Mark P. Stopa

I had a great experience hiring Mark Stopa as My foreclosure defense attorney.He was able to give me great advice and got my case dismissed quickly when my other lawyer couldn't.The Stopa Law firm also didn't rip me off with excessive fees.Mark fights for all his clients.He is a pit bull in the court... room and isn't afraid to challenge anyone.He is all business and is soooo smart.I highly recommend anyone who hasn't paid their mortgage or has a case to call the firm asap.

I hired this guy for about 2 days. Read the contract. I expected to have a face to face with him at the initial meeting. Didn't happen. I was told by his staff it would cost 1500.00 per year...cheaper than anybody in town because he just wants to "help the unfortunate". Come to find out...per the con...tract...that cover about 6 hours of time spent on the case. There is an additional 7,000.00 to 8,000.00 he expects you to pay if/when it goes to trial. If he wins and you are awarded attorney fees...he keeps them as his 'bonus'. Don't ask any questions. He expects you to write a check and go away. When I asked if I could preview his 'answer to the complaint' before it was filed with the court I was told...and I quote..."I don't have time to hold your hand...that's not the way we work." I got my check back. Since then I have watched him litigate online and have read the trial transcript he posts on his blog. In court he comes off as arrogant and frankly a little rude. He is like the tattletale on the schoolyard. He shows no humility or grace in front of the court. He just posted a transcript from a trial in Gainesville where he pissed the judge off and inadvertently lost the case. One thing you don't want is an attorney who pisses off the judge or is perceived as rude or arrogant....law school 101. He has a great knowledge of the law but he is stretched so thin....with so many cases....he cannot possibly give you the personal attention you deserve. If your idea of winning is how long you can live in the house for free...fine...hire Stopa...but honestly there are several attorneys who can drag your case through the system on technicalities. If you want someone who will work with you, defend you on the merits, be respectful in the court room, and bring your case to a quick resolve my suggestion is to hire a real attorney who is going to give your case the attention it deserves.

I had two homes in foreclosure and needed help. After finding Mark's blog via an internet search for foreclosure defense, I hired his firm to represent me. I was allowed to make three monthly installments same as cash to his firm and his costs were about half of others I had called. I had a free co...nsultation with one of his attorneys and this is where you want to ask all of your questions because you are basically paying for 5-6 hours of work which covers everything necessary for a full year. Do expect his assistants to email you any legal paperwork that was filed as it happens, usually same or next day. Don't expect to corner an assistant and talk their ear off during this time unless there is an absolute emergency. You aren't paying for those extra hours. I had maybe two lengthy emails from his firm concerning something i had asked them, but that was it over the two years they represented me. But, I was fine with that and knew this going in. Ultimately, he got one case dismissed within 8 months. The second case he couldn't get dismissed, but the mortgagor offered a loan mod. before it went to trial. I learned this much from watching the attorneys from both sides...Mark has a system and he follows it every time. The opposing counsel either has their act together or they don't. If they do, you will probably lose your case in the end, but you'll live in your home two years for free. If they don't have their act together, you can see it early on in their responses to Mark. There is also the luck of the draw on what judge is presiding over the courtroom the day he argues for you in court. Some of them are unsympathetic towards those who haven't paid their mortgage and no matter how strong Mark's argument is towards the specific technical legalities involved in the way the plaintiff must present his case - you will still lose. To date, he has had over 700 cases dismissed (according to his blog). That's incredible! Don't hire someone off of a tv or radio ad, call Mark.

I hired Mark Stopa's office a little more than three years ago in relation to my foreclosure case. Understandably, due to their fixed fee structure, his office only communicates when necessary. I hired Mark Stopa as soon as the lender filed for foreclosure (about a year after I stopped making p...ayments). I lived, rent free, in my home for more than four years. My foreclosure was initially scheduled for trial in July 2014. It got postponed to October 2014 due to scheduling problems in the court (not related to Stopa nor the plaintiff's attorney). This concerned me because my contract with Stopa's office expired in the middle of September 2014. I did not want to pay for an extra year. Stopa's people continued working on my case, without renewing for an additional year, and without any additional expense to me, until my case was resolved on October 9, 2014. After the initial trial date in July (which was postponed), I contacted his office many times. Their responses were very slow... sometimes as much as three weeks. I thought that they were ignoring me because I was unwilling to pay for an additional year of their representation. However, they came through in the end. When I first learned of the July trial, I made plans to move out at the end of July. I had already rented a new place when I learned that the trial had been postponed until October. I was really concerned about having to renew my contract with Stopa because I did not want to have no representation at the trial. The plaintiff was asking for reimbursement of their legal expenses. Not only did Stopa's office negotiate an agreement which absolved me of the plaintiff's legal expenses... they got the plaintiff to PAY ME $1500.00!!! Overall, I am very happy with the service I received. I apologized to the staff at Stopa's office for being a pain in the butt. They did the right thing, and I am very happy with the result.

Mark Stopa is a great Lawyer who fights for his clients like a beast.He has gotten my case dismissed twice.Im not looking for a free ride but I needed the time to get my finances in order and get back on my feet.God bless Mr Stopa and his great staff.I would have been homeless without him and his har...d work.He also was very fair with his fees unlike most attorneys in this field that wanted to charge a huge upfront retainer and a large monthly fee.Just go to the Pinellas county or Hillsborough county clerk websites and search for Mark Stopa and see for your self who the best trial Attorney in the state is all of these cases are public record .He has gotten a lot of cases dismissed and won Final Summary judgement for a bunch of cases.