1 /5 ARIA THE ESTHIE: Do Not Hire Robert Ponce!
I had an awful experience with Robert Ponce as my attorney. As a 24-year-old single mother needing legal help, I trusted him, only to be completely mislead and taken advantage of. From the start, he misled me, claiming he was “reducing” a felony charge to a misdemeanor. Later, I found out it had only ever been a misdemeanor—there was no felony to “reduce.”
Throughout the entire process, I never even got the chance to physically speak to Robert Ponce himself. Every conversation I had was with his front desk assistant. Looking back, that should’ve been a red flag, but I wanted to trust that he was handling my case properly and doing what was best for myself and my child. Instead, he dragged out my case over nearly a year, ultimately charging me over $3,500 for what I now realize was a complete lie.
When he asked if I wanted to keep him on for further representation, I declined due to his high fees and my lack of confidence in his help. I informed him that I was low on funds, hoping he might understand. But instead, he immediately handed my case over to a public defender without even notifying me of an upcoming court date. This lack of communication resulted in me missing the appearance and having a warrant issued for my arrest. When I finally got back on track with the public defender, they were shocked he hadn’t told me about the court date, putting me in an unnecessary and stressful situation.
Robert Ponce’s lack of honesty, communication, and compassion shows he’s only interested in adding another client to his roster to squeeze out a few thousand dollars. His business practices are extremely shady, and it’s a shame there are lawyers out there who operate like this. I would never recommend him to anyone, and I strongly advise anyone considering his services to look elsewhere. Don’t let him take advantage of you the way he did to me.
