Kalman Samuels and Associates

Don’t let the smiles and handshake fool you.
You get one chance to resolve a legal issue, don’t let Kalman Samuels and ass. ruin it for you.
Beyond being entirely ineffective with my case, these people are shysters of the worst kind. Sure, they’re all smiles and water bottles when you arrive but the veil is thin and doesn’t last long. The case itself was mismanaged from the start and, in the end, they laid down. Months of anguish, effort and preparation and thousands of dollars later accomplished nothing but grief and, now, what I can only describe as extortion.
But that isn’t the worst part.
The firm was retained in early 2012 and paid in full. Following a meeting, the retainer was paid, cash. I got my receipt and left. That night, one of the attorneys called me to say they did not get the payment. This was the woman I’d given it to and now here she is telling me she didn’t get it.
This was two hours ago! I was aghast but I simply said ‘I handed it to you, you counted it, I have a receipt.‘
She said she would ‘get back to me’.
I was told the following day that it had been stolen by the cleaning staff and that I’d have to make another payment. We’re talking about several thousand dollars in cash. Again, I simply informed them that I wasn’t responsible for their staff stealing money and that I had a receipt. They took the loss but it seemed at the time, grudgingly. It should have been an indicator that something was not right here.
Fast forward to mid 2013, following the case (a dismal failure and complete capitulation) I returned to the office to settle the outstanding balance and incidentals beyond the retained (as noted, I’d already paid).
Again, cash, again a receipt. I left the country for almost a year on business only to come back and find Kalman Samuels had ‘since sold’ my outstanding balance to a collection agency. After two days of back and fourth with KS they told me that the bill wasn’t paid, receipt or not, it had been sold to an agency for collection.
Having no experience with collection agencies (my credit has always been flawless), I contacted them to explain the situation. I was told that may wages would be garnished and that they ‘didn’t care if it was an error’. KS, for their part, told me ‘it was no longer their problem.’
It’s worth pointing out here that AT NO TIME between mid 2013 when the final balance was paid and now mid 2014 was I notified of any billing issue ues even though I was easily reachable via email or phone. It’s now obvious why they didn’t.
Kalman Samuels may once have been the go-​to for family law but since his passing in 2011, it appears that my experience was not the kind that made him successful. Beyond being scoundrels and botching my case, my experience with KS left much to be desired — and now with endless headaches.
Family law is stressful enough, you want those you retain to have your best interests in mind and work hard at preserving them. Nothing of the sort took place here and worse still, the underhanded issues with their billing.
Dealing with lawyers is bad enough, get some that treat you like I was and it’s an absolute nightmare. One, even after two years, I am still recovering from.