Heath L Baker

Heath Baker was my attorney in a family court matter. When I had my first consultation with him I thought he would be the lawyer for me because he was aggressive, attentive, and personable. After I paid my retainer I could only get a hold of him through email which made me worry because my case was c...oming up shortly, Mr. Baker never filed my response declaration to the court (he fax filed it the day of which made him look unprofessional in my eyes and the courts ) nor did he show to my court hearing on time. He emailed me (did not pick up the phone)) the morning of and said he got called as a witness to another case. Really!! you didn't know you had to be on another case. I had to put the case on second call so Mr. Baker could show up 3hours later. He did not familiarize himself with the judge or the case and made the judge angry when he kept asking the her the same question over and over because he didn't like her answer (This was not the time to be aggressive). When I received my bill, he charged me for 25+ emails that his assistant wrote me and for my response but never indicated that I would be charged for them. His assistant would email me a question and I would answer. $50.00 if I responded back and included a question $75.00 he also charged me for work he did not do. I re-wrote my declaration and filed it myself and had to stay on top of him to get my ex's information so he could be prepared in court. I guess those are some of the $50 emails I was charged for. I even picked up my own mediation report and sent it to him because his assistant said she wasn't able to obtain it. Ridiculous!! he charged me $150 for the mediation report I sent to him. Heath Baker can reel you in but cannot produce in court. His attitude towards you even changes after he gets paid. After my first hearing he told me to make an appointment so we could prepare for the next trail date. When I did and showed up he said you called this meeting what did I need. I said, you asked me to set an appointment with you (and shouldn't a lawyer be in contact with their client when they still have a court hearing coming up) At this point I knew he did not care about me but the money because he asked for another $1000. I should have walked away then but I thought I needed a lawyer and it was too late to get someone else. This was the biggest mistake I had made. I did all the work to win my own case.. Fax filing the day of my court hearing after the judge said she does not see my response in the file, come on... . This was the stupidest mistake I could have ever made. If for some reason you think this won't pertain to you then I ask you get a breakdown of his charges before you sign with him and to make sure he is available by phone and most importantly, he shows up to court prepared