I received a falsehood ridden Cease and Desist letter from this firm that included threats of…read morefurther action. The letter ended with: "...please do not hesitate to contact me directly." Yet they refuse to take or return my calls, and multiple written communications sent to them have been ignored. I believe this review is compliant with the written Yelp Guidelines which state: "address the core of the consumer experience"

They helped me out on a legal matter with all the necessary documentation etc. Very professional…read moreand helpful.

Continuing from first review…read more.. Robert A. Miller made me subpoena a former roommate in order to get her to be a witness. This was unnecessary as her email to me was sufficient. Additionally, there are many instances where Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg revealed that they did not examine all of the evidence that I provided. Robert A. Miller kept stressing issues of my pet cat's bodily functions. There was not a single complaint (no email or text, but only something the landlord wanted to add to her retaliatory eviction) of cat urine smell from my two roommates and their partners. I stated that numerous friends of mine have visited and can be witnesses to support that cat urine smell was never an issue. Robert A. Miller responded that the plaintiff Juliet Welch would then call on the other four downstairs tenants as witnesses of cat urine smell. How can downstairs tenants witness what happens in my upstairs apartment when the units are separate and the downstairs tenants and upstairs tenants are not friends and therefore the downstairs tenants are never invited inside the upstairs unit. Moreover, the downstairs tenants have a senior dog and a new puppy, both of whom require puppy pads and potty training. The downstairs tenants also dogsit. There are multiple animals at the 61 Franciscan Way address. A week before my conference court date, Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg required an additional $18,000 in order to represent me, essentially abandoning me. At which point, I asked them to stop work. My new counsel reached a settlement of my staying until the end of December (as opposed to October) and $9000 in new money. The attorney fee agreement clearly states that the $5,000 (the one where I gave $10,000) would ensure the case goes to a jury trial. This is a breach of contract, fiduciary duty, and fraud. Neither Robert A. Miller nor David M. Sternberg went over the retainer fee agreement with me. As a matter of fact, David M. Sternberg did not even sign the retainer fee agreement until August 14th, 2019 after receiving the additional $5,000 (where I gave $10,000). I filed a Ca State Bar Mandatory fee dispute in Feb. 2022. Robert A. Miller answered to serve David M. Sternberg who did not agree to be served until November 2022. Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg ignored the CA State Bar Mandatory fee dispute so that the statute of limitations would expire. Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg responded after I filed small claims because the CA State Bar Dispute was not going anywhere. I called everyday and left messages and CA State Bar only responded once when I received a call back that they will not discipline attorneys for not answering. At the small claims court date, David M. Sternberg twisted the fee dispute to become legal malpractice to claim a one year statute of limitation. I never used the language of legal malpractice in any of my communication with Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg. Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg set themselves up nicely so that they can claim that any court proceeding waives my rights to pursue a fee dispute with Ca State Bar. Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg are unscrupulous lawyers who are greedy and take advantage of vulnerable clients.

I am having a difficult time getting my landlord to complete payment of relocation expenses as…read moreagreed upon. I reached out to the Law offices of Robert Miller to see what steps I could take and what to do next since my requests to the landlord are going unanswered. Mr. Miller called me back within 24hrs of me reaching out and was very thorough in explaining what steps I should take before reaching the point of needing to officially engage legal counsel. Legal fees can add up quickly and I appreciated him pointing me in the right direction during our phone consultation. I intend on following his guidance and because of his willingness to help without my retaining him, when the time comes to engage counsel with this matter, I will absolutely be using his services. Thank you Robert!

I left a message on here, and he responded very promptly. In his reply, he specifically highlighted…read morethe details of the case that could potentially work against you, thereby ensuring that you were mentally prepared to address these issues in advance. This stands in stark contrast to some of his peers, who often prioritize legal fees and billable hours above all else.

J. Richards is helpful, knowledgeable and generous. I recommend them highly for your legal needs.read more

GETTING A TRUST: Trust McKenna Koepke of Blackstock & Barsell as she is as sharp as a tack! What…read morea pleasant positive experience it was using McKenna to make my Trust. Hearing all the buzz on making sure you have a Trust in place; but also hearing of the nightmares with the court system when you DON'T have a Trust in place, I KNEW I needed one. So I searched and called McKenna Koepke of Blackstock & Barsell in Walnut Creek. This office has plenty of parking which was a plus for me. It is located very close to Whole Foods in Walnut Creek. I was greeted at the office door with a welcoming smile and immediately proceeded to meet McKenna in her office. She went through the Trust procedure precisely and in a way that I understood it; not confusing me with all the legal words/terms. She answered all my questions and gave me plenty of time to ask them all; and there were a lot. Indeed it was a very easy meeting full of education and knowledge. I knew right away that I wanted McKenna of Blackstock & Barsell to do my Trust. McKenna also promptly answered all my after-meeting telephone questions that had popped into my head later when I got home and the week after. I said yes to her doing my Trust and the ease it took to come to the final paperwork was astonishing. McKenna is friendly, extremely knowledgeable, tentative, expeditious and organized. AFTER TRUST FINALIZED AND FUTURE: McKenna is a hands-on person! Every time I call her with questions, she gets back to me promptly which is a rarity these days. For instance, I had a question about something I heard on the street about Power of Attorney and she quickly called me back and updated me. When I bought some property it was a quick call to her and it was taken care of. Hands-on McKenna has sent me educational emails of law changes which may affect my generation in case we need to change anything in our Trust. I can't begin to write how happy and secure I feel with McKenna Koepke of Blackstock & Barsell working on my behalf.

We worked with McKenna to help us with our estate planning, she was knowledgeable and pleasant to…read morework with. She also made the process super simple and straightforward. The turnaround time from our first meeting to when she was able to complete the documents was not long at all. We would definitely recommend her to others for the same services!

I reached out to Alex for legal advice regarding a tenant who had failed to pay rent, and I'm…read moreextremely grateful for his guidance throughout the process. Alex is an experienced landlord attorney who provided sound, strategic advice that helped us navigate a very sensitive situation successfully. Thanks to Alex's expertise, we were able to work collaboratively with the tenant and help them transition to a different apartment without needing to move forward with court proceedings or mediation. His deep understanding of landlord-tenant matters, especially within San Francisco's highly complex and challenging rental market, was incredibly valuable. Alex is thoughtful, pragmatic, and clearly very experienced working with landlords on difficult cases. I highly recommend Alex to anyone seeking knowledgeable and effective legal representation for landlord-tenant matters.

Mr Volkov was very helpful, went through the contract in question and gave me some answers I could…read moreunderstand

Sean was really excellent to work with. He's very straight-forward and practical and I trust him…read more He's also a genuinely nice man who is really easy to talk to. We have some real estate investments and my husband owns a small business and Sean helped us with some legal matters for both. He will talk honestly with you and tell you what your options and risks are. That's so important because dealing with legal matters is confusing and it's not easy to make decisions. Sean made it easy. He is always very fair on the pricing and he's clear and upfront about that which is so important and helpful.

I first met Sean when our boys played soccer together in elementary school. Sean was an all around…read morenice guy. Always willing to help another parent or the soccer team. Great parent which becomes obvious when you get to know his family. I had known Sean for a couple of years before needing any legal assistance but when the need arose Sean was the first call I made. Over the past few years I have had Sean handle several legal matters and have to say that I could not be more pleased. What you get here is an honest attorney (probably one of the few) who is organized, hard working and cares about his clients. Sean is a master at research so if does not know an answer he will not stop looking until he finds the correct answer. Thanks Sean!

I hired Michael Notaro last November for an eviction case in Oakland. He was effective and helped…read moreus successfully regain possession of the property. Throughout the entire process, Michael communicated clearly, kept us updated, and explained our options. He also went above and beyond by offering practical advice and recommendations to help prevent similar issues with future tenants. I truly appreciated his professionalism and guidance. I would work with Michael again if I needed legal representation as a landlord.

Michael is really great mediator. He is really good at what he is doing, with professionalism,…read morefinesse and very good interpersonal skills in loaded situations. He assisted me with landlord-tenants issue. The mediation went for several hours non stop but he persisted through lunch break until he was able to achieve an agreement. I think he is good also and pointing the risks and benefits for each side and helpful in weighing in a decision. He is also very knowledgeable about the subject matter and you can see this right away. I really liked his style and would recommend him full-heartedly.

Terrible law firm who uses scare tactics instead of engaging in professional conduct or anything…read moreresembling a good faith effort to resolve disputes between HOAs and it's members. Do yourself a favor and spend a more few dollars on competent and ethical attorneys...as the saying goes you get what you pay for.

I have been working with Berding & Weil for a little over two years now and I can honestly say that…read morethey are the BEST out there! I am in the Homeowners Association Management business and we are consistently in need of a good law firm to work with. I was introduced to the Office Manager, Jill Jackson through a colleague that I work with in our office. In the beginning I thought Berding & Weil is just like any other law firm in the industry, but I was wrong! The Office Manager demonstrated a very high level of knowledge, hospitality, and generosity that I have not seen before in my 12 years in the business! Then I was introduced to the lawyers in the firm and they were absolutely wonderful to work with. I have worked with this firm on multiple complex cases such as construction defects SB-800, updating governing documents, changing Rules & Regulations, Members Violations, and Board of Directors consultation. Make no mistake, this firm has never disappointed me in any of the cases we worked on. The high standards, professionalism, loyalty, and the best interest of the association is what they demonstrate during any case/services they provided. Berding & Weil also provides a lot of training sessions that are extremely helpful and educational for us as Community Managers. One last thing I must mention is the reason I wrote this review. I was very impressed to know that Berding & Weil is very involved in Charity work in the Bay Area as they partner with Habitat for Humanity to support multiple projects, such as assemble and decorate children's playhouses which will be donated to families and local community charities. I was honored to be invited to this event in Oakland, CA and I truly can't wait to be part of something as wonderful as this. I highly recommend this firm as they support me in several of my portfolio associations and I can say I'm 100 percent satisfied with their great work.