Like most of you, I happened across this firm while reading a case against the Postal Service. I should have taken a clue from the case I read, but I contacted them anyway. Some years earlier, I had been fired from the Postal Service and without benefit of counsel, won my own EEO case and got reinstated. I was awarded attorney fees and court costs and was scheduled for a compensatory damages hearing.
All I needed these men for was to prosecute the compensatory damages case, at the time. Later, because they proved to be so ineffective, I was denied the benefits of my 6 years of back-seniority, the use of my almost 8 months of sick leave, and was, ultimately fired again. The ONLY thing that saved me was MY OWN, PERSONAL efforts at getting a disability retirement.
Mr. Snider and Mr. Fischer both spoke with me at length (recruited might be a better word..) since they knew I had a large back-pay award on the way. First check, after taxes, was just over $100,000.00. The second was an interest check for $58,000.00. Both KNEW I had this on the way and went to great lengths to assure me that, even they they would not and could not insure I would win compensatory damages of any kind, that I WOULD, WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, GET ALL MY ATTORNEY FEES AND COSTS, based on the award, in hand.
Days later, I got the $100,000.00 check and Mr. Fischer promptly told me I owed him $35,000.00 as a "retainer". I wired this money as instructed. I was then made to spend hours and hours on the phone with Mr. Fischer, who put me on hold regularly to visit with people in the office and still billed me for the time. I went along for the most part with the questions, but found myself continuously having to instruct Mr. Fischer in the law. I also got the distinct impression that he was doing all he could to run up a bill in the short time we had until the hearing was scheduled.
Many, many days of this sort of thing transpired, including questioning my psychologist, who would form the centerpiece of my claim for damages.
To shorten this part of the story I will simply say that my attorney was supposed to be in control of this case and yet he failed and refused to have my "expert witness" provide discovery documents. This resulted in my main witness being sanctioned and her testimony sticken. Everything collapsed from there. Further, he attempted on the day of the hearing to serve documents supported the marital discord I had experienced at the hands of the Postal Service, on the day of the trial.
He was about 30 minutes late for the hearing. We had to recess for 2 hours for him to return to his room for documents. He was late for the after lunch portion. He missed several deadlines during discovery and during the appellate phase.
After paying them $35,000.00 and paying my expert witness about $10,000.00 only to have her testimony striken, I was handed my hat by this Judge who's level of dislike for me was only rivaled by his disdain for the unprofessional manner and conduct of my attorney (Mr. Fischer).
When the "award" came, and the attorney fees and costs were not reimbursed, I threw good money after bad and listened, again, while being lied to by both these men. Again, they assured me I would recover the fees and costs and this time, they went on to say that disallowing the psychologist was judicial misconduct which would certainly be reversed on appeal.
Again, out of desperation, and having already thrown tens of thousands of dollars down this black hole of a case, I listend to, and again bought, their bullshit lies.
BY this time, September of the Postal Service was feeling good enough about kicking these chumps to the curb that they tried again to fire me, for something that happened 3 years earlier (not allowed, but that didn't matter). Alone (and I mean COMPLETELY WITHOUT HELP FROM THESE LAWYERS) I won my own retirement, first from OPM, then from Social Security. Meanwhile, the Postal Service got another EEO from me for forcing me into retirement.
Guess what? These two say another chance to take money from me and they took $20,000.00 this time, knowing that they would be facing the Postal Service and the APWU. They assured me they would prosecute the matter to the extent possible. Of course, after they spent over half of what I had given them this time, the decided that I (you got it. I. The guy on disability retirement for PTSD and chronic depression) had to file MY OWN CASE in Federal Court. Even while they failed and refused to represent me as agreed, and while Mr. Fischer refused to even make a telephone call to the Union guy we needed to talk to, he scheduled depositions for half a dozen people at the Post Office, who could not possibly help my case.in fact, all this did was spend more of my money on nothing. They further absolutely refused to sue the APWU in order to get a subpoena to depose witnesses and produce documents, without which, winning would be impossible.
They failed me, again, at a critical time and this time, I had no choice but to fire them. Of course, no witnesses, no case. Screwed again by Morris Fischer. Mr. Snider acts like he was not involved, but, the way I see it, this is his firm, too.
I waited until now to file this report because I wanted to give them the fullest possible benefit of any doubt. Now there is no doubt. Hence. NO BENEFIT.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the EEOC and these imcompetent, lying #@%@$#@ers.
I have reminded these men that their word has to mean something, even if their talents fall short. I mean, even LAWYERS have to tell the truth sometimes.
I was fully prepared to not prevail on compensatory damages. I was not, however, prepared for the complete ass-f*ing I got from these men who pretend to know the law, did not even PRETEND to try in my cases, and purport to represent others for a living who are victims of discrimination.
Possibly, your experience will not be as bad as mine, but then pigs might fly out of my ass tomorrow. You never know. I went through a lot of Hell (7 years worth) to earn my own back pay award. I would not have turned any of it over to these men for less than their fullest assurances that I would at least get back my attorney fees and costs, in line with an award I had already gotten without their help.
I spent way more than this, but I want $60,000.00 of this shit back. I ought to charge them points for holding my month for over 18 months, but I won't.
Right now, I just want my money back from these liars.
God help you if you do not bring a separate attorney with you to sign any sort of contract with them.
Do yourself a favor, call the local Bar Association and find someone who just got their number. SOMEONE WANTS your business enough to NOT LIE to you and work like it matters to them.
God knows, their WORD is not worth a damn.
ThomasSaltillo, Mississippi
U.S.A.
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