John Albert Balent

The experience with John Balent was unpleasant and expensive with no value whatsoever, his representation amounted to massive and unnecessary loses as opposed to if he had never been hired, as he pushed for an unnecessary trial. John Balent Promised the world at hire for a flat fee, but didn't... honor that flat fee and made error after error on the case. By the time he managed to send a statement to the correct address (His staff claimed they went to the wrong address) his billing exceeded the flat fee quoted by 300%. His billing was also impossible to understand lumping multiple tasks onto every line of the statement making accountability for any given task or work product impossible. Terms like "Review File," "Memo to File" and "Prepare Strategy" were used on almost every line as well. John Balent also caused the loss of COBRA insurance coverage by mailing out time sensitive documents to the wrong address. He made an error on a stipulation that cost me $30,000 in community assets that could not be corrected. He was also entirely unprepared for hearings and at trial and was always calling me into his office for a consultation to have me repeat the same things over to him that had been explained to him in previous office visits. At trial he continually told the court the matter was a short cause trial, causing the court to have to continue the matter 7 times because the court had not allotted enough time on it's calendar based on the continuing claim it was a short cause action. I believe he did this to rack up fees. Since his hired I've discovered that he had been brought up on charges in State Bar Court twice and disciplined in the past. I also discovered that he had been sued multiple times for malpractice and although he claimed to have a practice exclusive to family law (as I was looking for an attorney who focused only on family law), but it turns out, if you search his name on the Orange County Superior Court website, he appears to have been doing personal injury law since at least the 1980's. So with regard to the ratings this website asks you rate John Balent, He was absolutely untrustworthy. He was not responsive to anything of importance specially time sensitive issues. Although he sound knowledgeable at hire, he later made some very odd statements during later office visits that made me question if he really had a law degree. He did not keep me informed on anything, especially his billing. I do not recommend anyone hire this attorney.

Mr. Balent represented me in a divorce and did an outstanding job. I felt that he really cared about my situation and that I was not just another case. He kept me informed and involved in my case. He welcomed by input and I felt like he was a partner in my dispute. His diligence resulted in a ver...y favorable outcome. I highly recommend his services.

I hired Mr. Balent a few months ago in regards to an exparte where my wife was accusing me of domestic violence to get me removed from my home. This was all false accusations and very humiliating for me. Mr. Balent was kind and informed me of my rights and gave great legal advise. I hired Mr. Bale...nt to appear on my behalf and no restraining orders were filed and no domestic violence orders. I was able to stay in my home with my children. I retained Mr. Balent again and I am in the process of a divorce which is going quite smoothly considering my very difficult ex.

Mr. Balent, my divorce atty, was conracted to obtain an order of restraint, get order for spousal support, divide community property, and resolve all non-status issues, such as tax fraud perpetrated by my ex. After more than a year passed, he had done nothing except get the order for spousal suppor...t. His delay to act cost me money and hardship. For example, by the time I hired a subsequent attorney to complete the divorce, my ex's 401k had been converted to an IRA in his name only, whereas I had hired Mr. Balent to place a joinder on it 14 months earlier. One month after hiring him, I warned him that my ex's employer (a bank) was reportedly going to crash. He had agreed to issue subpoenas for bank records that proved some mutual assets had been stolen. Despite my frequent pleas, Mr. Balent waited for three months after being notified about the crash. Even then, he sent the request to the wrong employer. By the time he contacted my husband's employer, they had been taken over by the government and the records were lost. As a result, the judge wouldn't allow me to be compensated, stating that I needed to provide those records. Mr. Balent rarely provided me with updates or documents pertaining to my case. Once he provided me with a document unsigned by a judge. It took him two months to submit the stipulation for support because in the first one he had forgotten to specify "until death or remarriage". Neither Mr. Balent's staff nor his paralegal could give me status reports, and on several occasions I was told they couldn't answer my questions because my file was lost. Months after I retained him, his paralegal informed me she was unaware I had asked for any records from any bank. After firing Mr. Balent, I asked for a partial refund of my retainer. He responded by sending me a bill, which upon examination, contained many charges which were false and even some double charges. For example, I was charged twice for his submission of the stipulation for support, although the second one had to be submitted due to the omission of "until death or remarriage" in the first one. Also, I was charged for subpoenas sent to wrong addresses. He also charged me for calling or faxing requests that urged him to take action before the bank went out of business. Furthermore, he charged me for all subpoenas sent to wrong addresses, even though I had supplied him with all addresses when I retained him.