Robert Michael Vella

I originally reviewed Mr. Vella several years ago at "HIS" request. Considering the fact that he was handling my divorce, I gave him a good review in hopes that he would do a good job or at least treat me with some consideration or at least decency. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is unre...sponsive and his work is sloppy. Talks a good game and is very personable. However, once he has been paid, and it's time to produce, he puts you on the back burner. He will NEVER return calls, texts or emails without threatening to fire him. Even then, his responses are nothing but empty promises. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND A LOT OF AGGRAVATION STAY AWAY!!!!!

I decided to hire Mr. Vella based on another attorney's recommendation. He promised to fight for my rights as a father and to protect me from a spiteful wife during divorce proceedings. As soon as I paid the retainer fee, he disappeared off the face of the earth. No email, call or voice mail could g...et a reply from him. In the meantime the estranged wife was harassing me, threatening to call police on me with baseless accusations in my own home and she exploited me financially. I finally was able to contact Mr. Vella and asked him to review a document from opposing counsel. He told me to read it myself first and to then contact him to point out the stipulations that I didn't agree with.(If I could read "legalese" I wouldn't need his help, right?) 2 months later I made the decision to end my representation with Mr. Vella. He pleaded and assured me that he was the man for the job, even though 90% of our communication was regarding the inability to communicate with him. We agreed to go our separate ways and he promised to have my invoice and documents ready in a few days, with a partial refund coming within 2 weeks. I got the documents in about 2 weeks and 5 months have passed since the date when I was supposed to receive my refund. He ignored 5 emails regarding that refund over the course of a month. I then reported Mr. Vella to the Nassau County Bar Association and they're now investigating the matter. They predicted that upon being notified of the investigation, he might just refund me to avoid tarnishing his reputation. They were wrong. His office has yet to contact me. I know how stressful a divorce can be, especially when your spouse is a malicious person. Please do not put your future in the hands of Robert M. Vella of Mineola. You will feel like you're trying to divorce him as well. He only cares about himself. Don't believe me? Go to his office for his free consultation and he will point at his family portraits and tell you what a great dad he is and how he will fight for you. But if you retain his services, that might be the last time he speaks to you for months.

Hired Mr. Vella to finish my divorce and put down a hefty retainer. From the start, it was always a challenge to get a hold of him, to receive a response from him via phone was impossible and it was equally impossible to meet with him. When I did get a response it was a brief sentence via email ...and he NEVER returned my phone calls. I repetitively asked for an itemized bill and I was told he was working on it and then I was lied to by his assistant that they were sending it to me. I never received one bill in a year's time and he fell off the face of the earth. After not hearing from him in 5 months, I decided to take a trip to his office in person. When I got to his office, his name was removed from the outside plaque and once inside the office, I was told that he no longer works there and that it has been months since he worked there. I never received notice that he was leaving that office nor did I receive a bill the entire time I retained him as a lawyer. Because of his lack of communication and his disappearing act, it allowed my ex-husband to manipulate the court system and do illegal things that could have been prevented if Mr Vella was handling my case and actually working for me. Mr. Vella took my retainer, showed up to 3 court appearances and did nothing to further my case and I was stuck in the same place as when I retained him. No returned calls. Just empty promises. I have since hired a new lawyer who has finished my case but it cost me double the amount because she had to fix the mess he left.