Offit Kurman

I hired attorney Victor Balladares from Offit Kurman to represent me in a lawsuit where my neighbor alleged that my dog bit her three years ago. My mom had her own lawyer through her homeowner’s insurance, but because I wasn’t covered under her policy, I needed my own separate representation. From the beginning, my experience with Victor was disappointing. He rarely kept me informed about the status of my case — most of my updates came from my mom’s lawyers, not from him. On multiple occasions, my mom’s legal team would inform us of case developments, and when I asked Victor, he either had no idea they had occurred or told me he would check with my mom’s lawyers or opposing counsel — only to later confirm what I had already been told. This left me feeling like he was not on top of my case and often unaware of what was happening. I even brought up to him numerous times that I felt like he didn’t care, that his lack of response made me feel uncomfortable, and that there were several times I texted him saying I felt uneasy and quote “left in the dark”. Unfortunately, nothing changed. Communication was inconsistent at best. There was one occasion where he emailed me at 11 PM saying there was a deadline the next day and that I needed to sign papers immediately. I asked him several times to explain what I was signing, but he never answered. Because of the upcoming deadline, I felt nervous and pressured, so I signed without even understanding what I was signing. He still to this day never explained to me what I signed. The most troubling part of my experience came with billing. I kept asking for updates about the case and was often told “nothing has occurred yet,” yet I was still billed significant amounts. I’m not sure what he even had to bill me for or how much work could possibly have been needed, because we were still in the very early stages of the case — from the time I was served until discovery. The case never even progressed beyond that point. *** majority of the time I had him hired we were waiting for discovery from opposing counsel for 60 days, and I was still billed high amounts for what felt like waiting*** In the first week of June, my mom’s lawyers informed me — with signed official documents from opposing counsel — that the plaintiff was dropping the lawsuit. When I called Victor to confirm, he had no idea what I was talking about and had to reach out to my mom’s lawyers to catch up. The lawsuit officially ended on June 12, and once again, I heard the news from my mom’s lawyers before I heard it from Victor. Then, at the end of June, I received a bill that was four times higher than any previous month — for a period when the case lasted only a week and a half and when, to my knowledge, he did nothing to resolve it. To the best of my knowledge, the resolution was handled by my mom’s lawyers and opposing counsel. I am able to come to the conclusion because I am the one who informed him of the case ending. I am still at a loss for words and confused on how he was able to bill me 4x the amount of any previous month for a week and a half in which that time I was the one who was giving him all the information he knew, and I was the one sending him documents from opposing counsel. For the past two and a half months, I have been trying to get a hold of Victor to explain these billable hours and what was done. I have text messages, emails, and call records showing my repeated attempts to get answers. He has either not responded or has set meetings and then failed to call. Now, the final straw: I just received another bill for July. The case has been over for 2 months. After my experience, I feel cheated, taken advantage of, and ignored. Based on what I have gone through, I cannot recommend Victor Balladares or Offit Kurman. I strongly urge anyone seeking legal representation to look elsewhere for an attorney who is engaged, communicative, and transparent — both in handling a case and in billing practices.