Mitchell Alan Riese

I was referred to Mitch by my retired attorney to take on my EEO case. Prior to working with Mitch I was using my current retired attorney for reference and advice but this case was too time consuming to continue on my own. There were red flags prior to meeting Mitch that both my attorney and I d...ismissed as -- a busy lawyer. After a long and laborious season of trying to meet with him, Mitch stated he needed time to review the case information I had provided. After some time he stated the case was merited and we signed an agreement. Prior to signing the contract we discussed the expectations of returning emails and phone calls in an appropriate manner (meaning that he should response within 3 business days to all emails and phone messages. -- which I had few.) Mitch agreed and got a little better at communicating. UNLESS HE WAS UPSET, then he would ignore you. The case was dormant for about 1 yr and finally started to pick up momentum. Sadly, Mitch lost interest in the case and it definitely showed in his work and communication with me. As is typical the defendant filed for a Motion for Summary Judgment and that is when I saw Mitch in his true light. I found his deposition of the witnesses to be sloppy and it appeared he was not informed or interested in my case. In his response to the Motion for Summary Judgment, it was CLEAR he did not understand the case and was very UNDERINFORMED and had not budgeted his time to find critical information or respond to the motion. Even my request to see the response prior to his filing it with the court to ensure the information was correct was not honored. He filed misinformation and WRONG information to the court without my review; left out key information, and arguments that were a slam-dunk. (I know because I had already answered the previous Motion for Summary Judgment to the EEOC court. – AND WON.) But then I used case law, and used the right information to form my response…Mitch did not. I was not surprised to see the Judge’s decision to throw my case out. As I knew it was a horrible response. Mitch then contacted me and stated gee sorry we lost the motion. If you want to appeal let me know, but suddenly he didn’t think I had a case. WOW! Couldn’t have come to that conclusion prior to spending my money??? My response to him, “Represent me and appeal.” To that I have heard nothing, he has not responded to emails, phone calls, etc. And I have one week left to respond to the judge’s decision. I’m going back to representing myself. I’ve never lost a single legal action I’ve taken representing myself. Despite whether it was for me, a family member, or friend. Mitch is grossly unprofessional, non-responsive, and disinterested in his clients.