I had a horrible experience as a client (for over a year) of The Reape-Rickett Law Firm, specifically attorney Matthew Breddan, regarding a sensitive family law issue. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize how bad it was until I was forced to replace Matthew with a new attorney. Here’s what I experienced (in my opinion):
1—Non communicative. Matthew refused to explain the family law process or his overall strategy for resolving matters; whenever I asked him for clarification, he took it personally, assuming I was questioning his judgment. He acted as though I was supposed to “sign over a blank check and trust him.”
2—Unavailable and unresponsive. Matthew was often unavailable—even on time-sensitive issues—to answer questions or to respond to opposing counsel. As a result, issues that could have been resolved with a simple phone call or email took months and thousands of dollars in fees. Matthew claimed “that’s just how the process works.”
3—Passive. Although Matthew claims in marketing materials to be an aggressive advocate for his clients, he often took a passive approach to everything and retreated whenever opposing counsel pushed back. Sometimes I wondered if he was working for me or for the other side.
4—Took no responsibility. Whenever Matthew’s strategies didn’t produce his stated (likely) results, he was quick to blame the process, opposing counsel, the mediator, the forensic accountant or even ME as the client.
5—No creativity. Matthew’s solution to almost every issue was “just write them a big check and they will go away.” I originally hired him because I thought, with all his family law experience, he would have creative solutions to common family law issues. I was sorely mistaken and I often felt as though I would get better results from an online service like LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer (for a fraction of the price).
Matthew categorically refused to consider any of this feedback. I had to hire a new attorney and spent tens of thousands of dollars.
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