I hired Warren Shiell to deal with a relatively straightforward matter involving the renegotiation of the final stages of my divorce agreement. While the legal aspects were not complicated, I needed someone who could help me plan out a strategy in advance (I came to him almost six months before a deadline mandated in the agreement) and be sensitive to the psychology of the situation. I’m sorry to report he was inattentive both to the case and to the notes I gave him about dealing with my ex, was difficult to reach, called out of the blue only when it suited him, failed to draft a proposal letter as I repeatedly ask him to do and then, with just a few weeks to go before deadline, disappeared on vacation for a month without any forewarning. The one document he produced was a strategy sheet, which largely reproduced work done by a forensic accountant (for which I had paid separately) and proved to be almost entirely unusable after I hired a new – fabulous, efficient, attentive and effective – attorney. \r
\r
After I dismissed him, it took him more than a month to provide a final billing and a check for the balance of my retainer, and then only after repeated reminders that became necessarily more insistent. In the wake of his dismissal, he charged three times as much for the last month as he had for previous four. He insisted he had charged me correctly for the work he put in, but I saw scant evidence that that was the case. \r
\r
I was deeply disappointed because Mr. Shiell came warmly recommended as a tough but fair-minded divorce lawyer who charged reasonable rates and gave clients their money’s worth. That was not my experience, on any front. Perhaps he didn’t find my case all that interesting. If so, he should have turned me down and/or referred me elsewhere, not wasted my time and my money. Others beware.
more