Douglas Ian Leifert

I had a domestic dispute with my girlfriend. Even though I was injured and I was the one who called 911. The cops took me to jail, the state knew they had a weak case, they offered me 30 days in jail and probation I hired Doug because according to him, he’s a trial attorney that goes to trial all ...the time and wins. I paid $32,500 his fee & his investigator After completion of depositions, we learned law enforcement saw no evidence of the crimes I was charged with, the alleged victim had various accounts of what happened that if put under a thorough cross examination by a skilled defense attorney would reveal she was making her whole story up, we also had a star witness an EMS, the supervisor on scene who would have testified that my wounds were defensive in nature 20 x Doug asked me to accept this plea, I wouldn’t accept it, because I was 100% innocent. From day 1 I made it clear, I’m not taking a deal, we're going to trial However, Doug informed me he can’t handle the case alone, he forced me to hire Robert Gershman. He said if I didn’t hire Robert, he would withdraw and I would lose the $32k and 2 years of my life I was forced to hire Robert Gershman for $15k taking my legal fees to $47,500 3 yrs 4 months later, since Doug kept delaying my case, we went to trial, both attorneys failed to prepare my case where I was facing a max 25 year sentence if convicted on all counts We had no opening argument and none of the states witnesses were impeached with prior inconsistent statements. My attorneys didn’t subpoena my best witness the EMS so he didn’t testify at my trial The state got ahold of a notebook I had taken with me to consult with 3 other attorneys prior to hiring Doug. The notes included those attorneys opinions, mental impressions, and strategies on how they would defend my case. Therefore, the notes were protected by both the attorney client privilege and the work product privilege. Doug had 40 months to suppress the privileged notes, but he failed to. Then at trial the state introduced my notes as an exhibit. When I testified at trial, the prosecutor used attorney client privileged notes to accuse me of 2 uncharged crimes, witness tampering and stalking, as well as making up my theory of defense post arrest with the help of a crafty attorney. I was found guilty of 1 felony and 2 misdemeanors, then sent to prison for 4 years. I filed a motion for post conviction relief, won an evidentiary hearing. At the hearing Doug defended not suppressing my attorney client privileged notes which were used to accuse me of 2 uncharged crimes, he referred to the notes as innocuous. When asked why he didn’t call the EMS witness he stated there were some observations that he may have made that may have been inconsistent with what everyone else was saying, but Doug attempted to explain that he declined to present him because his version of events conflicted “with what everyone else was saying.” That is the very point of a trial, to present witnesses whose account conflicts with the states witnesses The judge ruled Doug provided a deficient performance, she stated the prejudice was minuscule and she denied me the opportunity for retrial. At the hearing I discovered Doug only went to trial on 12 cases in his career. If I knew when I met him he lacked trial experience I wouldn’t have hired him. Similarly, if I knew he’d force me to hire someone else, I wouldn’t have hired Doug Doug had a chance to take responsibility for not preparing my defense and causing me to lose trial. He instead deflected the blame on the attorney he forced me to hire Robert Gershman, and claimed all of his errors that violated my right to a fair trail were cumulative an innocuous The alleged victim has 5 incidents of domestic violence on her record. They have a saying in wrongful convictions, while the innocent is in prison, the real perpetrator is recommitting. That’s what happened here,. Doug sent me to lose, I don't recommend

I was referred to Leifert & Leifert by a friend who is also an Attorney. Douglas Leifert and his team did an amazing job on my case and kept me well informed throughout. My case was potentially life altering. I was facing a Criminal Record and a lengthy incarceration. Without promising me anything be...forehand, Doug was able to make the entire case go away without me having to do anything. Fees were totally reasonable and well worth it. Don't let another lawyer scare you about your case. Talk to Doug and he will give you good and honest advice whether you pay him or not. Results will come when/if you hire him. Highly recommend for any legal need. He will point you in the right direction if he cannot assist you personally.

I was upfront about the speeding ticket I got (9 miles over speed limit in the fastest lane on i95) and also the fact , that I had a speeding ticket within 6 months. They took my case anyway . I got the final judgment and had to pay - ticket , fine and got 3 points on my license . Question - what did... I pay for ??? When I called the office to ask that question , I was told that the judge who had my case was really " mean" and fined everyone . Another question - so obviously you know the judge would be brutal , so why take my case ? Ohhh to make money , I understand !! Wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy . Had to hire them because I live out of town! Skubiak and Rivas of Orlando are the best however !! Too bad they weren't within the zip code .