Kenneth S Countryman

I retained Mr. Countryman to defend me on a disorderly conduct charge in Gilbert Arizona about 6 months ago. I attempted to contact him numerous times prior to the date set for trial but never received a return phone call. On the day of my trial i arrived to find he had absolutely no knowledge of m...y case outside of what the prosecutor had relayed to him that very morning. He had not reviewed any of the details, he hadn't even taken the time to listen to the 911 call that the prosecutor was relying on to press charges since my wife had refused to go along with the prosecution's case. I was the very first person to arrive in the courtroom that day (Actually I met Mr. Countryman in the parking lot because i was concerned about not having heard back from him at all) and was shocked to hear him tell the prosecutor no fewer than 5 times (prior to the judge arriving) that he needed to be on his way to California to view his sons basketball game by no later than 12 noon that day since he needed to catch his flight. Again, he communicated this to her no fewer than 5 times. Mr. Countryman had also failed to bring his laptop to court that day so he was unable to listen to the 911 call in my case for the first time. I had to personally ask the prosecutor to play the tape in open court. He hadn't taken the time to review even the most basic information about my case. I asked Mr. Countryman numerous times for his professional advice that day but at every turn his response was focused on exiting the courtroom as quickly as possible. Since I was new to the criminal court scene I did not realize what was happening at the time but as I reflect on that day now, I am literally SICK TO MY STOMACH. I cannot now put into words the devastation i have experienced as a result of his shoddy work. I am not claiming that my actions where lilly white but after speaking with numerous attorney's since, its clear that my case would be thrown out a very high percentage of the time. It sickens me to know that, quite likely, I ended up pleading guilty to a case that a novice lawyer would have have been able to handle. I am now in the process of paying another attorney thousands of dollars to help me clean up the mess that this man didn't want to deal with the first time around. I hope it was a really entertaining basketball game Mr. Countryman..... And I can assure you that the state bar will be hearing from me regarding your complete disregard for your duties as a defense attorney. I complained to the judge at a later date but he assured me Mr. Countryman was wholly capable of mounting a defense, given that he had defended murder suspects in the past. I have no doubt of his capability to defend a client, its his work ethic and integrity that I found lacking. I would STRONGLY encourage you to look elsewhere for an attorney.