or otherwise), to both proactively work toward potential mitigation and to ease the unavoidable stress associated with a potential loss, I advised and assisted you to do all that was required to secure a BPO from DMV and then embarked up on the fact finding process. The initial plan was to review everything, cede nothing and look for a way to beat everything, but that was an ideal which had to be tweaked after we had fully vetted the evidence in the case. Once I realized that your breath reading was unavoidably coming in as evidence (there was no basis to suppress it) and that the civilian witness was both available and cooperating with the government we switched tactics and steeled ourselves toward a plan to secure a dismissal of the felony charges (with neither any factual, legal, procedural nor substantive basis upon which to do so), even though that would require you to suffer the DUI, and after much effort we accomplished the same. (I note that, in my opinion anyhow, having incorporated separate treating clinical and forensic psychologists into your orbit from the outset was a "personal plus" for you in that they not only proved to be pivotal in accomplishing our litigation objectives but they, most particularly your treating therapist, helped you to understand your own behavior, maintain sobriety and live a happier life. However I also must note that none of this could possibly have been accomplished without your complete, unbridled and faithful cooperation and proactivity.) And so here we are, while you have a DUI on your record you are NOT a felon (and, as an unexpected bonus, we even got your DUI penalties reduced to the lowest possible levels of 6 - as opposed to 12 - months of supervision and suspension, with no additional or gratuitous conditions, e.g. no Ignition Interlock Device or mandatory participation in AA/NA meetings, etcetera). So, while I appreciate that you "can’t thank [me] enough for all [my] excellent performance" the truth is that you deserve every bit as much, if not more, credit than do I as, restated, I talked the talk but you walked the walk (diligently, faithfully and sans any slip-ups). As to "and advises to be proactive along the process making everything much easier at the end" I will take credit, but I will qualify this by stating that as a "boutique" law firm #HaberPA makes it a priority to be easily reachable by phone, email or on the internet, to engage in open, honest, direct and frequent communication as we come to understand the Client and her/his situation, so as to identify and secure realistic litigation objectives we adopt the Client's interests as our own, quote and honor reasonable fees (in writing), rapidly investigate and prepare cases and then effort at moving Heaven and Earth to relentlessly challenge State witnesses, State evidence, achieve goals and secure acquittals. You were a model client and I wish you all the best. Fondly, MAH/Esq. #HaberPA
Posted by anonymous | June 07, 2022 | Hired Attorney
Mr.Micheal
Mr. Micheal is an amazing and helpful! Mr Micheal is the most intelligent, kind , caring and professional attorney you could ever be afforded the opportunity to work with! Mr. Michael is such a blessing! If you are looking for an attorney that cares about you and truly gives his all for any issue h...
Dear Anonymous, The folks have no idea who you are but I certainly do, and as you are Jane / John Doe to the world with no risk of exposure I'll take the liberty of explaining your situation, albeit only after thanking you for your heartfelt and succinct client review (#HaberPA's 223rd on AVVO)! A family member of yours was arrested on serious State Court charges and was sentenced as a "Youthful Offender" (YO) to 1 year of Community Control (House Arrest) followed by 4 years of probation. On his 7th month of CC, when your loved one went to report, ICE Agents were there, lying in wait, and they took him into custody for deportation / removal proceedings. You hired a top tier immigration attorney who advised you that given the disposition of the State case, removal was all but certain, the only end around would require getting the State Court disposition either vacated or amended such that the CC portion of the sentence was eliminated, and toward that end the immigration lawyer referred you to #HaberPA. I pulled and studied the State Court file, ordered an expedited transcript of the sentencing hearing, contacted the CCO, debriefed the family and requested a memorandum of law from immigration counsel. The bad news was the the plea colloquy was flawless, the worse news was that the plea itself was an excellent deal (at the time) and there was absolutely no legal basis upon which to get the relief that your loved one needed. So, when all else fails, we rely on Einstein's fundamental principal, to wit: The use of one's imagination. Having located some excellent Federal case law from the 9th (CA) and the 6th (MI) Circuits, armed with the Memo of Law that I had requested from your immigration counsel, employing a rarely used and even lesser applied common law Writ ("Audita Querela Defendentis", first authorized by Parliament in 1336, during the reign of Edward III) and tossing in a little gratuitous Shakespeare ("The law hath not been dead though it hath slept." - Measure for Measure, Act II, Scene 2) I produced a 21 paged monster Omnibus Motion which sought to invoke the Court's equitable authority to prevent a "manifest injustice" from occurring (to wit: the removal of your loved from the only Country that he's ever known - he came here legally as a child - and where his entire family resides to a barbarous and savage Nation where he would literally be in mortal danger). While every word in my 21 page tome was entirely true, none of it had any effect upon the federal government's authority to proceed as they wished, still, were we successful then immigration counsel would at least have a shot at avoiding involuntary deportation... but how to proceed? There was only 3 ways this could play out: 1) We could litigate the Motion and win; 2) We could litigate the Motion and lose; or 3) We could secure an agreement from the State, submit an Agreed Order and win. I began with the path of least resistance (option #3), and embarked on a journey of climbing the hierarchical ladder at the State Attorney's Office until I finally found a supervisory ASA who cared enough to listen (it took several "rungs" to get there, and we were quite lucky), much less who proved to be both empathetic and sympathetic. We secured an agreement from the State to first early terminate the CC portion of the sentence and then to secure a new disposition which made no mention of CC whatsoever (CC being the biggest "problem" posed in immigration court) and which was backdated to the date of the original sentence ("nunc pro tunc"). In this way we were able to accomplish everything in our power to arm immigration counsel with a viable argument to avoid deportation. This was an expedited marathon (a whole lot of work in a short amount of time) which, in the end, may or may nor prove fruitful, as, sadly, deportation remains possible. I truly hope that he beats the ICE rap and I'm most grateful for your kind words. With my fondest wishes, MAH/Esq.
Posted by anonymous | May 24, 2022 | Hired Attorney
An Attorney you can Trust!
I hired Michael a few months ago to represent me. I was facing a domestic violence charge (and this wasn’t a first time occurrence). Due to the limited evidence against me, Michael told me that he believed I had a good case to take to trial. After consulting with my family we decided to do just that....
Dear Anonymous, Thank you for the amazingly articulate and flattering words (in the form of #HaberPA's 222nd Client Review on AVVO). I'm elated by your satisfaction but I'm equally happy that you chose to be unnamed (giving me license to safely expand). Although lawyers must assess, inform and make competent recommendations the ultimate choice as to whether to or not proceed to trial is exclusive to the client. Yours was a misdemeanor domestic battery case punishable in a worst case scenario by 364 days in jail, which, while possible, was also hard to imagine given the fact that you had an exceptionally defendable case (both legally and factually). While taking a plea would have avoided a possible jail sentence after an unsuccessful trial, it came with (among other things) a year of probation, any VOP would subject you to the same 364 days, albeit far easier, far faster (as VOPs have a far lesser burden of proof than substantive criminal cases) and likely with no bond. As you stated, you were not a good candidate for probation; in fact your family would likely have wagered their everything that you'd violate, which would have landed you in jail anyhow. These realities made your decision both wise and relatively simple (fortunately for you this remained true not withstanding your "own self destructive behavior", the substance of which I need not explain here, suffice it to say that had the State become aware then it might have been catastrophic). We announced ready and appeared in court with every intention of selecting a jury and trying your MM-DV case. Taking nothing away from team #HaberPA, the State Attorney was young and inexperienced (rendering it a mismatch as Marc and I have 60+ years of combined criminal defense litigation experience) and paving the path for us "to command the court, [and] rip apart a motion in Liminie". It's all too common (and frankly pathetic) that prosecutors (particularly, albeit not exclusively, the younger, less experienced ones) all but blindly buy into their complaining witness' (victims) and police version of events, failing to vet their own cases and thus be able to see them for what many of them are (e.g. like yours, a "stink bomb"). Sadder still is the fact that when competent defense counsel brings such matters to the State's attention they tend to double down on their blind allegiance to their case, as happened here. Yours was a literal "he said / she said" case as, apart from their victim - your kid's father - claiming that you had "punched him in the face several times with a closed fist" (a claim which was refuted by responding law enforcement officers who saw no sign of any injury) there was a complete and utter lack of any corroborating evidence in their case. We had the Court take Judicial Notice of an existing and in force permanent ("indefinite") DVRO that you had secured a few years earlier against their alleged victim for his prior acts of domestic violence against you, as well as proving to the State that as a result you had been awarded full (100%) custody of the child that you and the victim shared. These things not only provided a very practical basis for reasonable doubt but also motive for the alleged victim to fabricate his story (to wit: to regain custody of his estranged daughter). That said, on the eve of trial, your idiot baby dada called you (again violating the DVRO, which is a crime) and attempted to extort you by stating that if you voluntarily give him access to the kid then he wouldn't show up in court. You recorded that statement (legally), we provided it to the State and still they wanted to proceed. Fortunately the Judge ordered a supervisor to appear and calmer heads prevailed, resulting in a dismissal with the jury standing outside (proving the 1st rule of litigation, to wit: expect the unexpected). I couldn't be either happier for or more grateful to you, and I both thank you again and wish you all the best. Fondly, MAH/Esq.
Posted by anonymous | April 27, 2022 | Hired Attorney
Shark
He’s the best of the best no one like him number one incredible professional person everything!!!!!
Dear Anonymous, Thank you so very much, both for your kind words and for sharing them with the folks (in the form of #HaberPA's 221st Client Review on AVVO). My earnest gratitude established, you are so truly anonymous that even I have no idea of either who you are or of precisely how or what I did to merit your praise... still, I'll (humbly) take it, and I'll do so with the following observations. There are about 100,000 lawyers in FL, more than 10,000 of which are in the Miami area and of those many practice (albeit some far more effectively and ethically than others) criminal defense litigation. That observed, #HaberPA has made it a top priority for us to separate ourselves from all others by operating (not merely claiming to be but actually performing as) what we refer to as a "boutique" criminal defense law firm (in this instance "boutique" means "a small company that offers highly specialized services" - please refer to definition #2 of "boutique" @ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boutique ). As a boutique criminal defense litigation practice #HaberPA strives to maintain the highest standards of excellence and to provide comprehensive and personalized care, and we do so from the very first consultation. Should we be retained then #HaberPA will employ our 30+ years of criminal defense litigation experience to relentlessly challenge all State's evidence and to pursue any relevant defense evidence. We will strategically wield the Rules of Evidence and the Rules of Criminal Procedure in an effort to find factual, legal, procedural or substantive means and mechanisms to beat or to mitigate the case, and we're not definitely above taking advantage of any available loophole or technicality in our relentless effort at achieving established goals and securing acquittals. We are adamant about being both available and accountable to our clients (in fact we both boast and then back-up our commitment to "having your 6:00, 24-7-365, 360°"), whom we make it a point to care more about than we do ourselves. With no history of professional discipline whatsoever, literally hundreds of 5-Star Client Reviews, being easily reachable by phone, email or on the internet, consistently engaging in open, honest, direct and frequent communication, coming to understand the Client and her/his situation, adopting the Client's interests as our own, identifying and securing realistic litigation objectives, quoting and honoring reasonable fees (in writing), rapidly investigating and preparing cases and not engaging in delay, groveling, kowtowing, stipulation or surrender we constantly effort at proving ourselves to be "boutique". With all of this said it seems to me that as far as you are concerned (whomever you may be and whenever it was that I apparently accomplished whatever it was on your behalf), apparently ours is another successfully accomplished mission. I hope that you have the opportunity to read this and that if you do then you will reach out and say "hi" so that I can thank you more personally, but in any event I reiterate my appreciation for your kind time and for sharing your words with the folks. Gratefully, MAH/Esq.
Posted by Don | April 13, 2022 | Hired Attorney
When you need a fighter
If you want someone who cuts through the BS, is professional but a bulldog defending you, honest through and through, Michael is your guy. He defended me for an attempted murder case, he told me what to realistically expect. He is very pragmatic, not an idealist, which is what you want in an attor...
Dear Don, Thank you for your succinct and sincere Client Review (#HaberPA's 220th on AVVO). Yours was an incredible and unique case and as you have not identified yourself I am going to share it with the folks. A third party called 911 and said he was with a stabbing victim who was bleeding badly. The police and Fire Rescue promptly arrived, the victim was transported to the hospital, the third party was debriefed, shortly thereafter you were located just a few blocks away and were taken into custody. Although the third party put you and the victim in the same location prior to the stabbing he did not witness the incident and accordingly he could not offer any explanation as to the "what, why or how" of it. Police responded to the hospital but could not speak to the victim as he was in surgery; meantime you wisely invoked and made no statements. Inexplicably, the police left, never returned to the hospital and therefore they never took a statement from the victim, even more insanely no one from the State Attorney's Office ever ("ever") spoke to the victim and, if it were not so serious then it'd be comical that 3 weeks later the State had the temerity to charge you with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. After his discharge from the hospital the victim left town to convalesce with family. We know that as my investigator located him in the Orlando area, reached out, with permission he drove up and secured a sworn statement which was exculpatory in nature. Again, astonishingly, this was not done by anyone from either the MDPD or the SAO; in fact the only correspondence / contact that the alleged victim ever had with the State was our filing of his affidavit, yet they continued to announce "ready" for trial, as did we, and why not? The State had no victim contact, they knew it, we knew it and even if they did locate him he had all but exonerated you, yet, again, an Assistant State Attorney stood in front of a Circuit Court Judge and announced "ready". Well we called their bluff and on the day of trial (after the Judge had finally tired of granting State continuances and finally opened his eyes and ears to the facts that I've stated herein and which were proffered to the Court on multiple occasions) the State dropped the charges. In 30+ years this was the worst example of prosecutorial malfeasance that I have ever seen. You were literally facing life in prison and the government literally had neither any evidence of your guilt (much less proof beyond a reasonable doubt) nor even a witness, much less a victim. This was simply atrocious. Yes it worked out, and yes we were on top of it but when something this outrageous happens the words "nolle pros" offer some but no where near enough comfort. Meantime, I can't even imagine being you through that, and to you, how you comported yourself, I tip my hat. You listened, you maintained your cool, you you followed instructions and you asked appropriate questions... in short (and particularly in light of the charges) you were a model client. I have no explanation for the unprecedented acts by the police and the prosecution in your case but I am glad that you took the leap of faith by literally entrusting me with your life. I also appreciate your having taken the time to share your experience with #HaberPA with the folks. Hopefully we won't meet again professionally, but, as is the case with most former clients you are now part of the #HaberPA family and as such my hope is that we'll enjoy an adult beverage together one day soon. With my fondest regards. MAH/Esq.