Jan K Kitchel

We were referred to Mr. Kitchel by a friend. We had an estate case. He took our retainer, then a month later proceeded to tell us he'd met the person we were litigating against and thought she was " a very nice lady", and said he couldn't believe she'd "do anything bad." That was it. To him, it was o...pen and shut. He kept the retainer money (I think he sent two letters, and then apparently talked with this woman socially - and somehow that ate up the entire retainer). This was the most unprofessional thing I've witnessed, and I believe he's unethical and this sort of crass "representation" should not be allowed in a legitimate legal practice.

It took almost two years from the date of the incident to the settlement of the case. During that time, there were periods of downtime but when we asked questions or when things picked up, I found that Jan was very available via email and his office staff via phone or email. He was helpful with infor...mation regarding our type of case and with the preparation for mine and my husband's depositions. He has been in the legal community in Portland for a long time, has a good reputation and was on good terms with our mediator which I found comforting.