Jonathan Baxter Lafrance

I strongly advise others to be cautious before hiring Lafrance. Don't be persuaded by a friendly voice or reassuring promises. In my experience, the billing practices were deeply concerning. Keep track of every phone call. Even very short conversations can result in surprisingly high charges. When...ever I called the office, I was often transferred directly to Lafrance without any meaningful screening, and the call was billed at the attorney's rate. I also experienced being placed on hold while the call continued to be billed. Occasionally, he would come back on the line to say, "Don't go, I'll be with you shortly," only to put me back on hold again. From my perspective, this felt like a system designed to maximize billable time. As for my case, I was extremely disappointed. I felt that little meaningful work was done, yet I was charged for nearly every communication, including emails that appeared to receive little or no attention. Based on my experience, I believe many clients may feel frustrated and consider taking action, but pursuing a dispute with an attorney can be costly, time-consuming, and stressful. In my opinion, the best course is to avoid that situation altogether by choosing a different attorney from the start. I would not recommend hiring Lafrance. If you're considering his services, carefully review the fee agreement, monitor every communication and billing entry, and consider looking elsewhere for legal representation.

There were repeated delays and hearings were pushed back multiple times without clear progress. Communication was inconsistent, and I was often asked to resend the same information. At times, I felt I was doing a substantial portion of the work myself, including reviewing and correcting documents. ... I was billed for extensive communication that did not move my case forward, which added unnecessary cost and stress. He charged me 600 dollars an hour. I know his game. Keep the case going to keep getting money - that’s why he would keep pushing dates back. also experienced a lack of organization, and on more than one occasion, there appeared to be internal issues within the office that affected professionalism. My case was in Lancaster

This man has been stalking me and my daughters through the family court system representing a mentally unstable narcissist for over 15 years now. He has yelled at me and my daughter. He is verbally abusive and a flat out liar. My ex assaulted me in a car and was driving erratically and a good Samarit...an called the police on him. I obtained a TRO but Jonathan representing my ex went in after I got one and obtained one gaining full custody of my then nine-year-old girls. Jonathan and my ex sent the police to our home and my children would not go with them. Jonathan called an amber alert and had a three ring circus in front of my home disrupting our neighbors peace and traumatizing my girls. I got them back but I had to wait three weeks till we got into court. Absolutely traumatizing. He will abuse your children and he will take advantage of you in an emotional situation while using the narcissist who is all too willing to blow all of the family money by playing a psychological game with children’s lives. Fast forward my sick ex-husband had our daughter arrested one week after she turned 18. Jonathan la france accused her of stabbing her sister which was a flat out lie and now she has an assault with a deadly weapon on her record. He is a sick man who will do anything for money. He shows up to court completely unpolished with a bleached out mullet. He will tell you himself that he is a hillbilly from Florida. I don’t mind hillbillies but I have zero tolerance for a dirty lowdown hungry lawyer. Especially one who engages and encourages mentally unstable vindictive spouses and fathers.

This clown used my name on a review in May 2018 and it definitely wasn’t the real Michael Barnard. I am the real Michael Barnard and he did nothing for my case and didn’t even show up to my sons court hearing. His assistant Emily did 70% of the work and I did 30%. Jon literally did nothing. ...He puts more effort in putting his ponytail in a rubber band than he does for his clients. I’ve left multiple reviews on this clown and he is by far one of the worst lawyers in probably California. He has been known to screw people over, make clients do all the work and double and triple charged them while he makes them think he’s actually working. I would never give him 5 stars and all of his Yelp reviews are current and the truth. Definitely is not someone you should hire and actually do your research on him.

In my opinion and based on my personal experience, Jonathan lacks the skills to problem solve—especially highly contested, highly emotional, complex family law issues. He takes forever to respond to correspondence (if ever) and has every excuse in the book for lack of his performance when he finally ...does respond. He’s late to court and is ill prepared. He goes from calm to heated in a matter of seconds whenever he is confronted with details that don’t support his case. It is also my experience that he overcharges for his time. If you require a family law attorney, look elsewhere and find a professional who is a Certified Family Law Specialist certified by the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists.