J. Peter Shearer

In 2014, I retained Pete Shearer of Pierce & Shearer to assist me with the pursuit of multiple copyright infringement claims. Pete came well recommended to me by a trusted attorney friend of mine from a different area of law in the SF area. In the first matter, I'd tried to handle the situation mysel...f, and opposing counsel basically told me to go fly a kite, doubting both my awareness of my rights and my veracity to seek relief. Opposing counsel's haughty advice to "get myself an attorney" turned into an equitable result for me as soon as Pete got involved. He brought in co-counsel with specialty in intellectual property matters, combining their vast collective knowledge with negotiation skills that effectively parried every eye-roll-inducing excuse and defense the other side dished out. Their effective articulation of the merits of my case and application of just the right amount of pressure helped to expedite the settlement process, saving time and money. Pete and co-counsel's focus on my best interests did not end when a settlement was reached. Pete carefully considered the implications of not only the contractual provisions of the settlement agreement itself, but also intangible elements such as securing a correction photo attribution displayed in a prominent location. My interactions with his office staff were also consistently positive, with professional and prompt attention to my needs. It's been said that attorneys are the only winners in copyright cases. This was definitely not the case for me. In addition to equitable relief, Pete helped me stand up for my rights and establish an industry reputation for enforcing the value and exclusivity of my work. I highly recommend him.

I could not have asked for a better experience. Atty. Shearer was very informed and took the time to explain each option for my situation. He was always available and worked late hours to help me. His office staff is very helpful and polite. I could not believe that he even came in one Saturday for a... consultation. Even after we ended the consultations, he called to make sure that everything was going well. I could not have asked for a better experience and would highly recommend him to anyone.

The other negative commenters are spot-on, and I wish I'd checked Pete out here before I hired him. I was referred to Pete by a friend who was using him at the time; unfortunately, both of our experiences ended up being awful. Pete severely overcharges, wordsmithing minuscule changes into hours long... issues with multiple people on his staff involved, and spends countless hours revising his ridiculous, convoluted "case summary" format on your dime. He also never gives straight answers, to questions like "what is the status of my case", and "how much do I owe you?" and could never answer any questions without one of his associates or paralegals, who seemed to understand my case much better than he did when I talked to them. I eventually hired another attorney who sent bills when asked, was far more efficient, and wrapped up my employment issue in a week's time, while Pete took over a month. Definitely wouldn't use him again, and I would caution anyone who considers him to know what they're in for.