I am giving an update of my case. 18 years later, I am still fighting to get my life back and…read moreundue this nightmare after getting played in Monroe County Family Court by Support Magistrate Linda Lohner Pilato. Mr. Michael Schmitt was my attorney when I first was served papers. This is a long played out drama. I want my story told to this community. I cannot stop the harassment from the Title IV-D agency (child support agency) I have been alienated from the child since his birth 23 years ago, but supported him from birth up until he was 18 when he ended his mother's control over him and moved out of her home, his departure was extreme, he dropped his birth names. He disowned his mother because she was not going along with his life decisions, which are bad,... but I do not know him and cannot help him, nor do I trust the DNA testing that was controlled by the support unit. I don't believe for the life of me that this is my child. The mother told me from day one when she informed me of her pregnancy (January 15, 2002) that she had set me up to shake me down for money. I offered marriage, so the child would have two parents,... she told me that I was f-cking dumb to think she had interest in me. I gave her what felt like ransom payments. Supervising Judge Stacy M. Romeo can stop this, but she won't, she refuses to engage but is watching it play out. Stacy is Mr. Schmitt's spouse. I am sure Stacy is reviewing every filing that I am making at the moment, and the judge that I am running into right now is Judge Maria Cubillos Reed, who is tossing my motions into the trash based on that I sent a copy by certified mail to the mother,, she claims I am violating CPLR 2103, she is wrong, Ms. Cubullus Reed is playing this game with me because my last motion, addressed that Mrs. Pilato reclassified the Paternity Petition as a Support Petition, The mother's paternity petition controls jurisdiction and she indicated that she DID NOT WANT THE SUPPORT UNIT INVOLVED. Mike, you should have brought this up at the hearing on December 6, 2007, when Linda Pilato said, that the mother filed a Support petition (Article 4) She never filed a support petition. Mike, you needed to object, you allowed Linda Pilato to frame me as noncompliant. Judge Cubillus Reed is hiding behind CPLR 2103, regarding mailing of service, because my last Motion filed that was tossed by Support Magistrate Mary Teator, addressed a forged document from the Support unit. In October 2012, the support unit sent a Request form to the mother, asking her if she wanted to increase support under a Cost- of Living-Adjustment (Family Court Act 413a) the mother never mailed the request form in. CSEU was supposed to drop this matter. They increased it anyway and justified it by sending me a fake unsigned order that they drafted, it never came from a court of competent jurisdiction. You cannot make this story up. The legal process on a private case is that a request must be made by the parties. The mother never made the request, she told Ms. Pilato 8 times in a hearing on January 23, 2013, that this had nothing to do with her. Further, the mother advised me on January 20, 2012, when I mentioned the alienation.... "I don't need your f-cking money, go to the court and stop it but you will never see him" That was my last communication with her. Ms. Pilato stated later in a decision on October 26, 2018, that the January 23, 2013, hearing that she presided over never existed and that there was no proof of my objecting to the COLA, though Ms. Pilato stated at the hearing that I filed a timely objection. Really? Mike, we had a meeting at your office on the COLA? you advised me to withdraw my objection and that I could not beat Ms. Pilato at this, you said you could call her for me, I said, don't bother, I have another hearing on March 11, 2013, I'll do it. When I learned of the rules, motioned for closure. The support unit sent me a copy of a request form with the mother's signature on it, dated November 1, 2012, I found it odd that Ms. Pilato never made mention of it. I sent the document to a Forensic lab at the price of $1000. It came back that the request form is a forgery committed by the support unit... the federal funds attached to these cases is driving this madness. Stacy, you addressed me in a letter on September 12, 2012, you made mention of the March 11, 2013.....you could not have possibly know of it, Pilato demanded it on January 23, 2013. Mike, why did you not challenge the Title IV-D application filed on September 17, 2007, that falsely charged me with deserting the child in February 2002? he was not born yet,.. desertion is not a legal charge in a nonmarital case. The game now, is that the other party is not noticed of hearings to keep her off record; that forgery is damming evidence. The last two virtual meetings were disabled, forcing a phone-conference only. Stacy, terminate this case so I can live out the rest of my days in peace.

Mr. Michael Schmitt assisted my daughter in her custody and child support and family court issues…read more. Mr. Schmitt is professional, attentive, cordial, responsive, focused on needs with detail. I am impressed and satisfied with his ability to communicate with the courts and with others in the courtroom.

This review is subject to change after the deliverables are met. But I wanted to review my first…read moreimpression . Brent the person taking my inquiry was professional. I was most impressed that the founder, Atty John Bansbach called me back himself. After calling a dozen or so law firms and requesting to speak to the lawyer that would be handling my cases, and only getting legal aides to "pass on" the information, has been disappointing. Not criticizing their knowledge but I would prefer to not have an "in-between" person. My expectation was to be able to build a rapport with the lawyer handling my case , make sure we are on the same page and ascertain if our point of views are aligned . Factors critical to successfully represent me and my meeting my needs. This law firm met that expectation. Atty. Bansbach was very through in making sure he had all the information he needed to help me. I will update this review once his deliverable are received.

I had a purchase that needed to be handled in NY so looking for someone while out of state seemed…read morelike a nightmare. As the other person stated, John's office was the most responsive. I found John to be quite personable, and our first conversation already gave me the impression that he was genuine, not just another lawyer trying to make a buck off me. I explained my situation and he gave me sound advice to ensure I would be protected and get matters done with reasonable cost. While I did get the impression his office was busy, it never took too long before they either called me back or gave me updates by email. If it was important or I had a direct question John would call me back personally, otherwise Brent at his front office handled the day to day legwork. I hit a snag and had to delay the work and John did not skip a beat to pick up the work and same quote months later. Once I gave him even more details, he gave me more advice to save even more money, and the transaction completed smoothly in the time that he estimated. Because of the money saved he sent me back the remainder. While we both were too busy to actually meet in person, I would not hesitate to use his services again. I find John to be sincere in his efforts to help me, and did not nickel and dime me for everything. Extremely professional.

Were do I start?! This guy is a joke of a lawyer never…read moreorganized just acts lost in his cases but treat you like your beneath him and likes to screw over a lot of clients if you do hire him good luck

Harvey Bunis has taken care of several legal issues for my family over many years. he is…read moretrustworthy and respectful. if you need a good lawyer call Harvey.

I utilized Steve Sercu's service for a criminal matter of allowing my grandson. He was responsive,…read morecommunicative, and effective. Highly recommend.

marilee is a fraud, do not hire. Charges thousands for no legal aid services providedread more

I am very pleased with the service I received from Tully Rinckey - Rochester regarding a complex…read morelegal matter involving Child Abuse and Neglect. The entire team was professional, compassionate, and attentive from the start. They listened carefully to my concerns and clearly explained the possible legal options. They kept me informed of what was likely to happen at each step, making the entire process much easier. Their communication was transparent, timely, and always helpful. I had a great experience with their respect for their clients, their responsiveness, and their high quality of services again of service. I will definitely use their services again in the future and would recommend their servces to others.

*** Tully Rinckey's response to my reviews is disingenuous. We already addressed this matter…read moredirectly with the firm. The only options presented were to continue paying them to correct mistakes in their work--despite their already having the necessary information and documentation--or to close the matter and receive only the unused portion of the retainer. They had the opportunity to resolve this privately and chose not to. ** Richard Brister is highly persuasive during the initial consultation. Unfortunately, his impressive phone manner is where the competence at Tully Rinckey ends. What Mr. Brister promised us during our consultation bears absolutely no resemblance to what the firm ultimately delivered. He explicitly assured us that our $4,000 retainer would cover a robust, comprehensive demand letter and active negotiations--even discussing specific enforcement provisions to hold management accountable to critical safety measures. We relied on those professional representations when we signed and paid our retainer. What we received was a weak, inaccurate and completely unusable draft. It was addressed to an individual who no longer worked for the company, contained a false timeline, failed to include our core claims, and completely ignored the evidence we had provided. It was a sloppy, careless rush job that caused our household and my 88 year old mother additional distress. The worst part? When we pointed out these glaring, objective errors, Tully Rinckey did not offer to correct them without further depleting our retainer. They never denied that we would be expected to pay additional legal fees simply to obtain an accurate and usable version of the document we had already retained them to prepare. To anyone considering this firm: Do not be fooled by Mr. Brister's polished sales pitch. Get every verbal promise in writing before you hand over a single dime. We trusted Tully Rinckey with thousands of dollars and a highly sensitive matter, and we were left with zero results, a bigger headache, and a nearly depleted retainer. Shame on Richard Brister, and shame on Tully Rinckey. Stay tuned for more TR reviews.

After searching an Attorney who is genuinely helping the clients, I found Mr. Egan. Anyone who…read morereaches out to Mr. Egan, will realize right away he is a faithful and diligent true attorney. He will ensure you are protected and get the best outcome. In general, I am not a person who writes reviews that much, but I am so grateful how he deals with my case and feel the need to share my gratitude. Update: With the help of Mr. Egan, my case is completely dismissed with no negative record at all. Since the possibility for me to return a Federal Government work in near future, this positive result is a big deal to me. He is a lifesaver! I hope that any one facing legal problems can get help from "Extraordinary Attorney Mr. Egan." While I have been experiencing intense emotional distress due to my family health emergency, I got into a legal trouble unexpectedly. Without realizing, I was dragged into a situation where I could not defend myself. Only the other party reported his story to law enforcement officers. Mr. Egan suggested a fair legal fee and brought about outstanding results. He incorporates his previous experiences as a prosecutor and his connection with the District Attorney's Office. I very much hope that people facing legal trouble would be patient in searching for a true attorney and find Mr. Egan for help. Thank you very much, Mr. Egan! You ARE awesome!

HORRIBLE!!! On March 19, 2024, this attorney agreed to add a simple Codicil to our Last Will and…read moreTestament. "I'm happy to assist you with updating your estate planning. I can also prepare a Health Care Proxy, Living Will and Power of Attorney if desired" she boasted to us on that date. We informed her that time was of the essence..it needed to be done before June 4, 2024. "We have plenty of time" she responded with. On March 22, 2024, she wrote "I'll review and will contact you to discuss any necessary modifications." It is now 5 weeks later, and this woman has gone AWOL. Not a single communication of any sort, nada, zip, zero! When you call her office, you get a recording stating "my preferred method of communication is through email." OK...we obliged. Result from that email 6 days ago as of this writing? Nada, zip, zero! So...now we call her office a SECOND time, but this time we left a voice message (since her "preferred method of communication" has obviously fallen on deaf ears). Result from our voicemail message 3 days ago as of this writing? Nada, zip, zero!! This woman doesn't even have the decency and common courtesy to return messages. Update! Today, FINALLY we received an email which reads: "Sorry, I was on vacation visiting my mom in Florida when you emailed last week. I have a lot going on right now and I know that you're anxious to proceed. I am referring you to......" Uh what? Are you kidding?! We've just lost 5 full weeks! We have NOTHING to show for our trust in this attorney. If you've got unlimited time and patience for a bait and switch attorney with zero communications skills to massage a document as important as a Last Will and Testament...then by all means, this is your attorney!!

October 20, 2015…read more Betsy is by far the best divorce attorney!! I went to several consultations, spent over $1,000, and didn't feel comfortable with any of them. They all made me feel that in NYS it didn't matter who made what financially, or who was in the wrong, you couldn't change the law. Basically, the less time you were married, the less you were entitled to. Divorce is a stressful time for anyone, especially when you are the victim. Most attorneys' treat it strictly as a business contract, forgetting the emotional turmoil you're experiencing. They just want to hear the facts, and paint the realistic picture, which is usually pretty bleak. Betsy Album is the exception. From the moment I met her, I knew she was the person I wanted to represent me. She is extremely professional, and her bedside manner is superb. She took the facts, and came up with a game plan. I was hesitant to ask for much of anything with being told "I wasn't going to get it in NY." Well, turns out I didn't have to, with Mrs. Album. Using her expertise, she developed a proposal with all my best interest in mind. She is continuing to fight for me, and the end is near. Using the old cliché, I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and with Betsy Album it's bright.

Not really a law office anymore. Even if you have a retainer. Marc is a nice guy who will offer…read morerecommendations for his ex clients.

Marc is a honest, straight forward attorney. He works diligently to give his clients the defense…read morethey deserve as quick and painless as possible. He handled 2 cases for me and both times, I was impressed with the outcome. He will be my attorney for life.