Let me start by saying if you are looking for Legal --- THIS IS THE ONE! I was super impressed at how incredibly responsive the legal team was. Many times, I got home late at night and sent an email to Mr. Attlesey with a concern or idea and was responded to almost immediately. They were not short responses either - the were full on methodical responses with detail. The verbiage was super clear an easy to follow and understand. This was something that I would not have expected and really was over the top thrilled with. With each step of my case they were in contact at each occurrence as well as telling me what to expect. In all honesty I had never expected in my life to have needed an attorney, but in the end was glad I found this office. With only a simple background in business law from College, I felt that many of my questions or thought may been seen as trivial or just outside of the real world. The entire team was beyond good in helping clarify the merits of my thoughts - both good and bad and were in no way condescending no matter how off base I may have been in my process. On the surface, I had thought I they may have been expensive, but that too was a surprise. They are very efficient and manage to get more done in the time billed then I would have though possible. I really believe that this is their experience shinning though. I was expecting a much high bill than I had received, but in the end they provide a full detail outline of their services and they were totally cool about going over it with me. I could not imaging ever meeting a better more honest group. They were up front in stating that the need 100% transparency and truth and would not mis-represent the law. I will advise you that if you reading this, be fully up front with them no matter what the case -- their is no judgment of you. They get that things happen. Tell them exactly what happened, and if you are looking to save a bit on costs, create an outline to help with a time line and who was involved. I do not know if they would take a case where someone was intentionally in the wrong, was fraudulent, or if there was deceit as they seem to be a group that just wants to do the right thing. So, as you can tell, having retained an attorney and written a glowing review I had excellent results. While I believe that if you are in the right, it should be straight forward. Using this team helps stack the deck in your favor. read more

If only the initial yelp review for Mr, John Ward was still up. According to Mr. Ward, Susan (Suzanne) Storm didn't want to take down his bad review(s) for some time. I didn't know I was getting Mr. Ward as my primary attorney. This firm is notorious for over billing. They intentionally extended and delayed deadlines to get more money from clients. I have emails from opposing counsel joking about how they intentionally allow delays from other attorneys and that they can't believe cients pay for their lack of any productive case action/activity. It was painful to read when you're being taken advantage of and its acknowledged my other professionals. I continued to pay despite many conversations for fear of starting over with another attorney, because of the financial burden and continued delays associated with any change. I felt stuck. Susan Storm, John Ward and Ellen Zhang shouldn't have taken my case because I could have gotten a lawyer by the state for free. They knew that and didn't tell me. In your monthly bills they will describe the fee and will not send proof of what was documented as completed. They charge for things not in your contract. Excess photocopies, duplicate/back billing, attorney 'fees', and internet research fees to clients. Please note that the YELP reviews with high marks are affiliates, business partners or associated with the law firm. I got a bill for one day with 2 partner charges - Susan Storm, Marc W. Thomas, then associate partner John Ward and paralegal Ellen Zhang. I was told by Susan Storm that they only used additional partners when no one who was working on my case was available. Ha. Susan Storm told me that they only used the 'outside' attorney Marc Thomas for one brief but my bill showed more than 'just one' charge. When I asked for the documentation I was billed for from Marc Thomas (he billed over $2,000.00 and I never met or knew him) -- they didn't give me the brief he claimed to have written. They will tell you they can't send you what he did because the document was 'edited' - but we all know you can track changes made by other individuals. I paid for all services hoping they would at least show me what they billed me for. It is not only their responsibility, but, it shouldn't be a challenge to produce the documents. ATTLESEY & STORM will not produce many of the documents/briefs/research or drafts. If you request to review, they get angry and make you feel bad for asking in the first place. When you are billed for and pay for items/time ~ why can't you review it to understand what is going on with your case? They even billed me for obtaining phone records that they never got. I was charged for photocopies from 03/2018 and 07/2018 in my august 2018 and there was no documentation of anything being photocopied. They claimed to be proficient in my case, but I was billed monthly by both the paralegal Ellen Zhang and John Ward (independently for 'research'). They understood I did not need to pay for representation, but never told me. Even more, Mr. Ward cancelled confirmed depositions and planned appointments. For paying clients, intentional breach of fiduciary duties knowing that you are hurting the client financially is just plain cruel. Attlesey & Storm is not only unprofessional but causes Intentional harm. Besides the extra partner charges and duplicate billing for conversations between partners discussing my case -- they even billed for phone conversations and in person meetings for much longer than they actually occurred. They had already documented and billed for the prep time for the calls and meetings. Billing time should have only been for the actual length. One of many unbelievable charges from Mr. John Ward was for review of deposition documents for several hours. When we met he said that he hadn't actually reviewed the paperwork he had billed for. PLEASE don't use this law firm. I wanted to make this work and gave them the benefit of the doubt. Do not make the same mistake. They will take your money -- and in my case, more than the money I was asking for when I started the lawsuit. THE SECOND you ask for assistance in understanding your bill and their documented charges -- they will intentionally extend your case, harm your case, not complete paperwork needed to facilitate case resolution and WILL cause significant financial harm to your current situation. Adding more salt to your wounds, they make it nearly impossible to afford any other attorney. Before they attempt to recuse themselves they will they will not complete their fiduciary duties and make it seemingly impossible for recovery. The last insult will come when you learn that they will make fun of you to opposing counsel while joking about getting more money. DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR THIS LAW FIRM. read more

This is a follow up of my original review below. My total legal bill from Attlesey Storm was outrageously high, which I felt was unjust considering the situation Suzanne Storm left me in. She did however, agree to settle the balance that was owed for a lower amount, if I paid it in one lump sum, which I agreed to do. So, I give her props for that. This nightmare is now behind me, with valuable lessons learned. My advice to you: Trust no one! Scroll down to read review. read more

John Ward is an excellent attorney and I highly recommend him. I was referred to the law firm by the OC Bar Association and let me just say I am so thankful. I had an issue in which I needed to move out of my current apartment immediately due to health issues. Long story short John set a free consultation for me which was amazing. He right away gave me some options and laid out all the scenarios of what could happen and was very up front about the potential outcomes for each. I decided to take a more aggressive approach and let me just say John had my issue resolved within a few short days. Whew such a relief I was able to move on from a bad situation and not have any stress or financial issues lingering over my head. John was so nice and helpful everytime I spoke to him and was always available on email. If you are looking for a nice , reliable, intelligent, and thorough attorney John Ward is the man. Thank you again for making my life a lot less of a headache ! Oh and not to mention he did not charge me an arm and a leg which was super cool! His rates are very fair ! read more

I highly recommend Marc Thomas at Attlesey Storm. My husband and I had a dispute with our HOA Board. I won't give all the details here, but it involved the Board trying, through various unscrupulous means, to go against our CC&Rs by charging us for repaving our driveway. Marc was professional and thorough throughout the entire process. He responded to our calls and emails promptly, and everything went just as he had predicted. In the end, the Board backed down and removed the charge from our account. Thank you Marc at Attlesey Storm! read more

More than a year after selling our Orange County home, the buyer decided we had withheld information from her and wanted significant compensation. The claim was so outrageous that we couldn't really believe it was being made, and since we had moved out-of-state, we needed local representation to help us fight it. After an extensive search, we discovered John Ward at Attlesey Storm. It took nine months (because of stalling from the other side), but the matter is finally settled and we cannot thank John enough. He did research we would have been unable to do on our own and discovered information the buyer and her attorney had kept hidden. Without that information, the matter probably would not have been resolved to our satisfaction. Yes, attorneys cost money. But much better to pay for quality representation than pay exorbitant sums to people making false claims. read more

Hired Suzanne Storm to handle matters in a trust issue and she is real gung ho for her fees until trial comes up! We had overwhelming evidence and when the opposing attorney offered to settle she pressured us to do it and threatened us with the prospect of weeks long trial filled with costly experts and depositions which we had already paid for. She took 6 hour meetings with opposing counsel and gave no information on what these meetings totaling 17,000 in costs included, then to top it all off she failed to mention a court date we needed to appear at and quit on us when we were angered that she went to court without informing us of the date!! 60 grand down the tubes and I find myself with no options read more

I have used this firm with my business. I was not being sued, but had a concern over a court order for records of a patient. The request was not normal to the usual methods by which I am normally requested, and if fact had a threatening tone. Not wanting to violate the trust of my patients or even that of HIPPA, I contacted by insurance company which offers a free legal guidance service. Without going into details of how my "free" insurance provided service missed in providing proper guidance, within an hour of consulting with Attlesey, they were able to analyze that the request with invalid, the signing attorney on the documents was not licensed in California, they had a failure in registration of their request with the court system, and had no standing on their request. They drafted me a letter of response and asked if I would like them to proceed in representing me in the contact. After the request was confronted by Attlesey, it was deemed fraudulent and a "Hale Mary attempt" by a legal team attempting to fortify a case against my patient. I thank god that I had Keith to Consult as this could have been bad for all. read more

I had some random legal issue with my commercial landlord about 3 weeks ago and I contacted about 12 different law firms , I needed the best of the best to protect my legal rights, few of the offices didn't return calls up to this date, one of the attorneys who returned my call within an hour was MR Kith from Attlesey Storm. Unlike the other attorneys who I spoke with Kith listened to my entire story and not ones talked about his own retainer fees. He was more concerned about my problem and he assured me that he will work hard to fix my problem. It is really important to work with a caring law firm ... highly recommended read more

Suzanne Storm is intelligent, hard working and a great lawyer. She has directed our small construction corp through small and large issues and we continue to count on her knowledge and expertise. Suzanne is honest and reliable, she has advised and created an Estate Plan for me and my family. She made us all feel informed, comfortable and confidant. I would strongly recommend Suzanne Storm to anyone who needs or wants a great attorney. read more

After 30 years of business we finally had our first housing complaint filed against us. My company, Professional Home Management manages aprx 150 properties in the Orange County area. Unfortunately, a disgruntled former tenant filed a discrimination claim against me and a property owner with the Department of Fair Housing and Employment. Even though I have a family full of attorney's I asked around who was the best defending housing complaints and the law firm Attlesey Storm LLP kept coming up. We chose John Ward with the Attlesey Storm LLP law group to defend us. Mr. Ward and his staff were excellent in our defense. Attlesey Storm LLP was successful in convincing the Department that the tenant's claims against me and the owner were nothing but lies, and as a result the Department dropped its investigation. I would STRONGLY recommend if you have a problem with fair housing USE John Ward with the Attlesey Storm LLP law group, feel free to contact me at 714 585 6640 if you would like to discuss further, Bob Tetrault, Professional Home Management read more

I own a construction company and have relied on the counsel of Suzanne Shaw for a number of matters. Her expertise has always provided great advice and she has never let me down. I highly recommend her and the firm! read more

I needed sound, practical guidance in administering a family trust. The OC Bar referral service connected me to Suzanne Storm at Attlesey Storm LLP in Tustin. Suzanne--as well as her office team--did the job beautifully, guiding me clearly toward completing the process. All the while, Suzanne remained mindful and sensitive to everyone affected by the situation. In my interactions with her, Suzanne proved herself to be a responsible, ethical lawyer who offered healthy, fair legal advice at reasonable expense. From the get-go, Suzanne stated she could do as much or as little as I wanted, letting me know what tasks I could do (like submitting files to county court, county agencies, etc.) to save the trust money. Suzanne kept track of the process, she cleared up some murky details that would never occur to me (like state tax obligations), and overall she offered measured support in making sure the trust was implemented properly. In stark comparison, I first contacted the attorney who drew up the trust for my parents: in one phone call he was impatient, condescending, and unprofessional as he made disparaging remarks about my siblings. Suzanne is a first-rate, highly professional attorney. On top of that she is very personable, which made a stressful process manageable. read more