Garrett Moore
I honestly thought more could be done for my DUI case. To be fair, not all of that is the firm’s fault — the DA was extremely firm and unwilling to negotiate. I ended up spending around $30,000, mostly for communication between the attorney and the DA, and ultimately being advised to plead guilty or risk a felony charge and possible jail time. I originally believed my case would be taken to trial, but I later learned that DUI trials almost never happen because prosecutors can add additional charges if you try to push forward. I was told that if we pursued motions or pushed toward a hearing, the DA would add a felony reckless-endangerment charge. Because of that, I never saw anything happen in court. We didn’t get to have a motions hearing or move toward trial — just continuances and discussions with the assistant DA. The firm itself seems like they care, and they were responsive. But after 2.5 years, my outcome ended up being the exact same charge and punishment I was facing from day one. I was scared when this happened, especially because I can’t get into Canada anymore where my family lives. This was a DUI-first with no breath test, no blood test, no SFSTs, and no accident — but the consequences were still the same. In my opinion, paying this amount would make sense if the case actually went to trial. But paying $30k without reaching trial, without a motions hearing, and with everything happening off the record between attorneys felt like a poor value in my particular situation. My personal experience was that I paid a large amount largely for communication and delays, and I wasn’t able to achieve a better outcome. I still believe under the circumstances more could have and should have been done. Maybe that’s not the case, maybe yours could be different as this is my opinion. If/when it happens to you I wish I would’ve known more about the legal system and how it works. I believe I was not guilty, and thought throwing more money and hiring the “best” and “most expensive” firm could get this handled when the DA wouldn’t budge, and I was wrong. It’s unfortunate how it played out and no that’s not all the firm’s fault. Unfortunately, the legal system is flawed and I saw that first hand. Ultimately I am pleased with the firms handling and attentiveness to my case. I believe they do care, and they may be worth their weight in gold in certain circumstances, but for my charge it was a large sum of money that had no affect on my case. What I am not pleased with is the amount charged for what was done. Yes, I understand there is quite a lot that goes on behind the scenes that we do not see. I believed hiring the “best” would get me some special treatment or they would have a better relationship with the DA and be able to make something happen that other attorneys may overlook or not do. Basically you are paying to be a priority and not just another number as some others will be much cheaper but you will be a number. In my opinion they aren’t going to be able to do anything miraculous that another attorney couldn’t. It is in the past now, but I am writing this to hopefully educate others if you end up where I was and searching for reviews looking for answers. I saw all the reviews of “the dui godfather” and “the most bulletproof shield you could have” and that definitely gave me hope. I did question why there was no recent reviews it seemed. I did not understand how it went from yes, we believe we can help or we wouldn’t be here to you need to plead guilty or may face a felony. It has definitely affected my view of the legal system and attorneys. You have to make the decision yourself do you want to hire a private “premiere” lawyer, go with a more competitive standard priced firm, or a public defender. After several months to reflect on this, I sure do wish I went cheaper or free. There is no secret formula or special connections that the premiere firm has vs a standard market rate firm. Looking back now I regret my decision to drag this out and dump all this money into my case.
