Elon Berk

I hired Berk & Gurovich based on a rec from another attorney who shares their offices. My case was unusual as I was falsely accused of elder abuse by my 80 yr.old schizophrenic uncle who claimed I stole his money. The sheriff's deputy who filed the case was a corrupt cop who ignored the fact my uncl...e was a schizophrenic, had previously tried to file similar charges against my mom, who is institutionalized, & suffers from dementia. This false claim ended up in Airport Court by Lax, assigned to an asst. DA. The reason I hired & had faith in their skills & assumed their abilities to get this bogus claim dismissed quickly, was because how much Berk boasted how well they're "connected" in the court, knowing the sheriff's lead deputy & judges, & Dmitry's bulldog tactics. Nothing could've be further from the truth!! Dmitry shuffled my case to Berk, whom I learned fairly quickly didn't pay attention, write anything down, was always distracted scrolling through his cell, needed constant reminders of the details of my case, plus was never prepared at anytime we had a court date. They were quick to take a $9k retainer, but did nothing proactive to end this case quickly. Berk let it drag out for 8 months because he knew there was no probable cause. He never wrote a case summary so that the asst. DA was aware of the fact that my uncle was a paranoid schizophrenic who suffered from dementia, & had a history of accusing family , care givers & medical staff of theft & or physical abuse. If she had known the facts at our first meeting, she would've been educated & not have wasted the courts time in determining whether or not this case was worthy of a trial. It took 6 months until she was even aware of the details, she bullied Berk @ every informal meeting monthly. He never asserted himself, never had any copies of fiduciary, power of attorney, bank records, nor the fact he was deemed incapable of handling his own financial affairs for over 6 years by the VA where he resides for many years under the care of medical staff. I trusted them that they were professionals who would honor their own words, looking the part in their nice suits & penthouse suite, but that wasn't my experience. Yes, my case was finally dismissed after months of anxiety & Berks lack of integrity, but it was hell. They gave no accounting of their time, so essentially Berk got paid $600/hour to drive to & from the court 8 times at the cost of $9k. Do the math, 600 x 2 hours=1200 x8 + $9600, All he did was clock in, talk briefly to the asst, DA, then set another date for the next month. Only at 1 meeting after 6 months, did she learn the details of my case because she subpoenaed the cop, my uncle, my sister & his care giver. It wasn't until she questioned his care giver that she was enlightened that my uncle was mentally ill, suffering from lifelong paranoia, having hallucinations & accuses everyone of theft. (she wasn't even subpoenaed) so luckily she was their. Berk wasn't even present at that juncture because he felt it wasn't important that he hear their statements!!!!! The care giver called my sister & informed her of the info she provided & that the DA was shocked to learn the truth & facts of his mental condition. 2 months later I received a full dismissal, it was a tremendous relief, I knew I'd be exonerated, but the anxiety until I was, was horrible. When I read other reviews of all the positive experiences others have had with GBA Law, I feel duped because I had such a miserable one. Other reviewers expressed similar issues w/Berks lack of attention & integrity, A few I read were from women w/similar stories. Perhaps he thinks women are stupid & don't pick up on his lack of integrity. I wish I had a good experience & could post a 5 star review, but my association w/them forced me to report them to the Bar Assoc.& file a complaint w/the Fee Arbitrators, & post bad reviews.