Anthony Ukran

I'll start with the good because there's less of it, and I always like to start my reviews with something positive. Tony dresses well and acts very professional in a courtroom. He stays calm under pressure, and he doesn't let his emotions rule him. Now the bad. He hears, but he doesn't listen. On ...multiple occasions, I asked him specifically to do certain things and to not do certain things... and not only did he blatantly disregard my polite requests, he made my case worse. He threw me under the bus because he felt it was in my best interest. Instead of fighting for me, he went on the defensive immediately because he already had judged me guilty. I had plenty of evidence that would have helped our case, but his hubris was so great that he felt it wasn't necessary. I trusted him with my reputation and the well-being of my daughter... and he failed me so badly that I needed to hire two more lawyers after him in an attempt to clean up the spectacular debacle he had caused. And even then, he tried to make my life a living hell. Instead of accepting his responsibility and making the transition to my new lawyer easy and orderly, he fought me every step of the way and claimed he was being professional by doing so. He claimed he knew what he was doing, but he charged me for two hours of research that if he was what he purported himself to be, he would have already known. Juvenile dependency court is not for the untrained or unprepared... and when I retained Stolar & Associates and was assigned him, I expected that I would be taken care of. Instead, he nickeled and dimed me for so many things on my bill that I was afraid of calling him... and one should *never* be afraid of calling one's own lawyer. His tone and his affect when talking with me was so antiseptic and wooden that I seriously thought he had Asperger's, or some deep-seated psychological trauma that left him unable to convey normal human emotions. But I think the worst part in all of my dealings with him were the half truths that he told me. He withheld key facts and information from me that he shared with the opposing counsel, and I found out about it afterwards when I was finally able to see my own file after I fired him. He's an intelligent man, and I genuinely think that he could be good at whatever he sets his mind to. I also believe that he thinks he's a good man, and that he believes he's fighting the good fight. But the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and there are some things that when done are very hard (if not impossible) to fix. If you hire this man to be your lawyer, keep him on a short leash. Tell him exactly what you need him to do, and listen to his advice if he gives it to you... but take it with a pound of salt and get a second opinion. Also, make sure he BCC's you on *all* of his email correspondence regarding your case, especially negotiations with opposing counsel.