Overall Rating
This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.
This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.
4.9 /5.0
212 Client Reviews
Showing 191 - 193 of 193 reviews
Posted by anonymous | June 12, 2019 | Hired Attorney
Save your money
Should have stuck with the court appointed lawyer. We paid 5500 for Mr. Crumbley all his associates did the work he only shows up if you go to trial . Which he never explains so save your money!
I am very sorry to see this. I explain in detail what payment options there are, and how we execute those options, in our initial meeting with clients. Our clients then initial the relevant portions of their agreement with our firm which means I not only explain our options but these options are written in the agreement. Our client's then acknowledge their chosen option within the agreement - line by line - with their initials. You have actually described one of our options so I assume that is the one you chose - and, acknowledged with your initials. I EVEN offer the opportunity for clients to change options during the course of their representation, without penalty, if they decide they would like to handle their case a different way. I remain open, AS ALWAYS, to sit with you or any client who has questions about their case and how it is being handled - or, even, how it has been handled. Even now, you may schedule an appointment to discuss whatever you would like about our representation. In other words, feel free to come see me without any additional charge to discuss your dissatisfaction with me. Otherwise, have a blessed day! ~ Russell
Posted by Todd | February 08, 2019 | Hired Attorney
Lazy, unprepared, took money and didn’t meet agreement
I hired Russell Crumbly for 3 different issues while going through a divorce. Praying internet it showed him as highly rated. How is that possible? He took a lot of money and was not confidence inspiring to say the least. He was lazy toward the material, unprepared in court, kept me in the dark, ...
Wow! I REALLY hate to hear you feel this way. After 3 ½ years, this is the very first I have heard that you were not happy. You hired me in October of 2015. Having said that, I will respond to each of the three matters separately. CASE #1: On this case, my representation of you was limited to Municipal Court. Continued representation in Circuit Court, which would be likely, would require an additional retainer. The fee agreement that you signed spelled this out with particularity and included a spot for you to initial - which you did. We specifically did this part of our agreement this way to make the initial financial impact of your three separate legal matters less burdensome at the outset by not including the Circuit Court attorney fees at that time – basically, putting off those fees until later. Case #1 was associated with your divorce, but separate, and the issues were complex and overlapping. The portion of the fee you paid for this case was actually very modest (about what I charged for my first case 20 years earlier) and it became even more modest each time I went to court without additional cost to you. In fact, we went to Municipal Court on THREE separate occasions (2-4-16, 5-26-16 & 10-6-16). You never suggested, one time, that I seemed unprepared or that you were displeased in any way. In fact, you seemed to have had a good understanding of everything that was happening, and why, and you were always in good spirits about things. The nature of our interactions was always positive and productive. We reviewed a video (involving cell phones and such) and I was very prepared for court – each time. I can still see that video in my mind today – not that there was anything special about the video but because I viewed it more than once. Everything I did was an attempt to put you in the best position possible – even the flexible fee schedule. We attempted, at each court appearance, to leverage a favorable position for you. We were unable to do so at the Municipal Court level. I communicated this process to you. You seemed to have understood it completely. You never questioned it - or me. We appealed your case to Circuit Court. Despite our efforts to communicate what was going on at the Circuit Court level, you never hired us for Circuit Court. CASE #2: On this matter, you hired me to send a letter on your behalf to a different person with whom you had legal issue and I did - on Nov. 24, 2015. This accounted for a VERY SMALL portion of the money you spent for these three matters and ONLY contemplated an initial inquiry with the other party. The other party did not respond to my letter and further action by us would have required: 1) an additional retainer on your part; 2) the filing of a lawsuit; and, 3) the payment of court costs, up front, in order for the courts to accept our lawsuit. We discussed these things. You never retained me to move forward on that issue. CASE #3: We filed your divorce on Nov, 19, 2015. Ultimately, there was a settlement entered, along with a final divorce decree, on Mar. 8, 2017. When you initially hired us, you were working with another lawyer in our firm on the divorce and when she left our firm to pursue a solo practice, you chose to stay with her for the divorce since she was most familiar with that case and had done substantial work on it. You and I had more than one conversation about all your matters, including what to do when the other lawyer left, as you tried to decide how best to move forward – and, even AFTER you went with the other lawyer for your divorce, I was available to you. I answered your questions and tried to direct you as best I could relative to the multiple decisions you were having to make. To the extent you and I discussed things, your decisions were very sound. Obviously, I don’t know what your total bill was for the divorce. I am quite certain it was not cheap as divorces do seem to be expensive. I remain available and wish you nothing but the best. ~ Russell
Posted by JOHN | August 29, 2018 | Hired Attorney
STAY AWAY
He talks a good game and sounds very confident. Of course I wanted the head lawyer in the firm assuming he had the most experience so I paid the premium and hired him. I felt like I had made the right decision hiring him. At the trial his "associate" showed up. The man was very knowledgeable of the c...
I am extremely sorry you feel this way. I make myself available to my clients every single day. My office staff schedules appointments for clients to meet with me every single day. And, we can nearly always accommodate a meeting within 24 – 48 hours of a call. There is just no way you would not have been able to get an appointment with me with over a month to go before the trial (my staff values their jobs too much for such a thing). I appreciate your acknowledgment that you were prepared for the conviction in Municipal Court with an associated appeal to Circuit Court. That was a part of the process called a “stipulation and appeal”. When I initially meet with clients I explain how we operate. I explain the process and that includes what I just referred to as the “stipulation and appeal”. There are two written documents that are generated when I am hired that address both of your complaints. First: my fee agreement makes it very clear that associates will appear in court on what I refer to as “non-critical” court dates. There are several places in the fee agreement that you initial acknowledging that you understand and accept those terms. I explain that the reason for this is so that the time you spend waiting in court is always minimized. Our approach allows us to reduce a possible wait time of up to 2 to 3 hours to 30 minutes or less on most occasions. It also states that the “critical” court date is the jury trial (if you elect to have us try your case). The second document is a “client engagement letter”. This letter discusses these very issues in even more detail. I highlight, with a yellow highlighter, THE TWO PORTIONS of this engagement letter that address your complaint. The two highlighted portions of the letter are: 1) the part that discusses our associates appearing in court to reduce your wait time, and 2) the instructions for meeting with your attorney to discuss your case. The letter makes it clear that if you just call the office and want to speak that we will not be able to accommodate you. But, it also makes it clear that you may ALWAYS schedule an appointment. It even states (and is highlighted in yellow) that your appointment may be a phone consultation for your convenience. Finally, I place a copy of the client engagement letter in a folder with our name, phone number and logo on it for your convenience. I tell each client to keep up with this folder and refer to it from time to time and also keep the court notifications that we send you in that folder. Lastly, given the fact that we were obviously unable to get your case dismissed or otherwise favorably resolved for you, you still had the option of a jury trial. I am the one who would have tried your case (as indicated by our agreement) and, if you contact me immediately, we may still have time to ask the Court to rescind your agreement and have a jury trial on your case. If you would like to discuss this with me please just call my office and tell them you need to schedule an appointment with me. You may make it a phone consultation if you like. I promise, they will schedule it for you. ~ Russell