Back in 2004 when Texas mediator Robert Royce Bowman (http://www.txmediator.org/bios/bowmanbio.htm) ripped me off, there was no organization I could find to complain to or even knew of his existence. But now that Texas mediators have an organization on the web (http://www.txmediator.org/standards.htm) I have at last found out things neither Bowman nor my crooked Austin lawyer, Gary A. Calabrese (http://www.calabreselaw-firm.com/contact. Jsp; www.travisbar.com;), would reveal to me.
Firstly, it should be explained that in certain Texas courts, including the one I had filed suit in against a neighbor who had basically dumped sewage into my water well, mediation is necessary before any court trial can proceed. This is a lofty idea that went bad. Basically, the lawyers should be mediating for you all along. But since most of them are lazy and incompetent it satisfies them a great deal to fee split with mediators, who get as much or more per hour than the lawyers do. And the lawyers always insist upon sitting thru the mediations, so they get their hourly fees as well. Do not get me wrong. There might be good mediators out there. But Bowman is not one of them.
Bowman, who spent his life as a salesman (this was misrepresented to me by Calabrese so I would hire his good friend Bowman), is one of those ubiquitous cutesypie-type Texans who think they can con anyone with a smirk and a wink (see GW Bush, et al). These guys constantly underestimate the intelligence and sensibilities of their audiences — mostly because they think they are smarter and can outsmart anyone, whereas in fact they are dumber than sticks, covered by outlandish bluster, lies and plain old bullshit.
When I first met Bowman after waiting for attorney Calabrese, who was an hour late for the mediation, Bowman had obviously got an earful from my adversary and his attorney (have you ever noticed how when those female attorneys are doing something unethical or nasty they always smile too much?) and so Bowman was certainly ready to handle evil little ol me. Bowman immediately proceeded to insult me and belittle my position. Calabrese, whom I had not seen for several years, had shown up with mangy, blotchy white and black hair and looked like he had been in a concentration camp. Turned out Calabrese had been on a strict tuna diet for way too long and had suffered manifold physical damage from it, including obvious brain damage. While Bowman was insulting me, Calabrese sat tight and said nothing. This was pretty much how the entire several hour session went. I would have been better off without Calabrese and the $hundreds Bowman ripped me off for were wasted.
If that were not enough, Bowman, whose ego was deflated after having been unable to con the yankee (me), wanted to go back on the case and try to reach a solution, free of charge. That was fine with me, so I OKd it. I exchanged a few phone calls and emails with Bowman during the process and realized he had a grievous cognitive disorder and was very brittle and paranoid. He is too old and senile to be doing this and I think he knows it but his greed exceeds good judgment. I should have known this would backfire on me and it did. Suddenly out of nowhere Bowman started badmouthing me to everyone in sight. Of course, Calabrese the crooked lawyer agreed with it all, even though he did not know what had transpired between me and Bowman. Calabrese used this as a springboard to later drop my case after he had screwed me out of about $10,000.00 and realized it was finally time to do some real work and go to trial. Soon there will be a complaint lodged in ripoff report on Gary A. Calabrese as well.
My advice: skip Robert Royce Bowman and if you have a lawyer who recommends Bowman, take a very good look at that lawyer before proceeding anywhere with him. O and need I suggest Bowman behaved unethically?
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