James M. Klein

When I sought a lawyer for my case, I first spoke to a few highly accredited Ivy League lawyers from Madison, and while I was tempted to go with them, they suggested that it might be worth looking into someone local to make things easier on my end. As my family had used the services of Klein’s firm i...n the past, I decided to seek the counsel of Klein, who asked for a retainer that was twice the amount quoted by the aforementioned lawyers- with travel fees factored in. Now I do not know exactly what it was that he took issue with in me. If I am simply being sensitive, or if it was the details of my case, my age, my race, or just that he did not like the fact that I asked him questions and took notes at our meetings, but he clearly made an effort to be unprofessional in our dealings. Perhaps Klein’s representation can be summarized in a defining phone conversation we had AFTER I had paid him a retainer. I had never personally hired a lawyer before, so I understandably had a few questions about the financial aspects of my case, as well as wanting to go over a few details of my case with my lawyer. After I asked Klein a couple questions about the difference between out-of-pocket expenses and court-fees, he snapped. “What is this, twenty questions?” he yelled into the phone. “You’re wasting my time!” This was funny, coming from a man for whose time I was paying hundreds of dollars for even in this phone conversation alone. He seemed just barely able to restrain himself from cursing at me as he tried to convince me to drop him as a lawyer after I tried to explain that the retainer I paid for was a fair amount for me, and that I just wanted to make sure I understood both the case, and wanted to go over details on expenses: “If you think X dollars is a lot of money, then just come here, and I’ll cut you a… stinking check for X dollars! Stop wasting my time!” This was followed by a few snide remarks (nothing unexpected) directed at me. “I thought you went to college,” he yelled. “You should be grateful for what I did for you,” he yelled, referring to the deal made with the DA, as if this was some pro-bono case where he did this simply out of the goodness of his heart. I mean, it was not like he was paid for his legal work or anything…Of course, the condescension didn’t stop there. After he was finished with his tirade, I calmly asked why he was angry. His response was that he wasn’t angry, but that I should “Come here and I’ll cut you a check for your lousy X dollars, and you can go represent yourself. If it’s so much money to you, good luck!” This was all because I asked him if a court stenographer (which he recommended for my case) would be covered by the retainer. “No,” was all the answer I got. Wanting to know a bit more, I just asked “Isn’t that considered a legal fee?” He replied briskly: “No,” again offering no elaboration. Not left with too many options due to his monosyllable answers, I asked “Why not”. He simply said “It’s an out of pocket expense.” So I asked him what the difference was, setting him off, because apparently college graduates shouldn’t ask questions, as they should be grateful for overpaid, grumpy lawyers. I tried to politely explain to him that I was only asking him these questions as I simply wanted to clarify details about the use of finances, to which he replied “If a stenographer is so expensive to you, then get a job or something. If it’s a financial problem, then it’s your problem, not mine!” In what situation is it ever okay to be that condescending to a client, and to make implicit insults directed at their intelligence, education, or financial situation? And one final point. If you are looking for a lawyer that can return your emails (which some find crucial in this day and age), forget it. Klein does not respond to emails. In fact, Klein does not even have an email, and refuses to use one. At least that was what he said in our dealings.