I hired Scott Maasen of Maasen & Assoc. To represent me in a DUI case. He charged me a flat rate of $4,200.00 which he said was for the entire length of the case.
There were no hourly charges and I called a friend who knew about things like this before I paid them and while they were in the room. I made very sure I knew what the charges were and what they were for. It was my first time ever seeking the advice of an attorney, I never needed one for anything before as I'd had nothing more than one speeding ticket in 40 years of driving. I paid via my credit card and Scott told me not to worry and if I was worried about anything, to call any time. A month or so later, I rec'd a voice mail from his associate informing me that he would be representing me. I called him back and he was very rude and spoke to me as if he believed I was guilty and a total scumbag. I told him I wasn't feeling comfortable and suggested we meet in person, that maybe that would make me feel more confident. He did not think we needed to. I called Maasen and Associates the next day after seeking advice of friends and explained to the office manager that I wanted to speak to Scott Maasen and why. He wasn't in but she promised to give him the message.
All this was done very politely. The next I hear from the firm was just before New Year's when Scott called and said he was dropping my case. I told him that was not my intention but he said if his associate could not make me happy, neither could he. I asked him not to do that to me as my court day was in the next couple weeks but he simply told me that my paperwork and refund would be in the mail. The paperwork and refund never came. I hired another attorney and told him of my experience with Maasen and he said that was wrong and that he should have refunded the entire amount as all he'd done was push the court date out some. He told me to write a letter to Maasen asking for my refund and I did. I made several calls as well but only got the receptionist.
Again, I was never anything but polite. Why blame the receptionist? Finally, a couple months later, I received a letter from the firm and an itemized accounting. They charged for every phone call, voice mail, copied piece of paper, for my new attorney to pick up my paperwork, for every message I left them... The total came to MORE than what I'd paid! And they did nothing. We never got to a trial, they never represented me, they never interviewed the cops or my witness and I had hired them at a Flat rate! Since then, I've spoken to several other attorney who all say this was a ripoff but none want the stigma of going up against another attorney. I reported them to the State Bar Assoc. But I'm told this may take a long time. Now I'm out nearly $10,000.00 that I cannot afford. How could anyone do this kind of thing? When I reported it to the State Bar, the woman who called to verify my information said that she was seeing more and more of this kind of thing, especially associated with DUIs. I hope this will help someone else avoid a ripoff attorney and I hope Mr. Maasen gets his just rewards for his behavior.
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