Peter J. Culp

Peter Culp represented us for an administrative appeal hearing for my wife. He came highly recommended by friends who have either used him in the past or had heard good things. We were not disappointed at all in hiring him. He was very competent in university-related matters and understood the ins-an...d-outs of how these procedures go. There were several areas where I felt Peter did a wonderful job: 1 – He laid out the strategy and explained, in great detail, what he was doing in each step and why he was doing it. He was open to suggestions and if he didn’t agree, he was quick to explain why he didn’t agree. There was no confusion as to what he planned to present, no surprises, and both my wife and I (neither of us had any training in law) understood why and what was going to happen. 2 – He was very honest in pointing out shortcomings in our case. I appreciated the honesty and it also provided a solid foundation on which to build her argument. 3 – He struck me as a man of high integrity and honesty. Obviously, he was never going to allow us to lie or bend the truth (no good lawyer would), but it went beyond that. On several occasions, if a topic was personal or might cause discomfort, he would explain why he wanted to discuss it and ask us if it was okay. If we said no, end of discussion – he wouldn’t bring it up. 4 – He was quick to point out what problems we would have testifying. He also gave us advice on how to address the concerns. For example, I tended to ramble after a question, providing excess details. He pointed that out and advised – just answer the question, nothing more. If it’s a yes/no question, just answer yes or no. As a result I felt far more comfortable and confident then I would have walking in as a witness. 5 – He never missed a deadline. It was a case in academia, so there were some pretty hard, convoluted, deadlines to follow. 6 – Overall, there are two very big positives we felt about him. One, he was a nice man. We probably all have preconceived notions of what a lawyer is like, but he just came across as a nice person wanting to do his job well. Two, my wife feels (I was not in the room for most of the hearing) that Peter presented the best possible case for her. As I type this we do not know the outcome, but she feels there was nothing more that could have been said in her favor. I could not give Peter any higher recommendation. From the moment we met him to end of the hearing, we felt we were in good hands.