John Vincent Montero

Forgot court dates, failed to file documents, provided me documents for someone elses case and left them in my electronic file to read (If I had chosen to), had multiple meetings to go over the same thing without corrections in errors noted previously and in writing. If you dont care much about your... case, this is your law firm. If I could select less than 1 star, I would.

I hired John Montero after endless headaches with my divorce in which my ex was hiding a considerable amount of our assetts. I made it VERY clear to John that I had a certain amount of funding to finish the divorce with. Before money had exchanged hands at all he said that this was fine and if needed..., would set me up on a payment plan for whatever I was not able to pay upfront. Within the first two months, this dollar amount was over $5000 to him along with another $5000 for a forensic accountant that I needed. I again brought up that I am not made of money and simply demanding thousands of dollars per month on a case that has had no progress in two months was simply not realistic. He agreed and then set me up on a payment plan. I made the first month and second month payment to him in advance. I was over a month ahead on his own payment plan. I then received a phone call from him less than 2 weeks later demanding payment in full for the entire bill along with the most unprofessional letter I have ever received in my life about what a terrible client I was and a nonpaying deadbeat. To this day, I have no idea what this was about. But basically what I am left with is a trial date that I now have to go to alone because my attorney simply would not follow through on his end of things. You have to be able to trust that your attorney has your best interests in mind. In my case it became quite evident that John was simply going to "get what he could" from his client and walk away from the case. In the end, we have to pay a tremendous amount to get through a divorce financially and to have an attorney try go get every last penny you have to your name, including the very money you survive on each month, just to walk when they are sure they can get no more, without so much as going to trial to complete your case. I can not suggest to anyone to go to John Montero for the above reasons. For the $15,000 bill that was racked up by his office for me, not a single court order for financial orders was challenged or upheld by this attorney. EVERY phone call was asking for more and more money while accomplishing nothing, and more importantly, not sticking to his own payment plan agreement after he had already received over ten thousand dollars from me over the course of two months. I urge people to shop around a great deal before choosing an attorney. The financial burden is enough already without having an attorney that is simply trying to get every possible dime you have and not following through with their own agreements in the end. Because even after you pay thousands of dollars, you will still be nowhere further in your divorce if they can not follow through with their job. In my case, this has been a 3 1/2 year long divorce with no end in site and over $40,000 out of my pocket during this time to attorneys who simply are in it to get what they can from you and then drop you the second they cannot collect $5-10k per month from your case. I have kept my personal views on his practices out of this review because, quite frankly, they are not relevant here. What is relevant is that he simply will not do what you pay hard earned money for and will not even stand up for his own word.

I've worked with John for more than 5 years on a monster divorce case and continuing child custody case. John worked extremely hard on my divorce when opposing counsel was running up fees and churning the file. My case resulted in me retaining 50% custody of my child, and financial stability with r...egard to splitting up assets. He and his assistant are first rate when it comes to speed, legal knowledge, complete case review, and knowing what is important about a case, and which small stuff not to sweat. He has an excellent rapport and reputation with the Judges. Judges know that he follows the rules of the court and legal code/conduct, which doesn’t put your case in jeopardy. John kills people with kindness, and fights hard in court when necessary. If you follow John’s advice, you won’t go wrong and will get the best possibly results. If you go against John’s advice, then you’ll shoot yourself in the foot (and then lay blame).

I don't write reviews but I saw a negative review and just had to give my personal experience with John as my attorney. What do you do when your ex dates an attorney who will work for them for free? You hire the 'best'. My original firm was rated in the top 3 in Sacramento. They helped us sell ou...r house and put it in a trust. Over 2 1/2 years they managed to get ONE thing done. The divorce. And charged within $800 of our entire trust. I HAD to 'downgrade'. On word of mouth - I went to John. In 6 months more had been done than the previous 3 years. Within 2 years - I was done. I no longer need John's services and haven't for a year now. Because he got the job done. He managed to get us more than 5 minutes with a judge. He managed to get the facts looked at. And (most importantly) he actually took a VESTED interest in our (me and my daughter's) lives. There were plenty of times I doubted him, and his 'long term goal'. But in the end, he always prevailed. I can sum it up like this: If you want an attorney that walks/dresses/talks like a congressman, bills and nickle & dimes you like you've hired God, talks in legal jargon even to you, and makes you ultimately feel like you are putting your future (and your child's future) in the hands of someone who seems to be enough 'classes' up that they really wouldn't care much either way what happened to you in the end, and if you want someone that when you walk in their office, you will feel like you've entered some gentleman's club where you truly don't belong... John is NOT for you. But if you're a bit scared, unnerved, and even a bit confused about how you even GOT into the situation you're in now in the first place. If you need someone that can talk to you and NOT make you feel 3 classes down and uneducated regardless of your own life/education. And if you want someone that will take the vested interest in your well being as though you went to highschool together and will talk to you like a friend and not just a client. John MAY be the one for you. If you want someone that won't charge you $250 to look at your kids report card, or to simply read a 6 sentence fax, and focuses more on getting the job done than when your next check is coming in... John MAY be the one for you. I think people often go to an attorney and expect things to happen immediately (I know I did). But after having multiple attorneys in my life from accident to divorce, I can tell you that simply doesn't happen often. So I understand other's frustrations. But what I learned about John versus others is this.. Some attorneys use Law, Legal Jargon, half-made truths, and a LOT of hope when they enter the courtroom. They play it hearing by hearing and they do it JUST like we do our own DAY JOBS... 'get the task out of the way so I can go home....' John and Pat use a formula of law, common sense, pattern recognition, and whatever TRUE facts they have to put together a final outcome. True facts are harder to dispute. They dismissed more 'soft facts' than I wanted them to. They have an END plan beyond just the next hearing. They got me exactly what I wanted in the end. Exposed the lies on the other side and made me glad that we didn't 'bend truths'. You can't go into a custody/divorce battle expecting short term closure. And I learned the hard way that a higher charge by an attorney doesn't speed up the process, nor how much they care. From someone who has had both sides John made the long trip easier to deal with. Even when I was out of my mind from it all. I would go on record and gladly share my story or confirm this review as true to anyone who cares to inquire with me via John. I am not getting a 'break' for this review. My case is closed. I have referred 3 friends to them since. I have referred my (now) wife to them as well. Because in my opinion, they do what's best DESPITE your thoughts. And believe me, during all this chaos, you HAVE to trust someone else.