Michael Joseph Deniro

I hired DeNiro because he seemed well-versed in the University of California system. He talked a good game of being the most competent lawyer in the state, and about his commitment to clients. In reality, he was disengaged throughout most of our working relationship. Eventually, it seemed that h...e used most of his knowledge to undermine me, earn a large income, and to prolong my case, rather than to earnestly listen and to defend me to create an appropriate path. His legal briefs, emails, and conversations were generally snarky and dismissive. Like other clients have stated, I did the heavy lifting and he didn’t seem to synthesize the situation (or if he did, he wasn’t proactive about it). DeNiro did his work at his kitchen table with his wife audibly lurking in the background. He played a lot of “mind games” to test me, and I couldn’t tell whether this was for his own amusement or to manage my case, because he was a terrible case manager. I had to seek therapy after working with him, eventually concluding that to him I was another “brick in the wall”-a meal ticket. After a while, it seemed that he wanted to send a message to the University that he didn’t agree with me but that he was stuck with me. By signaling that he was disengaging in my case, he was simply being a dutiful attorney who was stuck with a client. This would earn him “points” or “respect” or whatever you might call it with the opposing counsel, and he would do better in the future representing more clients in other cases against the University. After dropping DeNiro, I’ve worked with other attorneys who have been extremely helpful in managing my situation with the UC. With these attorneys, we’ve made a great deal of progress. In fact, they have indicated that I might actually have a competency case against DeNiro. Prospective clients beware: this guy knows what he’s doing to milk you for every dollar. He doesn’t uphold his duties to his clients. He doesn’t use his experience for his client’s best interest, and he doesn’t strategize to help his clients. He’s looking for his next meal. Referencing DeNiro’s quote from Bob Segar: “Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.”

In my case, Mr. DeNiro was an ok "process lawyer" when it came to writing briefs and emails. He understands the University of California system and higher education in general. However, he didn't really seem to understand me as a client or my case (though I don't think it was due to a lack of tryin...g), so when it came to the time for a hearing, it seemed like he threw in the towel rather than to defend my best interests. This was unfortunate, because many attorneys shine during hearings. He also lied to me several times, while talking using strange parallels with Greek mythology, which I attribute to his classical training at Notre Dame. Unfortunately, it's ineffective for client relationships because I couldn't really relate to him or understand what he was doing most of the time. I wish that I had invested the time to find another attorney. Don't make the mistake of being lured in by his per-minute billing. I stayed with him way too long.

I hired Michael for a case involving grade appeals and disqualification. He charged me on a flat-fee basis. Perhaps this was because he did not work on an hourly basis- I felt that he was inattentive to my matter. He would make mistakes on the appeals and letters he wrote on critical facts. Perhaps t...his is because he does not have an assistant-- but my experience with Michael was not satisfactory and my case failed.