Stanley B. Broussard

AVOID. Short version: Lack of understanding of court procedure, poor communication, slow to act, extra fees. For more detail, read on. We chose to work with this attorney, despite his fees being higher than average for adoption, because we were sold on the idea that he would take care of everythin...g, and that he was proficient in all matters regarding adoption. In our case, we were informed that handling a case in another court, not one the attorney is used to, would not be a problem. But that translated to more billable hours due to additional travel...travel that occurred because the attorney did understand the court or court's process. On two occasions, I personally had to contact the court and/or show up myself to clear up the attorney's mess. Perhaps most frustrating was the fact that he couldn't seem to get a court date. After waiting over a month, I reached out to the courts and received a list of items that were not completed by the attorney. He did not file the paperwork in accordance with the court's request and was missing requested items. I conveyed this information to him, and he subsequently assured me he would get it done. After waiting another week or so, we still did not have a court date. The attorney communicated to us that all items had been submitted to the court per their criteria and that all we could do was wait for them to respond. This was not the case. Skeptical, I personally went to the court to get a date. Lo and behold, I was assigned a date within 20 minutes of discussion with the court. However, even after getting the assigned date, I received an email from the court stating they had to delay by two days. As it turns out, the attorney STILL has not yet filed the paperwork correctly. I assured the court to leave it to me and it would be done by end of the day. I reached out to the attorney and had to demand this be done immediately. This was very concerning since it had been communicated that it has been done already. Out of all the issues we experienced, the above are just the most egregious and costly. Please feel free to reach out if you would like further clarification. If money and time do not matter to you, this is your attorney. Get used to the "I got it" and "customer service is what we focus on". I think for each time we heard that we were charged additional fees.