Mark Joseph McGowan

I retained Mark McGowan for a prenuptial agreement and paid a $1,750 retainer. Over the course of the engagement, he failed to make any of the edits we discussed in our meetings, advised me to revise the agreement myself at home, and even suggested signing the prenup on the same day we finalized it, ...something that would have invalidated the entire agreement under California law had I not caught the error myself. Even more alarming: he printed my draft on the backs of highly confidential documents from other clients (which included trusts and wills, personal financial information, and clients' home addresses) which he suggested I bring home with me. This raises serious concerns about how he handles privileged information. When I raised these issues, he dismissed them and demanded over $4,000 in additional fees. Now, he refuses to certify the agreement at all, effectively invalidating the document and wasting months of effort and expense. I cannot recommend this attorney to anyone seeking competent, ethical, or reliable legal representation.

Mark advertises himself as a trust expert, so when he requested $2500 cash up front to prepare a trust for us, we agreed. His "expertise" consisted of cutting and pasting our information into outdated trust software that was the incorrect format for people of our limited income and assets. He used... a trust for multi-millionaires needing tax shelters. When we asked why, he said "in case you win the lottery". The trust was full of errors, including his previous client's name on the signature line instead of ours. We tried to help him out by proofreading the documents for him, but ultimately we couldnt use the trust. Mark is a nice older gentleman, but clearly has no knowledge of current trust law or modern computer software. We requested a refund and were refused.

Mark is extremely knowledgeable, professional and helpful. From the beginning, I called several offices in the desert, and his office was the only one that returned my call. When we had our first meeting, he explained the process for my case very well and gave me many ways the case could proceed in c...ourt in order to prepare me for future events. He helped me move my case forward in court and complete the process. Mark is the only lawyer I would come back to in the desert for any of my future cases. He is professional, extremely knowledgeable, patient and kind. Thanks, Mark!