Coleman & Horowitt, LLP

We retained this law firm because we discovered what we believe were serious breaches of fiduciary duty by the trustee of our grandparents' trust. The primary issue was that, despite being beneficiaries, we had never received the accounting we were legally entitled to. Our objective from the beginning was simple: file a petition to compel the trustee to provide a formal accounting. We understood that a demand letter had to be sent first and that there was a required 60-day waiting period before a petition could be filed. We accepted that requirement. However, after nearly six months and approximately $35,000 in legal fees, the petition still had not been filed. Just before the 60-day waiting period expired, we were called in for a meeting. Instead of leaving with a clear strategy, we left more confused than ever. One attorney told us that, based on his years of experience, cases like ours rarely produced the financial recovery we were seeking. At the same time, the other attorney was encouraging us to move forward with filing the petition. Those conflicting opinions caused us to question the direction of our case and the value of the time we were being billed for the attorneys' discussions with one another. At the conclusion of that meeting, we told them to place the petition on hold until we decided how we wanted to proceed. However, the next invoice reflected additional work being performed on the petition despite our understanding that it had been paused. As time passed, I repeatedly asked why the petition had still not been filed. I gave direct instructions to stop attempting to negotiate with the trustee's attorney and instead file the petition to compel the accounting. From my perspective, obtaining the accounting was the essential first step. Without knowing the trust's assets, liabilities, and distributions, I did not understand how any meaningful settlement discussions could take place. In early July, the firm withdrew from representing us after I continued asking why the petition had not been filed. Along with the withdrawal letter, they provided the first emails and other documentation showing work that had been done on our case. Those emails included correspondence between our attorneys and the trustee's attorney discussing a potential settlement. Until receiving those documents, we had not seen evidence of those communications. This review reflects my personal experience and is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. The statements above are based on my understanding of the events and are supported by the emails, invoices, and documents we received during our representation.

Very professional

We had a leak in our kitchen and had filed a claim. The homeowner's insurance was trying to deny our estimates and we were having major issues with getting their construction company out to complete a bid for approval. We were also having issues with the adjuster not calling us back for weeks on end and our home had become unlivable, but nothing was getting done and no one was calling back. I reached out to this law firm seeking counsel. Herman Shara called us back right away. He gave us a fifteen minute over the phone meeting, where he listened to what was happening and gave us advice on what we should do before we moved forward with hiring him. His advice was honest and sound. I went ahead and followed his steps for escalating the situation. Right away we noticed a difference in the homeowner's insurance. We even received a new adjuster. We still had major issues with their construction company not returning calls, creating delays on bids, leaving unfinished work behind that they had told us we could clean up and a little bit of property damage from where they had left the damage kitchen items behind in our garage. I took pictures of everything as Herman had instructed, kept a detailed timeline of text messages, voicemails and photos and I even re went through our policy. After two months of now having issues with the construction company I called back the adjuster and let her know we would be retaining Herman this week if she didn't fire the construction company and approve our original bids. I told her we had kept the timelines the lawyer had suggested doing. I even called Herman back to possibly open the retainer. Once the adjuster heard of everything we had including possibly hiring Herman, she approved everything. We are even getting checks to cover food while construction is going on. Herman still called us back to ensure everything was now moving smoothly and has made clear he is readily available should we need him in the next week. We appreciate all of his help and I think we would have had far more difficulties with the whole situation if he hadn't helped us. Thank you so much Herman for all of your work!!! We will save and share your number with others!

Thanks for your counsel, Herman!

Great office staff is very friendly and caring. I dealt with Herman he is a great attorney. He handled the case to the best outcome possible.