Steven Lee Rodriguez

Our experience with this lawyer turned into a nightmare, which is why we are reporting his actions to the appropriate authorities. Initially we had a good conversation when we met at a We Work space in Agoura. But once he got his advance of $5000 things turned bad. He had mentioned that he represente...d the Golden Globes in a case. What he didn’t know is that we work closely with certain members, and when we asked them, they didn’t know his name. I didn’t say anything because it was irrelevant to me if he would do good work for me. Unfortunately he didn’t. Because after he got his money, he didn’t seem to have time to work on our case, missed a filing deadline, constantly misplaced case files, which we had to repeatedly sent, and sent us bills that made no sense. Missing a filing deadline and playing fast and loose with someone’s life with a case is not only unprofessional, but irresponsible. For example, when we asked him to respond to a case, send us drafts of what is to be filed, copies of what was filed, etc. we get a vague answer, like an email I quote “ I do it when I have time”. This is after we agreed -in writing- on a time line, and that we would see drafts of what goes out and get copies of what is filed. His bills made no sense. He even charged for services and case analysis work done in the future (specifically on 2/28 while the bill was sent to us on 2/20). Unless he invented the art of time travelling he did factually not do the work on that day for those hours he charged us. The bill includes wrong names for the party we are suing, as well as us, which suggests he didn’t read the case paperwork, for which he charged, and clearly pays no attention to detail. Reading case files and paying attention to detail is essential when working on cases. When I called him to discuss the billing and other issues I noticed, he got very upset about me questioning his bill, and his plan of action. He was harsh worded and very defensive, but had no real answers for me. And, he was not willing to provide back up for anything he charged for and/or worked on. His response when I asked for back up was, I quote “ I will not sent this”. That’s when I realized I am being scammed and decided to let him go. The minute he got my email on 2/19 that he is being let go, I get a flurry of insulting and harassing emails. He had apparently cyber stalked me, found out I’m German and called me – I quote “anti-semite” (btw. my husband is Jewish). He took fabrications from the person/case we are filing a law suit against, the very case he represented us on, knowing well the other party has no evidence for the allegations they made in response to us suing them for fraud (among other things), and throws this nonsense back at me to insult me. And, he admitted in yet another insulting email that he talked to others about me, which is a breach of client confidentiality. I got about 10 different insult emails in a row within hours of firing him. That’s more than I got on the actual case the entire time. Disturbing. He was trying to intimidate me the minute I started questioning him. I don't respond well to intimidation tactics. Maybe I was being a nuisance by wanting to understand the game plan and the bill. I get it. I also understand that I may have bruised his ego by firing him and being honest about the fact that I was disappointed in his work. But all that is no reason to breach client confidentiality or to harass me. Needless to say that this level of nastiness from a lawyer a client put their trust in is appalling and highly unprofessional, which is why I am leaving this review to warn other potential clients. Everything stated in here can be backed up by facts, emails and documents, as I don’t leave unsubstantiated reviews. I expect him to get even more upset now, and I am willing to take that risk.