Michael Harkins

I hired attorney Michael Harkins for a partition action involving my mother’s home in which her former boyfriend had still been living in.  I expected an attorney who would protect my interests, and treat me and my case with respect. Unfortunately, that was not my experience. The case dragged on for... about a year, and I ultimately incurred approximately $9,000 in fees with the partition action not even being completed. When I researched partition actions with other attorneys prior, I was told from beginning to end it should take 6-9 months to have the partition action completed and have everything settled, and cost approximately $2,500- $5,000 with both parties splitting legal fees. The other party initially made an offer in which I felt was too low as I believed my share to be worth much more and did not want to settle for less.  Mr. Harkins pushed for a settlement that was still lower than I wanted,  and wouldn’t even let me add attorney fees. When I told him I did not want to sign and would rather continue with the partition action in which I hired him for, he started yelling and degrading me. He then told me he would drop me as a client if I did not proceed with signing the settlement that I was not comfortable with.  Feeling like I had no real choice, I signed it. In the end, after the attorney fees, I actually walked away with pretty much the same amount of the other parties original offer. In the end, I feel the only financial benefit went to the attorney.