Justin Schwartz

I hired Mr. Justin K. Schwartz, J.D., last December, paid $1000 cash upfront, and agreed to an additional fee to be paid from the recovery. He failed to meet the filing deadline on February 17, 2022, to file a brief on my behalf to the Illinois Supreme Court. I directed him to file a Motion for an E...xtension. In eight days time, he failed to file Motion for an Extension, which resulted in my case being mandated on February 25th, 2022. Owing to his extreme negligence, THIS MISCREANT CAUSED MY CASE TO BE MANDATED (meaning closed). I have requested a refund of my $1000 investment, he has refused. His behavior should be described as a DERELICTION OF DUTY. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS LAWYER

I filed a complaint at the court house by myself on 11/20/2019 as a Pro Se. It was accepted ,received a hearing date 01/06/2020. I went to court by myself and Judge moved the court date to 01/22/2020 due to filed for motion to dismiss complaint by defendant and his attorney. The same day 01/06/2020 I... called attorney at law Justin Schwartz ,explained everything and he agreed to take over my case. I signed the contract $2500 + 50% of any recovery as we agreed. I paid him $2500 the same day as we agreed I called him a day before hearing date , to make sure that is all good. He said yes, all good and I do not need to go ,he will go himself. My lawyer had to file his appearance and show up in court on 01/22/2020. Which never happened. He did not go to court or file an appearance that day. The next day I called him to see how it went. He told me he could not make it ,because he got sick. I was all upset about the situation, but he promised me to fix it. After many messages, excuses ( running errands , out of town, in court, on the phone support or simply not home ) finally Justin Schwartz submitted the documents to the court and he chose a date 02/19/2020. I called him a day before to see if its all good, he told me I'm out of town, I will nail it down tomorrow. Again, after plenty of messages , excuses he finally got the hearing date on 03/09/2020 at 1:30 pm. I told him that I will go too. He said that he is just appearing. The motion is up but should be granted as of right. On 03/09/2020 I went to hearing and I was waiting for my attorney to show up. And my attorney did not show up on time. By the time he arrived 45 minutes late , the court room was empty. I fired him immediately . And asked him for a full $2500 refund.He wanted to charge me for the job he did not do. After long battling he agreed to refund me in full. I could not believe, I got myself in this unfortunate situation. I lost my money, my complaint was dismissed, because of my attorneys irresponsibility .He sent me a half money $1250 the next day and other half of $1250 i was expecting in April as he promised. It is almost July and I'm still waiting for the other $1250 . When I text him , he always find an excuse. I want to share my story to the public ,so that other people, or his future clients will not be the victims of his irresponsibility . I do not recommend Justin Schwartz as attorney to anyone. Very unprofessional !

Although Justin Schwartz was not able to help me himself, he went above and beyond to refer me to a good lawyer in my area. With all due respect to all attorneys, I feel that most attorneys would look the other way when it comes to help someone with a case they are not able to take. I appreciate Ju...stin's honesty and his dedication to try to help someone with a legal issue from out of his jurisdiction. Thank you.

I hired Mr. Schwartz to help me in an emergency case regarding being unlawfully evicted for my orientations and my disability statuses. I received a letter demanding my removal from a University housing facility within 48 hours of the notice. Mr. Schwartz was the second person I called out of the mee...ting (the first was family) in which I received the letter and an explanation that the evictions were due to sexual identities that were "not yet accepted as orientations" and to "stop calling them orientations" and my being "too autistic for staff to deal with" (my only crime is asking a lot of questions!). Mr. Schwartz acted swiftly and with fierce gusto, working late into the night corresponding with me and their lawyer. Within 24 hours he got me a week extension on my eviction, and within 48 hours he got the charges completely dropped, otherwise rescinded, and my "punishment" modified to an agreeable level (the university moved me to housing that would have cost me $8000 more per year and waived the fee, talk about an apology for wrongdoing!). While the University, as Universities do, still ended up having me removed from the place I called home and put me on probation status, Mr. Schwartz won me more than I could ever ask for. He took on an institution of higher learning, something most lawyers would never ever touch, because those are cases that "can't be won". Mr. Schwartz sympathized with my situation, and although he knew me (and my penchant for being utterly pesty and asking too many questions) from a prior appeal a couple years ago (which I am retroactively giving 5 stars, although that case is ongoing), he was still willing to work with me. Mr. Schwartz is knowledgeable and more willing to work with a client than any other legal counsel I have ever known, gets the work done and can get it done even on the world's worst anti-due-process time limit. He helped me even though my gender orientation and sexual orientations are abnormal, and we both acknowledged that the latter are not yet protected classes. Mr. Schwartz is also funny. That's not something I would normally write in a review but I feel it's important to say. Mr. Schwartz is not a cold-hearted lawyer like we hear about or see on TV. It is not a bore to work with him. He brings life to the room and life to a case. He makes legal work feel more loving, more approachable, even more human. He pulls the stress right out of the situation and makes the whole process a lot more user friendly. Mr. Schwartz is not just a lawyer. He is a blessing in disguise. He is my savior. He protected me, despite my monetary limitations, because my being put out onto the streets would mean death. I am alive, and I am eternally indebted to him, I feel, even after my actual debt is paid off. In another life, Mr. Schwartz could have been my friend (that's the best analogy I can use). He's just that kind of lawyer. He's the best kind of lawyer. None of the TV/Media stereotypes about lawyers fit him. Mr. Schwartz is an anomaly. If I had to describe Mr. Schwartz in one word, it would be "relentless". Because for Mr. Schwartz it isn't only about getting paid at the end of the day, it's about saving the lives of the downtrodden. I would absolutely recommend Mr. Schwartz to any minority person in a civil suit. Even if you're going up against someone who "can't be defeated" like an institution of higher learning. Even if your minority status involves alternative sexualities, gender identities that may not be understood, or things that just flat out aren't "protected classes". Even if your identity is frowned upon, Mr. Schwartz will work with you. Because Mr. Schwartz has heart, and he is truly relentless.

Mr. Schwartz is professional, patient, and a very knowledgeable lawyer I contracted. Justin is a highly experienced well spoken attorney who goes above and beyond for his clients, and always shares his knowledge of law with me as if I was one of his students. He, in a sense, has inspired me to go ba...ck to law school and complete BA so that I could become a well respected attorney just like him.