Michael Sean Gower

I hired Mr. Gower mainly because I could not afford my previous attorney, who served me well in post-judgement child support issue. After I paid retainer, Mr. Gower's tone in phone calls changed from professional to belligerent. Because I am a professional and understand that this kind of tone does n...ot necessarily mean loss of effectiveness, I decided to proceed. Mr. Gower's contract stated that he bills bi-monthly. I retained him for approximately 2 months and saw no bill until closing statement. It appears that there is no billing until client trust account is depleted. Without statements, I had no detail on how and when money was used. Based on standard business practice, I expected monthly statements. By the time I realized there would most likely be no statements until my retainer reached a zero balance, I realized I could not afford to continue with Mr. Gower. Per the closing statement, Mr. Gower billed for his services an amount equal to one-third of my retainer, the same day he received email terminating his services. Based on the lack of client-involvement communication I experienced, I should have set the tone and instructed him not to do any work without prior discussion, or looked for another attorney. The cost of this lesson was a good chunk of my retainer.