Jerome Anthony Clay Jr.

If you're considering hiring Jerome Clay, please read this. I retained him in 2023 to represent me in a civil case involving the unauthorized release of my confidential information by a government agency. As a survivor of domestic violence, I needed an attorney who would zealously protect my rights, ...safeguard sensitive claims, and act in my best interest. What I got instead was an attorney whose actions destroyed my legal position, betrayed my trust, and left me worse off than if I had never hired him at all. He dismissed my federal civil rights claims with prejudice--without my knowledge or consent. I never signed a CV-110 form. I was never advised in writing. I never gave oral or written authorization. I only found out months later after I became self-represented and reviewed the court docket myself. Even during my transition to self-representation--a transition that occurred because I declined a settlement offer Mr. Clay appeared to want me to accept--he gave me the impression that all of my claims were still intact. He never once disclosed that the federal claims had already been dismissed. In my opinion, this was not just a failure to communicate--it was a deliberate effort to conceal what he had done. He failed to pursue essential discovery--audit trails, metadata, and system access logs I explicitly asked him to obtain. This evidence was critical to proving my claims and identifying how my protected information had been accessed. He never even tried. Mr. Clay rarely communicates in writing--with clients or opposing counsel. In my case, almost nothing was documented. He kept communication almost entirely verbal, leaving me completely unprotected. In my view, this is intentional. It makes it nearly impossible to prove what he said or did, and ensures that if a dispute arises, it becomes a "he said/she said" situation that protects him at the client's expense. After I took over my case, he submitted a sworn declaration in support of the opposing party, falsely claiming that I had authorized the dismissal. No documentation supports this because I never gave that authorization. The court relied on his declaration to deny my Motion to Vacate, causing direct and lasting harm to my case. His conduct made it feel as though his loyalty was with the opposing party and their counsel--not me, his client. He later contacted someone I had referred to him--at a time when I still mistakenly believed he was a professional of integrity--and referenced our past legal relationship in a way that made her uncomfortable and caused her to question whether her own case was at risk. It was inappropriate, unnecessary, and showed extremely poor judgment. Conclusion: In my experience, Jerome Clay operates without transparency, avoids accountability, and fails to protect his clients. His actions caused me to lose critical claims, face delays and unnecessary litigation, and suffer emotional and strategic harm--all while making it nearly impossible to hold him accountable due to his lack of documentation. I've read Mr. Clay's responses to other critical reviews. While there are always two sides to every story, I urge potential clients to take note of how he responds--especially when the reviewer is a vulnerable or already disadvantaged client. In my view, his conduct shows a troubling pattern--not a one-time failure--and that pattern deserves scrutiny. I've submitted a formal complaint to the California State Bar. I strongly caution anyone considering hiring him to review his record, get everything in writing, and think twice before entrusting him with sensitive or high-stakes matters. In my personal opinion, Jerome Clay operates outside of ethics, absent integrity, and has no business practicing law. I've had better success as a pro se litigant with the use of AI like Legal GPT, Grok, and Perplexity.

"I am sharing my experience related to Mr. Clay’s legal services, which were unsatisfactory in my personal dealings and in matters concerning my dad’s companies. We have initiated legal proceedings against him for alleged malpractice, fraud, and fraud upon the court, detailed in the case filed at S...uperior Court of Santa Ana (Case No. 30-2023-01359983-CU-BC-WJC). Please note that these are allegations, and the case is currently ongoing with the outcomes yet to be determined."

I hired him one of my case ,,,, He very unprofessional and never provided me any updates of my case...I call him 10 times then once I hear from him ,,,, I end up loosing my case all he gave my false hope ..... If any one want loose case he good fit ,,,, I lost also 187 K in case because of him I am a...lmost on road. Always talk to clients like yelling

Last year I was involved in a work related accident. The CHP officers report was not clear and it did not work in my favor. As a result, I needed to find a lawyer to seek legal advice; Jerome helped me reach a settlement that paid me for my auto accident. Jerome was very diligent and communicated wel...l throughout the entire process.