Schoen R Parnell

Mr. Parnell was one of about 10 Seattle attorneys I had contacted with regards to expunging existing court records. Mr. Parnell was by far the most thorough in his evaluation of the case. He responded to me on time, and gave me complete details of the information available with the court, along with ...the different approaches I could take. He also advised me to get some additional information before hiring an attorney and pursuing this path. If I had not listened to his advice, I may have inadvertently spent a bunch of money on another attorney and gotten zero benefit from it. In my limited experience, he has shown me the most thoroughness and customer obsession. If I do end up pursuing the expungement process, he will definitely be the attorney I go with. Thank you Mr. Parnell.

In this 1st paragraph I want to summarize Schoen's level of excellence without making you read everything below. He is professional, confident, and thorough. . .but most of all he is personally vested in ensuring that his clients become better people. He takes the time to explain things to his clie...nts because he has the heart of a teacher. If there were one word to describe him--I'd say it was "integrity." If I get two words--I'd describe what he offers as "exceptional value." In fact, I do not think our money could have been better spent. Schoen -- My family and I really can't thank you enough. After I was charged with a DUI I spent a good deal shopping around for many lawyers by word of mouth, on the web, and even this site. I considered very well known expensive options and also others who were rated a 10 on this site, and it was very tempting to go with them. My situation was also extra delicate since I had a significant conviction in my past--that I knew would be used in any way against me during the case. After about 3-4 weeks, I decided to hire Schoen (after much prayer and consulting with my family) to take my case since he had experience with Felony DUIs, he was calm, clear, and professional, and he genuinely cared about who I was. I wasn't just a job to him (which I have experienced with other attorneys before). Now that my case is over, I can't imagine walking through this process with anyone else. Many of the first meetings were to help us understand what we (my family and I) were up against. He listened and acknowledged how we felt. No punches were pulled. My wife and I are also armchair researchers -- and he was amazingly patient with us while we asked him many questions about the specifics. He followed up on everything he didn't immediately know the answers to. He also helped me to do everything I needed to in order to minimize the damage. He always set expectations well for me on what the next steps were, and followed up just before each of the court appearances to ensure we were ready (charging, discovery hearing, continuances, readiness, trial, and sentencing). He responded very quickly by phone, email, or texts. Usually he was able to get our case moved through quickly with the prosecution/judge so we didn't have to wait. During the build up, he was extraordinarily thorough. . .able to get the toxicology evidence suppressed. Also, he was able to get testimony from the arresting officer to bring into question damaging statements I had made against myself. He always came to the table with strategic suggestions, but was clear that I had to make key decisions that I was comfortable with. In fact, when the initial felony charge was reduced to a misdemeanor -- he refunded half of our original retainer-THAT'S INTEGRITY! Since we received no reasonable offer from the prosecution, we took this case to trial. Stating this as objectively as I can -- I felt we had a superior defense. There was little to no hard evidence admitted in the case that indicated I was guilty, other than the officer's testimony of my field sobriety test. Again, he was calm, collected, and thorough. My only complaint would be that maybe a couple of the arguments (examples) weren't as clear as they could be considering the ability of the jury to understand. However, a more polished argument wouldn't have helped. My sense is that the jury would have convicted no matter what. At sentencing, the prosecutor recommended 180-days due to my past conviction. Schoen ensured that he understood the elaborate specifics of my prior conviction, and had several folks testify on my behalf. Additionally, he prepared key information from my prior case to help temper the exaggerated character that was being described by the prosecutor. We won this hearing with only a month in Home Monitoring so I could continue to support my family without interruption. You won't be disappointed with Schoen.

I contacted Schoen after I was arrested for a DUI charge in the Seattle area. I had never even had an interaction with a police officer other than a speeding ticket in my life (> 40y). I have an executive level software job in the Seattle area so this whole episode was quite the shock to me. I am ...100% responsible for not keeping track of my drinking that evening but on the cab ride home that night after being arrested and booked I thought my life was about over. I called Schoen the next morning and his calm demeanor and vast knowledge of the legal system was a huge relief to me. I met with him the following week to discuss my case. I could tell within 15m that I would hire him to represent me. I never felt judged by him even though I fully admit that I was guilty. He gave me good advice and explained in detail what would happen. If you call/email him he will get back to you right away and never makes you feel like your questions are rushed. Schoen also has a DOL expert who can answer questions about license suspension, ignition interlock devices, ORL, and how to get your license back. All of which I needed in my case. He even answered a few questions after officially he was not required to do so about my driving restrictions. In my case having a conviction was a serious career issue. Schoen went into detail about what was possible and talked to the prosecutor on multiple occassions. While I wished I could have had my entire case dismissed that was just not possible given the evidence the state had. Schoen got me the best possible deal and helped me understand each step of the way. I am grateful that I hired him to handle this case and would highly recommend him to any other people that get into a bad situation.

You received a letter from the Municipal Court charging you with a criminal act and now you’re scared because your back is against the wall and the real consequences of being convicted are loss of professional license, security clearance, job, promotional opportunity, future employment, time in jail ...and a fine. That was my position a few months ago; however it is not how things are now. Mr. Schoen Parnell worked successfully to get the charge “dismissed”. A dismissal was the best possible outcome and I am very grateful for Mr. Parnell’s efforts in this matter. Mr. Parnell filed a well written, well researched motion to dismiss based on exculpatory evidence. Sitting in the courtroom while the motion was presented, it was clear to me that I had hired an exceptional Trial Lawyer. The motion was denied by the judge, but the fact that the motion was filed provided a basis for appeal. Mr. Parnell deposed (questioned) the complainant in the presence of the prosecuting attorney and the prosecutor agreed that day to dismiss the case. My attorney did two very skillful things here. He asked the right questions in an effective way, and he effectively negotiated a dismissal. Now I can move on with my life. Thank you Schoen! I greatly appreciate your efforts in this matter.

I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Parnell on a DOL stay hearing over the last six months. From the first time I contacted Scheon he has gone above and beyond all of my expectations. Mr Parnell worked this case with extreme due diligence and kept me informed every step of the way. He treated me w...ith respect and handled my case as if it was the most important case of his career. There are many attorneys out there that could learn from Scheon on how to treat their clients. Mr. Parnell is everything a person is looking for in a great attorney, he knows the law and will handle your case both personally and professionally. I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for great legal representation.