I hired Mr McMullen to represent me in my divorce; however, I discovered eight months later when I was putting my evidence together that Mr. McMullen had prosecuted my husband two years earlier on a commercial vehicle alcohol offense.
When I questioned him about it, Mr. McMullen said he didn't know he had prosecuted him while he was the asst. district attorney in Tama County; which I also just discovered is where a child abuse case was in jeopardy of being dismissed because Mr. McMullen's office made a "clerical mistake".
I find it unacceptable that he did not tell me about having prior legal contact with my husband. Mr. McMullen also provided unprofessional service by not showing up for a hearing, not reading judges decisions (he didn't even know that the judge ruled not to let him off my case. Mr. McMullen couldn't even get himself removed from my case correctly), and didn't do filings on time or I was told to do them myself.
I wish I had know about this site before I hired him and blew $1,880 for nothing.
I work with juveniles in committals, Children in Need of Assistance (CINA) hearings, and any other matter involving juveniles. Contact me for a consult.
My office currently represents dozens of school districts. We provide advice on terminations, contracts, and every other issue a school district may face.
8 years
Patrick McMullen attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a degree in Marketing in 2003, with a minor in English and an emphasis in both statistics and psychology. During his time in Iowa City, Patrick was actively involved with numerous charitable organizations, including Toys for Tots and Habitat for Humanity, while also working with the American Marketing Association and enjoying his time as a server and cook for Applebee’s. Patrick graduated the University of Iowa in 2003 and left Iowa City with a devoted allegiance to Hawkeye Nation, a proud honor he maintains to this graduating in 2003, Patrick lived in Denver, Colorado for a year, where he worked at an advertising agency, before being accepted into the 2007 graduating class at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. While at UMKC, Patrick was actively involved with the legal fraternity of Delta Theta Phi, which regularly donated to the Susan B. Komen For the Cure movement, as well as additional work for Habitat for Humanity. Upon graduation, Patrick worked briefly in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before returning to Iowa so he could be closer to his family. Once back in Iowa, Patrick passed the bar in 2008 before joining the office of Matthias, Campbell, Nuzum & Rickers in Newton, Iowa. His career then took him to Kaplan Frese & Nine, LLP in Marshalltown, Iowa, before becoming an Assistant County Attorney for Tama County, Iowa. Through his experiences, Patrick has represented dozens of parents in custodial battles and divorce cases, he has prosecuted and defended hundreds of felony and misdemeanor clients, and he has represented parties in civil and small claims actions as has a diverse background in the law, and he is ready to help you. Contact him to set up an appointment!
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Non paying clients
Patrick helped to bring me closer to resoliving non paying customers. Very knowedgable and personal.
Posted by Tracy | July 13, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Ethical misconduct
I hired Mr McMullen to represent me in my divorce; however, I discovered eight months later when I was putting my evidence together that Mr. McMullen had prosecuted my husband two years earlier on a commercial vehicle alcohol offense.
When I questioned him about it, Mr. McMullen said he didn't know he had prosecuted him while he was the asst. district attorney in Tama County; which I also just discovered is where a child abuse case was in jeopardy of being dismissed because Mr. McMullen's office made a "clerical mistake".
I find it unacceptable that he did not tell me about having prior legal contact with my husband. Mr. McMullen also provided unprofessional service by not showing up for a hearing, not reading judges decisions (he didn't even know that the judge ruled not to let him off my case. Mr. McMullen couldn't even get himself removed from my case correctly), and didn't do filings on time or I was told to do them myself.
I wish I had know about this site before I hired him and blew $1,880 for nothing.
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Response from Patrick McMullenJuly 14, 2017
I completely understand the frustration this client faced. Her divorce was a difficult one; her soon-to-be ex-husband refused to cooperate with paperwork, responding to correspondence, and assisting in any way with resolving the case. While his attorney and I have a great working relationship, I can only describe his actions as "being a stick in the mud."
As for the "ethical misconduct" this individual speaks of, the only thing I will say is that I was under no legal obligation to inform her that I had previously prosecuted him. Arguably, my former prosecution of him put me MORE in her corner, not less, but there are no ethical implications in the slightest. I have informed her that she is more than welcome to take her complaint up with the ethical board, as I am positive the board will view my actions as harmless at best. Furthermore, I prosecuted thousands of individuals. It is impractical for me to keep a running list of that entire population.
Finally, this client did not pay anywhere near the amount she claimed. We had a fee agreement, of which she could only pay a portion of initially, and I agreed to not ask for the remaining amount because of her limited funds, despite her skyrocketing fees. This also does not include the hundreds of text messages she sent me over the course of my representation - many of which were extremely lengthy and time-consuming to review and note in our case planning. Not a single one of these messages were billed, and the amount of work she got for free would be in the "dozens of hours" range.
Ultimately, while I feel terrible that this client was dissatisfied with my services, she is bitter and angry that the legal system itself did not work exactly as she had hoped. I did everything she asked, when she asked, and I wish her the absolute best of luck with her future representation in this case.
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