On September 22, I had a one-hour consultation with Richard Victor (for which I paid a hefty $500 fee). During my meeting with Richard Victor, he asked me many questions regarding my situation and assured me that my case wouldnt be an issue. He made it sound, based on his experience, that this would be an open and shut case (those were his exact words used).
Since he is a highly-profiled attorney and has known recognition in the Detroit area, I decided to retain him and his group to help me settle this child support reduction issue. On October 6, I gave a $5,000 retainer fee to Victor and Victor and contracted to have Keri Middleditch represent me in my child support matter. Please note that I paid a $500 consultation fee as well as a $5,000 retainer and hired him for the purpose of completing this simple child support case.
In October of we filed a motion for child support and thats as much progress as was ever made. The only other activity for my case was a meeting I had with Judith Trombley, Family Counselor, on December 16. Her recommendation was to continue the existing arrangement (which allows for 6 additional overnights monthly or 72 yearly). However, this recommendation didnt mean anything, as no action was taken by Victor and Victor. It was further noted that the courts, on March 10, could not make a recommendation on the issue of child support due to a few reasons, with the primary reason being that I (my business) reported in excess of $1M of profit in 2007. The support specialist recommended that a Referee Hearing be conducted on this matter. However, again, no action was taken by Victor and Victor.
On March 1, I paid an additional $1,500 to Victor and Victor to apply towards my outstanding balance (since my retainer fee had been eaten through). On March 13, I received a phonecall from Keri Middleditch and Richard Victor (with a letter to follow that summarized our telephone conversation) giving me several options. All of the options required me to bring my account current (which at the time was in excess of $3,000) as well as providing Victory and Victor with an additional retainer fee in the range of $3,000 - $10,000. When I heard this news, I was beside myself. Richard kept repeating, What would you like us to do? You are the employer.
I also want to make it very clear that I supplied Victor and Victor with all relative documents, in a very timely fashion, that pertained to me in every financial circumstance. I thought they would have enough time to review and lead me in a direction of resolution on this matter. After careful review of Victor and Victors billing statements and the assessment of the real work that had been done, I elected not to retain Victor and Victor any longer. I felt that I was heading for a financial downward spiral, as they were merely billing me and not properly handling my case.
The retainer and additional payments should have been more than enough to settle my case. As this case was never completed, I can not pay any more monies towards what Victor and Victor claims to be the final invoice. The entire purpose of me hiring Victor and Victor was to represent me and look out for my best interest. I received nothing but a motion filed. I dont believe that a motion costs in excess of $10,000. Therefore, I am not paying the balance based primarily on the reason that Victor and Victor did not fulfill its fiduciary responsibility to properly represent me. Please also be aware that I will be filing a case with the state to express my lack of proper representation by Victor and Victor.
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