Denis Robert Hebert

Attorney Hebert was hired to handle a child custody issue in our divorce case. He was hired under the premise of a limited scope representation for the purpose of a specific child custody hearing that was to take place about a month from the time he took the case. We signed the attorney retainer an...d paid him for his services that were to be performed. We initially hired him because he had offered us a free initial consultation that actually ended up costing us $500 for him to actually review the documents. He seems very knowledgeable about family law, so we felt secure in the idea that he would represent my matter appropriately. That didn't turn out to be the case. I provided him a copy of the case file and all appropriate documents regarding the issue. He started working on my case and was informing me of updates via e-mail. At first he seemed positive about his ability to resolve the problem and that things would go amicably between the parties. Then at one point I had not received any response to him for about three days. I sent him e-mails asking him for an update and received nothing. Then about three days before the hearing was to take place, he sent me an e-mail indicating that he was substituting off of the case and that he was filing the substitution of attorney with the court that day. I could not believe that any reputable attorney would do such a thing. I tried calling him at his office and there was no answer. I left message after message and did not receive a response. The only thing that I have received from this attorney was the e-mail saying he was substituting off of the case. I have never received anything since then. He just disappeared. He didn't even bother to send me back my case file. He never even bothered to give me an explanation. I have not heard from him since. He actually had the nerve to send me a bill in the mail a couple of weeks after he substituted off of the case. Funny enough, even the commissioner on our case at Orange County Superior Court said that every now and then you run into a "bad seed", as he put it.