Harvey:
I am sorry you have such feelings toward attorneys and I hope you don't ever need one but if you do I hope hire one that allows you to see that we are not all like you describe above. Anyway I apologize for the comment
hcsmith:
I accept your apology and also apologize for my rude reply to you.
Actually I have hired a couple of attorneys along the way and that is the reason for my opinion of lawyers. I owned rental properties for almost fifteen years and although I owned and maintained nice family homes and managed them professionally, it is inevitable that landlord tenant disputes will occasionally arise. Several years ago I leased a nice older home to a young divorced mother of two small children who was a first year med student. I liked her and admired her for what she was doing. I was kind to her but when she vacated at end of lease I withheld a part of her damage deposit for damage she had caused. It was unquestioned and I had both witness and proof, she simply thought I should eat the damage and cost of repair. She was indignant and demanded her money. I followed all the rules but she eventually filed suit in small claims court. I didn't know an attorney for that type of law and hired one from a list provided by the jp.
The lawyer I hired was and still is a scumbag. He knowingly and deliberately took my retainer knowing he was going to collude with the opposing attorney. He drug the case out for months postponing the trial, demanded another fee then another. He and her attorney were simply milking me. While this scumbag was representing me his name and a story appeared on the front pages of the local newspaper. He had taken advantage of a wealthy older lady and stolen close to $100k from her or her estate. He was sanctioned by the state bar.
Ultimately, he sent me another bill for doing nothing and I'd had enough. I sent him a formal letter refusing to pay, demanding return of the fees I had already paid, and threatening to take my case to the TX bar.
He swelled up like a hotshot lawyer but folded like a cheap suitcase. He cancelled the last bill, returned a small portion of the fees I had paid him in return for my signature on a release. I settled and hired another lawyer who immediately negotiated a settlement and it ended. Still cost me lots of money for nothing and the girl never got a dime of her money back. I regret to this day that I didn't tell my first attorney to shove it and take it to the Texas bar. He should be disbarred.
You are probably a hardworking attorney struggling to make a living and are probably principled and fair but you know better than I do that many of your peers are as I described. The lawschools are selling too many diplomas to too many young men and women of questionable personal ethics. They make it hard for the good ones to make a living and preserve their reputations.
I learned how to do my own title searches and deed work and have bought and sold several houses without an attorney since my experience with that scumbag. I have also had dealings with a couple of good ones since. My closest friend in Lubbock has been a state district judge for 30 years and was a county court at law judge and municipal judge before that. I don't hate all attorneys, just most of them.
I bear you no ill will. My guess is you are one of the good ones.
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