It's sad that I have to leave such a low review. I generally don't like giving any bad reviews because it could affect someones career. However, I feel it is my duty to forewarn others before making the decision to go with this company. This review is not for a $5 cup of joe at a local coffee house, but it's for thousands of our hard earned dollars with our future at risk. You want to be sure that when you invest so much time & money, the job will be done right and any follow up that is required will be handled professionally & lawfully. With so much at stake, we as consumers need to be extremely selective in choosing the best attorney & company for our needs. If this review was based on the attorney alone, it would've been 5 stars however, it's his team that lowers it.
My husband & I purchased our home in 2006, in our home state of Hawaii. He was an active duty military member. They gave him orders to be PCS-ed to Louisiana. We could not afford to pay the Hawaii mortgage & our current duty station rent as well. Our banker would not work with us with our home and we ended up going into default. (Shortly after the market crashed.) After that 3-yr. tour, he got orders to Texas. In 2011, we decided we needed to find a lawyer to settle this so it would stop looming over our heads. We chose Packard & LaPray. We met with David Packard who is unfortunately no longer with the company. He was very professional, very nice, easy to work with and he did an exceptional job. We did what he told us, went to court, the judge granted it to us. Our case was closed and everything was finalized....or so I thought.
Fast forward 7 years:
8/1/2017 - I was served with a summons at my home that evening to appear in court next Thursday. Of course who wouldn't panic being that this was supposed to be settled 7 years ago.
8/2/17 - I emailed Annessa (David Packard's paralegal who we worked with during our case) and explained to her the situation & also that my husband had passed away last year. The next morning the call with Annessa lasted for 2 minutes. She said that she "was busy with court this week and would call back by Friday." I waited all week.
8/4/17 Friday, 4:02 pm CT - I called Annessa. She said to "give her 10 minutes to read over the email & call right back". (Maybe she was a slow reader.) At 4:41pm, I called her back & the secretary said she had left for the day. (Sneaky, sneaky)
8/7/17 Monday, 1:21pm CT - I called again & got to speak to her aide & they said they couldn't see the summons I had sent as an attachment. Sent it twice more, followed up by another email asking to see if they received it. I got an email back stating, "I received it."
8/8/17 Tuesday, 1:55pm CT - Annessa said she took so long to get back to me because she was waiting to follow up with attorney Steven Packard (who took over David Packard's practice.) Thus, I didn't need to go to court on Thursday because the case was dismissed in 2011 and that she was going to send the opposing attorney a letter and give them a call. Everything sounded great.
8/9/17 Wednesday - I sent an email to Annessa confirming the details of our conversation. She sent me one back stating, 'I will double check with Mr. Packard, and give you a call or email on tomorrow morning." She seriously didn't even speak to him at all regarding my case & just gave me her own legal advice! I had court the next morning & couldn't risk the plaintiff winning the claim simply because I failed to appear!
8/10/17 Thursday - Day of hearing. Thank God I trusted my gut & went to court to settle it myself. Apparently, I need to attend court again in September just to get to the process to present my legal documents that my case has been closed. IF I hadn't gone, I would've been responsible for tens of thousands of dollars!
With so much at stake, I highly recommend every potential client screen different options before signing with any attorney. Even though my attorney, David Packard was extremely knowledgable, when everything was finalized he said if we ever need anything just give them a call & they can help. Getting in contact with an actual lawyer is extremely difficult. Every call or means of communication I sent to the attorney was always spearheaded by Annessa or her aide. Instead of wasting my time, I would've rather her just been honest from the beginning & said we can't help you, find someone else. She caused a lot of unnecessary stress & frustration for no reason other than just to be mean, lazy, or maybe she looks down at minorities. Who knows? Still no reply. I looked back at an email from 2012, some months after our case was finalized and I had received notice for the house again. It took her 15 days to email me back a 3-sentence/25 word reply.
After my experience, I say screen your choices thoroughly. Things may be fine & dandy in the beginning but later on you may find that you need additional representation & they may just forget that you paid thousands for their expertise. read more