279 Client Reviews
Showing 91 - 95 of 276 reviews | 5 stars
Posted by Mike | October 21, 2019 | Hired Attorney
the acrimonious ex gilfriend
First of all, I want to cut straight to the point and say that Mike Haber and his partner Marc Morris are absolutely and undoubtedly the BEST defense attorneys you can possibly have in your corner. After having had enough of a toxic and roller coaster ride of a relationship with a woman who had bo...
Dear Mike, Thank you for authoring #HaberPA's 189th Client Review on AVVO, and even more so for the specificity and heartfelt praise. After I reviewed your arrest report and then discussed your perspective of the case with you I told you 3 things: 1) That you, and not your ex, were the victim in this case, 2) that unlike your prior counsel I would deliver results and 3) that after you were awarded statutory immunity for "standing your ground" (or, alternatively, were the Court to deny our motion, then after a jury's acquittal on the same grounds) I would have earned your positive client review... and now, less than 3 months later, here we are. There was no doubt in my mind that the Miami Gardens Police Officer who railroaded you had absolutely no training or experience in "SYG" and, worse still, that she didn't even have either the common decency or sense to call in another, more skilled officer to review the case and make the right call. My only regret in your case is that I didn't have an opportunity to rip her a new one on cross-examination. On the other hand, it's a moot point as after an evidentiary hearing where you and your ex testified the Judge schooled the State on the law by way of a written Order granting our motion, immunizing you and dismissing a case which should not have been filed in the first place. Cops are usually not lawyers and so I don't expect much from them (and most especially from the Miami Gardens PD), but prosecutors are lawyers, they know (or should know) better, it's shameful that the Miami-Dade SAO rubber-stamped an unlawful arrest, and it's even worse that they doubled-down by fighting our well-taken Motion for Statutory Immunity. On another note I find it incredible that "neither of those previous attorneys mentioned it... “Stand your ground”" as yours could have been the poster child for SGY cases. Not only did I identify this out of the gate but in tandem with our discussion I directed you to #HaberPA's VideoFAQs # 214 - 221 all of which deal with various aspects of SYG in FL and all of which were 100% applicable to your situation. (For anyone who is interested please go to - www.youtube.com/c/michaelhaberlaw - look at any of our 337 "Webisodes" and please consider subscribing [shameless plug warning] as we have great and ever-expanding content and we need the numbers!) Anyhow, I am not ethically permitted to guarantee a specific result in a given case but I also did not need to be Nostradamus to predict this outcome. I am elated that you are a satisfied client, I am grateful for your kind time and selfless passion in composing #HaberPA's 189th Client Review on AVVO and I wish you all the best in luck and success moving forward. Appreciatively, MAH/Esq.
Posted by Khan | August 22, 2019 | Hired Attorney
I like Michael
"My wife and I had an argument that got out of control. There's no excuses, it just happened. When the police came they arrested her. They took her away to jail in handcuffs even though I begged them not to. I was so upset that I said something stupid - I told them if they took my wife to jail th...
Dear Khan, Thank you very much for your time, words and for authoring #HaberPA's 188th AVVO Client Review. You are (I was) 1,000% correct that when it comes to Domestic Violence ("DV") cases "the cops reaction was predictable and that I could expect the prosecutor and even the Judge to be just as predictable". In my experience when the police respond to a DV case then 99.9% of the time (and no matter what is said or seen) some one is getting arrested. Once booked on any DV charge then 100% of the time a mandatory "Stay Away Order" ("SAO") will be entered as condition of bond. This SAO precludes any contact whatsoever between the accused and the victim and cannot be waived. The SAO can ("can" not "must") be modified to a "No Violent Contact Order" (a "NVCO" permits the accused and the victim to live life as they wish, together or apart, while the case is pending) but this can only happen A) after sworn testimony by the victim and B) at the unfettered discretion of the Judge (the Judge is free to say "yea" or "nay" as s/he wishes). This is a blanket rule, it applies everywhere in the State of FL and it is intended to avoid repeat domestic violence by instituting a mandatory "cooling off period" where violence cannot occur. Here in the 305 (regardless of the unique facts and circumstances of a given case and those of a given Defendant and victim) our local Judges have almost universally adopted a blanket policy NOT to amend DV-SAOs for 30 days. In some cases (i.e. where the victim is in fear of future violence, where the accused has a provable violent past, where there's been a history of violence between the parties or there's some rational basis to believe that a reasonable possibility - or probability - for repeat violence) this makes sense; but in others, like yours (where your wife had no violent past, there was no history of violence in your decade's long relationship, your were not in fear, you live on a fixed income, at great financial burden your wife had to stay in a hotel and then on a friend's sofa, you couldn't engage in normal family affairs or attend religious events and every moment without your life partner was effectively punishing you) this ridiculous policy is nothing shy of Draconian. Yes, I knew this would be the case and no I did not stand for it. Just as police responding to a DV call are 99.9% sure to arrest someone so too was the State going to object to any modification of the SAO (even though you appeared in Court, took an oath, swore that you were not in fear and that you wanted your wife to come home). Unfortunately 99.9% of the time DV prosecutors are programmed automatons who object because that's what their playbook tells them to do (i.e. don't take a chance, defer to the Judge and then if there's any blow back it's the Judge who bears the heat), and this is as predictable as the sun rising or setting. Sadly, the same holds true for many Judges, none of whom want to see their name in the press should an act of repeat violence occur on their watch (and to be fair this can, and does, happen). While anything is possible what is probable is another story and in your unique case this was preposterous, which is why we took it to your Judge twice (and would have continued to do so until she granted the relief sought). To her credit the Judge finally relented and exercised her discretion to modify the SAO to a NVCO, albeit only after you had been involuntarily separated from your wife for 17 days. Please believe me when I say that it could have easily been worse. I know that I'm rambling but it's a uniformly frustrating situation that's only gotten worse (from my perspective) over time. In your case right from the start the government refused to cooperate with you (in fact you - the alleged victim - spent more time in custody than your wife) and you reacted in kind, albeit responsibly, with counsel. I'm happy for your family, grateful for your words and wish you the best. MAH/Esq
Posted by anonymous | August 06, 2019 | Hired Attorney
Best Lawyer Money Can Buy
I was faced with two cases; a misdemeanor and a felony about two weeks apart. After being stuck and not sure of what the next step was after facing these issues, a mutual friend introduced us to Mr. Haber to fix my problems. At first, I was intimidated by his strong speech, but he was very...
Dear Anonymous, Thank you so much for your stellar and comprehensive Client Review (#HaberPA's 187th on AVVO). This is one that I am particularly proud of having earned as it was complicated, interesting and triumphantly scored. For the benefit of the folks here are a few observations: 1) I met you and your family on a Saturday afternoon and into the evening not only as a courtesy to our mutual friend but also because that is what I do (this is one of many reasons that #HaberPA is known as a "boutique" law firm); 2) I took a global view of your situation (no priors, 2 drug related arrests within 2 weeks - the 2nd being way more serious than the 1st - plus a disciplinary suspension and possible expulsion from college based upon the 2nd arrest) and stitched together a long term plan to resolve everything; 3) you trusted my advise, doing what you were tasked to do, with neither error nor fail, and you did not do anything that you were not supposed to do, thus enabling me to do my job; 4) you were patient with me as I dissected the administrative disciplinary process and painstakingly stitched together that which we were already and anyhow accomplishing for court purposes into it's academic counterpart; and 5) you not only heeded my advise but you trusted in my ability to deliver, and in the end we - "we" - pulled off a minor miracle (I could not have done this without you and your family). With a little help / pressure from a fantastic Judge, and after several months of a provable track record upon which we could rely, the State Attorney agreed to consolidate 2 completely separate and distinct cases - and more importantly to allow for a nontraditional resolution to the newly consolidated case - and the icing was that your college's disciplinary panel hopped on board, agreeing to honor all that we had done forensically, to apply it academically and ultimately to reinstate you as a student. All that is left now is for us to convince FDLE to authorize the expungement of 2 different cases, initiated by 2 different police agencies, which have 2 different police case numbers and which generated 2 different corresponding court case numbers (even though they were later consolidated into one). Just as I was when we first met, I remain equally confident that we will accomplish this goal. Again, I cannot thank you enough for your kind and heartfelt words. You brought a smile to my face. Gratefully --> MAH/Esq
Posted by JP | July 31, 2019 | Hired Attorney
Honest, Knowledge and Experienced.
On the search for a lawyer after a wrongdoing, I found great reviews for Michael Haber and decided to give him a call. He answered immediately and provided me with a clever plan of action to go about my case. I did not feel that I had to keep looking for a lawyer as he was astute and confident i...
Dear JP, You are most welcome and thank you for authoring #HaberPA's 186th AVVO Client Review. Normally I don't take any pride in securing diversion for a client. Why? Because the sad truth ("sad" for my industry - the criminal defense business - not sad at all for those clients who want diversion) is that in a growing number circumstances prosecutors are offering diversion to more and more people right out of the gate. On my end there is usually no "skill" involved (the client either qualifies or does not) and there is no "talent" required to secure diversion (in fact the State sometimes "extends" the offer directly to the client by snail-mail in advance of Arraignment and before court). That said there are other times where skill and talent are required (as proved to be the case in your situation) and when that happens then I can pat myself on the back for securing diversion in a case where my client should not have been offered the opportunity to earn a dismissal by jumping through a few proverbial hoops. While both your past criminal history disqualified you from entry into diversion and your present charge was a non-eligible offense, thanks to absolutely p*ss poor policing (and our ability to prove it beyond any doubt) we managed to beat the State down so badly that they effectively made you an offer that you simply could not refuse. After that, and over the course of 6 months, you did everything that you were supposed to do, nothing that you were not supposed to do and accordingly you earned your dismissal. So congratulations on beating the odds (not to fail to mention the case) and thank you for sharing your experience with #HaberPA with the folks. Take care my friend. Gratefully, MAH/Esq.
Posted by anonymous | June 11, 2019
Number 1 for a reason
From the moment we spoke on the phone I knew my case was in great hands. I was quickly reassured about the many options I could take when I thought I was certainly going to be put in prison because of my charges. My case was handled diligently and professionally. I highly recommend Michael, he enjoy...
Dear Anonymous, Thank you for both praising #HaberPA's diligence and professionalism and for authoring #HaberPA's 185th Client Review. Although you chose not to use your name I know who you are (based upon timing and your head's up to me about submitting the review) and so I can give the folks some context. You came to me with a criminal history (nothing "horrible", but several prior felony convictions) and facing a slew of new charges (including 5 felony narcotics offenses, 2 narcotics misdemeanors and a gratuitous count of resisting arrest without violence). Although you wisely made no statements and ultimately invoked your rights, much of the incident was captured on police body cams (4 of them to be exact), presenting quite the challenge. Because of the overwhelming evidence against you (most particularly the Spielberg-quality footage) and your undeniable (and scorable) past, the odds were heavily stacked against you; however, with age comes experience, and after 28 years in this business I know that there are almost always options. Long story short it took a while but we were able to dodge all but 1 felony and 1 misdemeanor (everything else was dismissed) and you walked out of the courtroom with 1 year probation and 50 community service hours. You "thought I was certainly going to be put in prison", and in other hands you may well have, but early on you and I agreed upon a litigation objective, I identified a path forward, you did your job while I did mine and in the end, for you, given your particular circumstances, we were victorious. I am thankful for your Client Review, I hope that you're not bothered that I provided context and that I must correct you on one thing (you didn't merely consult with... you actually hired #HaberPA), I wish you the best of luck with probation (you know the potential consequences of a VOP so please be extra-careful) and for you I too "[h]ope [that] I never need him again". Be good my friend. Gratefully, MAH/Esq