Michael Donald Monico

I thought Mr. Monico was very self serving and at times seemed distracted and somewhat disorganized. I had to repeat facts time and again. He always seemed to take notes on a new note pad. What happened to the other notes? Several of the meetings included his partner or associates, which resulted... in higher bills for me, with little or no tangible or intangible discernable benefit. At the end of the day, the best you can hope for is a plea bargain. My recommendation, short circuit the process and try to get the plea bargain ASAP.

Michael Monico is a terrific atttorney if you like paying in excess of $500 per hour for his legal prowess, having one or two of his associates sit in on routine matters, to bring the overall hourly rate up to $1,000 per hour; and at the end of the day get a plea bargain-after you run out of money. ...He's your guy. I believe he's gotten one acquittal in his career. Save yourself a lot of $$$$. Make your own deal with the US Attorney's office. You'll save a quarter of a million in his rediculous fees.

Years ago I was unjustly arrested. I know this as I am a former Chicago Police Officer. I had a drunken neighbor banging on my door and threatening me, so I opened my door with a gun in my hand. The neighbor then called the police. I went to see Monico and he told me that I did nothing illegal as... I was in my own home. He said it would cost me $500.00 to appear in court and to have my record expunged. When we got to court he had me sign a paper stating he would receive the money posted as bond ($500.00) for his services. The case was called, no one opposed and Monico handed the Judge the paper I signed. The Judge said he thought the amount was EXCESSIVE as the attorney did nothing. A year later Monico had me pay hundreds of dollars more to have my record expunged. I found out later that I could have done it myself for free by going to the Clerk's Office and filling out some papers. I work for a large law firm and know that this is not how a reputable attorney does business.