John R Gaertner

In my 24 years as an attorney, I have never encountered a client such as this client. I have been an assistant city attorney, a Deputy County Attorney in a major felony division, a criminal defense attorney representing clients charged with serious felony charges and a family law attorney for over a decade. Most clients have reasonable expectations, understand the process when the process is explained to them, can be reasoned with, and pay their fees when they are due as per the fee agreement. This client was very difficult. After I was retained, my firm immediately filed a Notice of Appearance and a Request for Mediation (required by the current court order). A mediation date was secured the very day the mediation request was filed. My firm thoroughly reviewed the recent case file and from notes that were taken at the initial meeting with the client, a Petition to Modify Legal Decision Making Authority, Parenting Time and Child Support was drafted. The draft was sent to the client and reviewed. Any additions, corrections, etc..., requested by the client were made and the final draft prepared. The Petition was filed with the court shortly after the Petition for Mediation. All pleadings filed from my office are professionally prepared, legally sound and persuasive. The court set a resolution management conference on a date that conflicted with a previously scheduled trip I had with my daughter to California. The client was explained why the court date needed to be re-scheduled. The court eventually re-scheduled the resolution management conference in mid July 2015. My client requested that I file a Motion to Accelerate, which I did and within three (3) days the court granted the motion and re-scheduled the court date to June 3, 2015. After two months of working on this case, the client was sent a bill and immediately questioned nearly every charge that was included in the bill. The charges were reasonable and necessary in my representation of this client. When the client refused to pay the amount owed and the replenishment, pursuant to the terms of the fee agreement, I withdrew as counsel in this matter. I behaved professionally and ethically throughout my representation of this client. The dispute between Father and Mother in this case began thirteen (13) years ago. After my client refused to pay her bill, I carefully reviewed the entire history of this case from its inception and discovered that I was the FIFTH attorney that my client had hired. All previous attorneys had either filed Motions to Withdraw or were fired by my client. Family law attorneys do their best to address and try to assist client's in extremely volatile family conflicts. The process is sometimes frustrating and clients have taken their frustrations out on their attorneys. This client has now retained her SIXTH attorney to assist her in this case.