Giovanni Michael Vaccaro

Our experience with The Vaccaro Firm was disappointing, to say the least. To be fair, Mr. Vaccaro was responsive to our communications, and our dissatisfaction was not because we couldn’t reach him. The problem was the representation itself. We hired an attorney for a serious and highly contested ...custody matter because we needed someone who would advocate firmly and assertively for our concerns. Unfortunately, we consistently felt the representation was far too passive for the circumstances. Although Mr. Vaccaro responded when contacted, we did not feel there was enough urgency, assertiveness, or proactive advocacy on our behalf. We paid a $6,000 flat fee and ultimately became dissatisfied enough that we terminated the representation and hired another attorney before the matter was resolved. Having to start over with new counsel and incur additional legal expenses has been extremely frustrating. There is now also a disagreement regarding the $6,000 fee. The retainer characterizes it as a flat, non-refundable fee and provides for a reconstructed invoice upon request. We have requested a complete itemized accounting of the work performed and intend to address that issue separately. Ultimately, responsiveness alone was not what we needed. We needed an attorney who would take initiative, advocate assertively, and make us feel that the seriousness of our concerns was being matched by the representation we were paying for. That was not our experience. He also told us today that he isn’t giving me “any counsel, but strictly law advice.” Okay, “legal counsel.” He is strictly for the money, and will jeopardize your custody case. Based on our experience, we would not hire this firm again. I strongly recommend that prospective clients carefully review the retainer agreement, understand the fee structure, and have a detailed conversation about the attorney’s approach to contested cases before retaining the firm.