Jamal L Tooson

I hired Jamal “J” Tooson in October 2021 and fired him in September 2022. I waited until after my case was resolved with my new, competent attorney to write this review to compare the experiences. I would have been better off with a public defender rather than waste thousands of dollars with Jamal an...d endure extreme hostility and shocking unprofessionalism during the most stressful year of my life. I contacted Lessem, Newstat, & Tooson because they listed mental health expertise on their website. A mental health crisis resulted in an arrest in June 2021 and I sought out lawyers with experience in this particular matter. I initially spoke to Jeremy Lessem and perhaps I would’ve had a different experience if he ended up being my attorney. It became evident early on that Jamal had no interest in anything other than bragging about himself. Yet he lacked the social and professional capital to garner respect among the court's judges and other attorneys. I had no less than 8 court dates and Jamal failed to show up for all except maybe two or three. I would wait for hours for my case to be called and random attorneys I had never seen or spoken to would dial into the court for one continuation after another. During the one time I saw him in his office, Jamal arrived late and spent most of the time proofreading the motion and answering private phone calls regarding family matters. He had a random attorney I never met write the motion that was submitted and had me pay hundreds of dollars to see a doctor who wrote an ineffective and pointless report that did not help my case. The motion was weak and the DA ultimately used what Jamal submitted against me. Each interaction with Jamal became increasingly aggressive as he did nothing over the months, to the point where I ended calls in tears due to him literally screaming into the phone. The last straw for me was when he claimed to have a beneficial professional relationship with someone who would be able to help my case (let’s call him Mr. X) and that he’d call Mr. X to discuss. Weeks after stating this and after he declined my call as I walked out of the courthouse since he did not show up, I texted him asking if he had spoken to Mr. X and said that it felt like it would be too late at this point. He called back after reading my text to scream about my “tone” and that he supposedly had been calling Mr. X and could not get a call back. He was so belligerent that the other attorneys who were walking out of the courthouse for their lunch break stopped to stare and waited until he was off the phone to ask me if I was okay. This behavior is appalling in general but it was disgusting to see it from someone who boasts expertise with mental health matters on his website. At this point, my friend who helped me pay for Jamal’s fees asked what had been done for my case and since I didn’t want to call back screaming Jamal, I asked his paralegal. She immediately forwarded the call to Jamal who once again, started yelling about how the question of what had been done so far was “passive-aggressive” in an unhinged manner. Several days after Jamal’s abusive conversations, I moved onto my current attorney and I received excellent service since. While Jamal screamed about my “tone”, my current attorney addressed every one of my questions respectfully and also took the time to ask me questions over the course of several in-office appointments to help deepen his knowledge of my case. While Jamal screamed about how he left “countless” calls to Mr. X, that Mr. X must not be calling him back because he simply did not care about the matter, my current attorney got Mr. X on the phone within one day to have an insightful discussion. The new attorneys were present for every court date and ultimately had my case diverted out of criminal court with an excellent motion supported by several mental health experts. Retaining Jamal Tooson was the single most exacerbating and traumatic part of the crisis.

Attorney J Tooson saved my life! I was wrongfully accused of sexual harassment by someone who was trying to exploit me. Mr. Tooson took the matter very seriously, was a vigorous advocate on my behalf, took my calls at all hours of the day and really made me feel like I was a priority throughout the... entire process. Despite what I was being told by the complaining party regarding the evidence against me, Mr. Tooson was able to establish my innocence and convinced the prosecutor to eventually dismiss the case. I am beyond grateful for Jamal and he will always be my first call if myself or anyone close to me needs the best criminal defense attorney in all of Southern California!

I'd like to share my experience with Attorney J (aka, Jamal) Tooson, and if you can answer affirmatively to any of the following questions then he might be a good fit for you. Do you want an attorney that --- would rather discuss an extremely private and intimate legal matter in the local Sta...rbucks rather than in the privacy of his office? --- was locked out of his office then attempted to discuss an extremely private and intimate legal matter on the sidewalk in front of the locked office? --- you cannot reach via telephone and can't leave voicemail because his mailbox is full? -- didn't respond to some email that you were forced to send because you could not reach him via telephone or leave voicemail because his mailbox is full? --- will only reply intermittently and only after several requests for a response to text messages that you are forced to send because he failed to respond to email that you were forced to send because you could not reach him via telephone or leave voicemail because his mailbox is full? --- finally responded to one of many text messages by stating “I will call you when I have a moment.” then failed to do so in a timely manner? --- stated he will subpoena specific documents prior to a given date then failed to do so? --- stated he will obtain surveillance video prior to a given date then failed to do so? --- once hired, adopted a rude antagonistic demeanor that one would/should NOT expect to receive from an attorney that was hired to provide competent, timely and professional legal representation? If you replied 'yes', good luck.

Mr. Jamal Tooson is a highly intelligent, confident, professional and excellent criminal defense attorney. He and his staff remained very professional throughout my entire case and he provided excellent, updates and contacted me to keep me informed. Most importantly, Mr. Tooson delivered to my expe...ctations as I am a very successful medical professional with several degrees but my career and all that I worked for were all on the line and I was completely blind-sided and devastated by unexpected criminal charges brought against me as I had never been in trouble with the law before. Mr. Jamal Tooson made me feel confident in his skill set as highly esteemed attorney. He is very down to earth, smart and personable and he really took the time to listen to my concerns and all of the facts of my case in order to strategically plan to help me keep my license and career. Mr. Tooson immediately knew how to proceed with my case and what legal defense mechanisms that he would utilize to get all of my charges dismissed from 3 misdemeanor counts to a simple infraction. I am so relieved!!! I have my career and my record restored and I have learned a very important lesson as well. I highly recommend Jay Tooson as a criminal defense attorney. No regrets. He is awesome!

As a former law enforcement officer for the city with 25 years of service I found myself facing a felony charge for assault. The District Attorney had it out to make an example of me. Did not happen!! With the immediate attention of Atty J. Tooson and his expertise he was able to reduce it to all t...he way to an expongement. It saved my life. Don't waste your money and time on other attorney s get a super lawyer in your corner. Attorney Jemal Tooson.