I hired Bush & Levy Law firm to handle my divorce, the biggest mistake of my life. (I had actually filed a response and counterclaim to the divorce prior to actually hiring the law firm, but because I had just started taking medications that prevented me from thinking clearly because of a recent injury I thought it would be best to hire a lawyer.)
A few weeks after retaining the firm I faxed the firm some documents for my case only to find out my lawyer was no longer working at the firm and that Mr Fenu had been assigned my case. I later learned that Mr Fenu was not a lawyer with the firm I hired but was contracted out to handle my case. That is when the problems started. I spoke with Mr Fenu on two occasions prior to the already scheduled Early Case Management Hearing hearing on the case. I understood that the hearing was just to set up a Senior Case Management Hearing. Mr Fenu settled my divorce in 30 minutes in waiting area of the courtroom prior to the scheduled hearing. He was informed several times that I had taken my medication and was not thinking clearly but he went ahead with the settlement. The case was presented to the Judge and a divorce was granted. I was told that the paperwork would be completed and everything would be final in a week. After the hearing and thinking clearly I was not happy with the results but since I had agreed to the settlement in court it was a binding agreement.
It took over 11 weeks for his company to prepare a simple divorce settlement. During this 11 week period while checking on status of the decree I was told that other cases/clients had priority and that they did not have to follow Nevada Rules for Civil Procedures. I actually got billed for checking on status of the divorce paperwork. Then after the paperwork was finalized and signed by the Judge I tried to retrieve my personal property from my previous residence as specified on the Decree of Divorce. There were problems with items missing and other items being denied by the ex spouse. I actually expressed my concerns about the retrieval of my items but I was told that it would not be a problem and they would assist me in retrieving my belongings by filing a contempt of court motion after the agreed upon date for retrieval of my property. Once I emailed the firm letting them know that I was unable to retrieve certain items they withdrew as my attorney of record.
The withdrawal of attorney of record left me without an attorney (they used up the retainer on unreasonable charges, still being disputed.) I had to file the motion myself with the assistance of the local self help center. During the hearing for the motion I was told by the Judge that the Decree of Divorce was too ambiguous and therefore unenforceable.
I did file a complaint with the State Bar of Nevada for their conduct but was told that because there was not clear and convincing evidence they would not pursue the complaint. They were sent copies of emails but this was not clear and convincing. (It is interesting though that this same lawyer received an award by the State Bar of Nevada for his pro bono work in the county court house self help center.)
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