William L. Griggs IV

William Griggs

I've obviously made someone mad, but what he is saying here is not true and I have to respond to these serious accusations. For instance, there is no way I could have "repeatedly overbilled for services not rendered.” I don't bill by the hour. Like most who handle criminal cases I charge a flat fee that we agree on at the beginning of the case, and expect all or most of it up front. I’ve always done it that way. This accusation has to be false because I do not bill by the hour or for each little thing I do. And lying about the status of a criminal case? The court sets the pace, and in our area at least these cases usually move pretty quickly. There is no reason whatsoever to lie about the status of a criminal case. I want my clients to know what is going on and I absolutely want them to show up on their court dates. There are miscommunications and sometimes lawyers do mess up. We are human. But if people miss multiple court dates and are arrested several times in a criminal case they are making it impossible for their lawyers and bondsmen to find them. If you have a case against you in criminal court you need to work with your lawyer and stay informed about court dates and you definitely want your lawyer and bondsman to be able to reach you to help make sure you show up in court. You are typically notified of your arraignment date when you are first arrested and bond out of jail, or your arraignment date and possibly your trial date will be on your ticket if you are not arrested. Depending on which court you are in you are likely to be notified of your next court date at every court appearance. Between that and your bondsman and attorney you should always know when you will have to show up again, which you need to do because if you don’t show up without a very good reason for it you will probably be facing new charges and your new bond will likely be very high if there is another bond. You may be kept in jail until your case is over. I can’t say that in 18 years I have never failed to notify someone, but in the few instances that has happened I have fallen on the sword and fixed the problem and there has never been a case like this person described where he missed several court appearances because of me. I don't know who wrote this review, or why, but it's obviously not accurate. I've handled thousands of criminal cases in the last 18 years and if I was treating people like this I would have been reported to the disciplinary committee by now and would have at least received a caution or reprimand or suspension, or perhaps even been disbarred. This has never happened, not even a caution, and I do my best both to keep my attorney discipline record spotless and to keep my clients happy. An attorney cannot practice law for 18 years and handle thousands of criminal cases without having some clients walk away upset though. There will be those who are mad at the world who blame everyone but themselves for the trouble they get themselves into, and these being stressful cases often with emotions running high there will be people you just get sideways with for whatever reason. It happens to all of us. I wish the person who wrote this would call me and talk to me. He’s saying things that are not true here and whatever issue he has with me I would like to try to sort it out.