I wish I read all bad reviews first before I haired Sam kelsall .what mistak was giving him my money .he is the worst attornyey I have ever deal . he is very dishonest person.He charges u and won't get job done. I will never recommend this law firm to anybody.. read more

I only try to leave good reviews but this has been bothering me and I hope this prevents it happening to someone else. I originally had Kelsall Legal Solutions do our Living Trust years ago when our kids were under 18, and all we wanted to do is to make them the beneficiaries and remove the names of who we had when we set it up. We were told that it was going to be $1,250 and we had to pay half after the first visit. The office called several times trying to rush us back in the office to get the other half by saying he was going to be on a trial. We came back into his office to only find out he was sick and another person would be going over everything. We were billed an additional $1,377 which was for a witness fee($240) and notary($495) plus the original $625 along with some other fees. When I questioned the additional fees while I was in the office, the notary said she could not answer and I would have to call back and talk to the billing. I tried to attach the response I received from Sam Kelsall but it would not allow me to. I asked how can he tell you at the first appointment you need to pay half, but then charge a large additional amount ? If he was not feeling well they should have called to reschedule the appointment, and not charge a witness fee. Here is part of his response "the legal fees were at a discounted rate of $1,250 which is discounted of over $500 because you are a returning client, the firm lost money on your trust, but I did not want to inconvenience you or expose you to my cold." "We are not a discount law firm." I won't be recommending this office read more

I got a letter from this ASS HOLE today trying to bill me for storing a record of a trust I made with another firm that they took over. I got a notice from the old firm letting me know this jerk bought out their business. So what do I care. My trust was done and filed years before. Now this jerk says he wants money for storing a copy of my file because they lost their source of free storage the other firm offered. Oh but they will waive that fee if I pay them an annual retainer! Maybe I'll pay another firm a retainer to make this idiot cease and desist. This lawyer is as obviously devious and crooked as the law allows. I have never even written or called them. I have not given them permission to store any file on my behalf. If you need a lawyer don't use this ASS he obviously will bill you for services you never requested! read more

You should avoid this attorney at all costs. He became our estate lawyer a decade or so ago when his partner retired. We recently had him update our trust documents which were originally done by his earlier partner. We signed an agreement saying the update to the trust would be $1400. After we signed the documents, we were presented with a bill for over $800. When I protested, they showed me where I had agreed to pay $25 for notarizing our signatures. Clearly, I thought this meant they would charge $25 for my signature and $25 for my wife's signature. Our trust had a lot of signature pages and they charged us $25 each time my wife and I signed. This took about 15 minutes to do this, so I paid over $800 for an additional 15 minutes work. No where was this disclosed in the estimate they gave me that I would be paying close to $2400 for the update in total. Their estimate only said $1400 plus witness and notary fees. I had no idea this meant another $1000 on top of the $1400. This was incredibly deceitful. When I said I wanted to terminate my relationship with them, they charged me another $50 to send me the original documents. When I asked him to waive the fee due to his misrepresentation of the notary fees, he basically told me to pound sand. He the type of attorney that gives lawyers a bad name. To add insult to injury, I retained a new estate attorney and showed him the documents. He said that the forms and terminology used in the trust documents were very outdated. While he could work with them if necessary, he was quite critical of the product of Mr. Kelsall. For what it's worth, he also said he had never heard of an attorney charging $25 for each signature in ta trust document. read more

Perhaps the strongest attorney in Carlsbad. He has done the family trusts for my family, my friends, and myself. Thank you Sam ! read more

Mr. Kelsall is extremely knowledgeable, generous, and kind. He made me feel very confident in him and his office. He handled everything I needed handling, and then some. I can't thank you enough, Mr. Kelsall! You took all my anxiety away. read more

I wish I read all the bad reviews first before I hired Sam. I'll make this brief but after this review I'm filing a complaint with the Bar Association. I went to his office based off a referral that Sam bought out a long time trusted attorneys business in Oceanside after retiring. I paid a $1000 retainer to help with the Family trust for my father who recently passed. It was three weeks before I even received a contract and I had to call to find out if they were going to process the agreement. Another week goes by and I receive it in the mail to sign. Then I had to package it and send up to their Laguna Beach location because the paralegal was working up there now...? Another month goes by and I hear nothing. I email, nothing, I call, nothing. I finally send an email again at two months stating there has been no movement on my case at all, they don't respond for days and weeks at a time and I would find a new attorney. A few days later I get an email from the paralegal sending me a copy of the letter she already sent to the opposing family attorney in my case without consent, without review or approval from me. I that day fired Sam and hired another attorney. We have done damage control with the opposing attorney due to the harsh unapproved letter sent out and have requested the refund of my $1000 retainer. Funny how the next day I received a bill stating I owe them and additional $17 over my retainer amount. This appears to be nothing short of a money scam. So shame on me for not doing my homework prior to handing over $1000 to a scam artist posing as an attorney. Hopefully with enough complaints to the Bar he can be investigated!!! read more

Mr. Kelsall is my go-to attorney for all legal matters. I never thought I'd have the need for an attorney, but unfortunately as a business owner in CA, you just have to have one. Mr. Kelsall and his staff are courteous, precise, easy to communicate with, and very professional. Forming of business entities, general business guidance and consultation,and other similar services are all things I have been here for, and I am very pleased with the service and expertise. He has a very interesting background as both a entrepreneurial business owner and as an attorney, and he was exactly the type of attorney I needed. I could not have found a better person to put my faith and trust in for my legal needs. I had a small issue that could have potentially turned to something major, and Sam made it disappear almost over night. I am very pleased with Kelsall and Associates and plan to have an attorney-for-life. Thank you! read more

Sam is honest direct helpful and understanding. He gives his time to understand any case and client and the best advice for the situation. He helped me with settling an injury case against me for an automobile accident while also guiding us to protect our assets. I would recommend Sam for his knowledge, helpfulness and professionalism. read more

Just another crook in an attorney mask. If integrity counts avoid this guy! He contracted with our firm to provide two year's worth of tax returns, he agreed to the fees associated with drafting the returns. He accepted and filed the correct and timely returns. BUT then, he wouldn't pay his bill. We had taken over his work from another firm... guess he didn't pay their bill either. We tried to collect for two years with no result. Assuming this guy is a serial deadbeat!!! read more

This attorney is probably the worst attorney I have ever dealt with. Between having assistants who have no idea what they're doing, not having phone calls or emails answered. Does things without client approval. Bad grammar. Bad spelling. I don't even think this attorney even knows what hes doing. His office is unprofessional and looks like a circus. Needless to say, I had to hire another attorney, which btw, was a hassle to even get my files or have him sign the substitution of attorney. This guy is a crook. He doesn't care about you, and only wants your money! read more