Client
Mr. Siniard met with me and agreed to take my case for a fee. When we next met, he presented paperwork for me to sign. The fee in that paperwork was considerably more than what we had agreed to. Mr. Siniard did not bring that to my attention. When I asked him about it, he said that he had discussed the fee with a colleague who advised him to charge more. Against my better judgement, I signed anyway. 30 days from trial, he withdrew from the case without explanation. This was a federal case and no other attorney had time to prepare, so no one else would take the case. There was a statute of limitations so the case could not be further delayed. As a result, I was unable to proceed. This was a clear cut case of civil rights infringement with a significant financial component that is now forever lost as a result of this attorney's completely unprofessional conduct. **UPDATE: in response to Mr. Siniard's response: I stand corrected - it was indeed 60 days from my deadline that you withdrew. From your email to me, a direct quote: "It has nothing to do with the merits of your case, rather it's a combination of personal and professional factors". The same email states that you'd asked other Huntsville attorneys and suggested I look elsewhere - which I did. No attorney wanted to take a federal case with less than 60 days to prepare - would you? You didn't respond to my note about the fee change without notice...? I suppose that is the answer. Sir, I was initially very impressed with your straight-forward and positive demeanor. The way you handled things beginning with the fee change in our Agreement to your withdrawal which left me with no options - not professional. I forgive you. The matter is closed as far as I'm concerned.