Collin Michael Castillo

One star because zero stars apparently isn’t an option. My experience with Collin has been unbelievably frustrating. At this point, I feel compelled to share it because clients deserve to know what they may be getting into. This case has essentially been a sitting duck since 2022. Communication... has been minimal, meaningful work has been difficult to see, and despite the case being ordered to arbitration approximately a year ago, no arbitration date was ever set. I finally reached the point where I directly asked Collin to stop negotiating offers and schedule the arbitration so that my case could actually move forward. Two days later, I received his withdrawal letter. The timing was incredibly disappointing. After years of waiting and an arbitration order that had already been sitting there for approximately a year, the moment I finally pushed for action and asked for arbitration to actually be scheduled, my attorney withdrew. And this is where I have a serious problem with the way this case was handled: I shouldn’t have had to fight my own attorneys to get my own case moving. I hired attorneys to advocate for me. Instead, I found myself repeatedly trying to get basic answers, determine what was happening with my case, figure out what deadlines existed, and ultimately research the situation myself. I also have to be honest about something else. Because this was handled on a contingency-fee basis, I started questioning whether my case received the attention it would have received if the attorneys had been getting paid as the work was performed. I cannot tell anyone what their motivation was, but that is how the experience made me feel. When a case can sit for years with little communication and then an attorney withdraws immediately after the client demands that the matter finally move to arbitration, it is extremely difficult not to question the level of commitment to that client. I wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable. I wasn’t asking them to do something outside the scope of the representation. I was asking my attorneys to stop letting my case sit and actually schedule the arbitration that had already been ordered. After all this time, I am left trying to pick up the pieces, figure out where my case stands, obtain my file, understand what has and hasn’t been done, and potentially find new representation. That’s not what I thought I was paying attorneys to do. A case shouldn’t be allowed to sit stagnant for years while the client is left wondering what is happening. And a client shouldn’t have to become their own case manager just to get basic communication. If you take someone’s case, communicate with them. If you can’t or won’t continue representing them, say so. But don’t let someone’s case sit in limbo for years and then leave when they finally demand that something actually be done. I am extremely disappointed with my experience with Collin and would not recommend them based on my experience.