2 /5 Izzy Thomas: TL;DR: I was told to seek help elsewhere by the receptionist, because this firms works for a judge within this county.
Long Story: I needed advice for a civil problem 3 years ago, and Matthew was extremely professional and competent in helping me out. I kept his card in case I ever needed help again. Thats where my two stars come from.
The three missing stars come from September 30th, when I called asking for advice regarding some procedural concerns I wont publicly go into. I thought a law firm advertising criminal defense might be interested in helping me make sure proper procedures were being followed, and if they had asked for a retainer that day, it wouldnt have been out of the question.
To my surprise, I was told by the receptionist, "We work for Judge X, not Judge Y...You will have to contact someone else." (Judges names intentionally omitted, as I am still dealing with an open case.) I assume the reason the receptionist told me I couldnt be helped was due to a conflict of interest, based on her claim that this firm works for a judge, but if thats the case, how can you ethically say you practice criminal defense? Especially if you cant even answer some simple procedural questions, (that I assume every Texan lawyer MUST know to practice in this state,) without it creating a conflict of interest?
After this experience, and a similar response from a second firm in this county, I have opted to seek legal advice from Harris County lawyers from now on, and I suggest anyone seeking legal advice regarding criminal proceedings to do the same. Civil though? Probably fine? Like I said, Matthew was everything I could have asked for when I needed his help 3 years ago.
