I expected more from someone who I am paying 200 to 250 dollars per hour. I arrived on time to my meeting and Diego was 35 minutes late. Within the first 15 minutes of the meeting Diego decided to take a call from his IT guy and dragged the conversation on - the solution was simple Diego's computer... is slow and he needs more RAM. I have no idea why it took 20 minutes to come to that conclusion. Diego didn't listen to what was needed from me. He made false accusations and persistently focused on content that was already surpassed and irrelevant only to end with no change in direction and informing me that it would be another 250 dollars for a second consultation to determine if you can help me with my case or not.
The was this was handled has one of two solutions:
1.) Diego was milking my money
2.) Diego did not have the knowledge capable of immediately determining a solution to a inadmissible case and start working on a game plan to have a successful outcome (with 30+ years of experience i would assume he can immediately determine a case and its outcome). If Diego listened and focused on the actual task, I find it hard to believe it would take another hour to determine if he was able to help me with my case or not. I was not Diego's typical client - well educated and adverse within the immigration laws. To be honest Diego was an embarrassment to me...
I sure hope Diego doesn't treat all of his clients this way. I advise Diego to pay more attention to his clients, their needs as well as their time!! I am very disappointed that this was a 200 dollar consultation (and then I was consulted to pay another 250 just for Diego to determine if he can help me or not), I got absolutely nothing out of this - except Diego doesn't care about his clients time. I brought my 6 month old son (he was crying from being stuck in the law office) and this took a total of 2 hours - a full two hours of my time completely wasted and now I am 200 dollars down the drain.
Diego Gavilanes
Replied last January 16, 2017
I sincerely regret that you felt disappointed with the service received during our initial consultation. We strive to provide best legal advice to every single one of our clients.
Your appointment was preceded by a consultation with an existing client which took longer than planned. This overlapped into the time slot that had been reserved for your appointment. When this happens, consultations can be free of charge. We gladly compensated for this delay by spending an extra hour with you free of charge, as you have acknowledged. Additionally, we refunded your $200 consultation fee, which you accepted. We also sent you a letter inviting you to return to our office for a follow up session regarding your case, at no additional charge.
We always encourage clients to avoid distractions during our meetings so they can benefit fully from our service and legal advice. You acknowledged in your remarks that your six month old baby was a distraction. Your case required thoughtful evaluation and coherent legal advice which I provided based on the facts and the applicable law. From your comments, it seems my advice was completely disregarded.
We wish you best of luck and a good outcome.