Boyle Law Group Bridget Boyle; Gerald P. Boyle, Boyle Boyle & Boyle SC This law firm defrauds clients, taking their hard-earned money in exchange for either incomplete services or none at all!!!! Milwaukee, Wisconsin
For the protection of my privacy, I have to limit some of the information in this case. However, I will be as descriptive as possible. I had used the legal services of Gerald Boyle and Bridget Boyle previously when they were a part of the law firm Boyle Boyle and Paulus. I was a bit concerned when I found out the law firm split up, with the Boyle's staying together and Paulus leaving (a business splitting like that, along family lines, at the very minimum sounds somewhat suspicious).
I had hired the Boyle Law Group (aka Boyle Boyle and Boyle SC)--the "new" law firm comprised of Gerald Boyle, and his two children, Gerald H. Boyle (with whom I never worked) and Bridget Boyle to represent me in a legal matter that involved two steps. I later found out that these two tasks, in legal terms, were incredibly simple and should have taken no longer than a week to accomplish. The first task was, in comparison to the second task, incredibly simple and literally required no more than two minutes in the courtroom and no paperwork whatsoever. The second task did involve the drafting of a simple document and another brief courtroom appearance. I had negotiated a payment for these serivices of $3000--quite a lot of money to an individual in his twenties still working full time and going to school full time. We did not specifically appropriate what portion of the $3000 was for which task. And it's not like I'm an idiot--my final GPA for my bachelor's degree was 3.96/4.00.
Well, after about three months of calling and checking (every time Bridget Boyle had a new excuse or reason as to why the case was taking longer), I FINALLY was able to get Bridget to go to court to resolve the first matter. I had at this point paid them $2250 of the $3000 they wanted for taking care of both events. At this point it was nearly Christmas, and Bridget said we would resolve matters after the holiday. SEVERAL MORE MONTHS pass by without her doing ANYTHING. I would call about once a week and/or send an email inquiring about the status of my case. Again, every time there was an excuse--literally sometimes they would blame the weather, sometimes she would claim to be sick, and other times she would claim to be working on this supposedly complex and time-demanding case, for which $3000 was SUCH a VALUE.
Well, after four months I had had enough. I called the law firm's senior partner, Gerry Boyle Sr., with whom I had worked intially (and successfully). I was thinking he had no idea how unprofessional his daughter was acting and upon hearing it, he woud correct the situation. I could not have been further off-base. Instead he completely blew me off, talking to me like I was some raving lunatic (and I was speaking completely calmly, though I will not say I was in a cheerful mood). He started talking to me like I was a five year old. "What do you want us to do for you?" To which I responded that I simply wanted her (or anyone at their law firm) to perform the job for which I had paid them. He said I had been "constantly calling" Bridget and effectively harassing her while she was working away on this case. I don't feel like a weekly call, after seven months have passed, for a matter that should have taken, at the longest, two weeks, was unreasonable. He proceeded to say that he was busy and had to go, and hung up the phone. I was not able to get Bridget Boyle on the phone again. Nor was I able to get her to respond via email.
Then, because they refused to respond, I HAD TO HIRE ANOTHER ATTORNEY TO FINISH THE JOB. He was the one that explained to me how simple and easy the second matter was to take care of. IT WAS DONE AND RESOLVED BY A COMPETENT ATTORNEY WITHIN A WEEK, AFTER SEVEN MONTHS OF GETTING THE RUNAROUND. My new attorney also proceeded to explain to me that the methodology that Ms. Boyle was claiming to work on for the second matter was not even possible with my specific case, and that any lawyer that had passed the bar would know that. He also clarified that any lawyer would know that, if they are accepting money in exchange for future services, an agreement needs to be signed by the client according to Wisconsin law. No such document was ever offered to me. It cost me $1500 to hire this new attorney.
I also asked the attorney about how the two matters (remember that they did actually take care of the first, far simpler task). He said that since the first matter required zero paperwork and a single, brief court appearance, a 1/3 to 2/3 ratio would be more than fair, meaning that first issue that they did resolve could not have cost more than $1000, meaning they received $1250 from me for absolutely NOTHING. Not to mention the other $1500 I had to spend HIRING A SECOND LAW FIRM to finish the job. This behavior is absolutely inexcusable for anyone that is claiming to be a reputable lawyer. From what I heard from the other attorney, my situation was not unusual. This was a truly sad situation. And, their neglectful wasting of time delayed my application to graduate school. Then, once admitted, I ended up moving out of state, so it is just not financially feasible for me to proceed with a civil suit (it's just not worth it considering the costs of traveling out to Wisconsin, etc.). At the same time, I did not think they should be able to get away with this free from consequence. Hopefully some other potential clients will read this and know to stay away. You would be better off hiring a monkey for counsel.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Lana
Milwaukee,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Poster does understand original complaint!
#5Consumer Comment
Sun, February 21, 2010
It does not take a Bachelors degree to understand this complaint. You paid a Attorney $3,000 for work. He did well over that amount already. The courts move slowly, you became impatient and hounded them till the sun went down.
You dropped them, they earned the money already, they do not owe you a refund. You probably owe them more.
Who looks for rebuttal's on Law firms? I do. I have been a user of this site for years.
I also live in Milwaukee and often check the local business reports on here. Is that not what this site is about? its real easy...I put Milwaukee in the search bar. Guess what? the first post was Gerald Boyle.
I am happy you are no longer a resident. But Guess what? you will have problems in any state you live. Not just here. Good luck! have a great life.
tesseract314
Ann Arbor,Michigan,
United States of America
Response to allegations/failure to understand the original report.
#5Author of original report
Sun, February 21, 2010
I feel that I should clarify a couple things for the poster that rushed to the defense of the Boyle Law Group (this is the original poster defending his position). First of all, I was not expecting a discount because I was a college student--nor was that what I said, so no "growing up" needed. Rather, I was merely stating that, for someone in their twenties, effectively in the beginning of their adult life (and for many other people for that matter), $3000 is a lot of money.
Secondly, on behalf of Gerlad Boyle Sr., I stated that I had been represented by him initially quite successfully. He was kind, compassionate, prompt and thorough. I do not assess an attorney based on their level of "fame," so I didn't really consider that a value-added aspect that carries any type of entitlement. I was, however, baffled about how, in just a few years, the service he personally provided could have changed so radically. That does not in any way affect the successful representation I had from him around seven years ago.
That being said, no client deserves the runaround I got. They literally dropped the case completeley (without providing any type of refund). And no, I did not call them weekly for seven months, as the previous post tries to claim. What I said was, after seven months (which was later confirmed by more than one competent and even relatively "famous" attorney in Wisconsin to be about six and a half months more than this case needed) I called them weekly for three or four weeks. That does not constitute harassment in any way shape or form. I was given the runaround for months, and the flat out ignored for months, after sending them thousands of dollars. And the true dissapointment came when I had to hire another attorney (when I just got fed up with being ignored) who resolved my incredibly simple matter incredibly quickly (see the initial post). And no, it was not the "court system moving slowly" as the poster alleges. These matters would only be resolved when actions were taken by my attorneys. They flat out failed to take such action. And the fact of the matter is that another, equally competent attorney that I trust took care of it in less than 14 days after I had been waiting for over seven months. Imagine being in that position.
While the fact that it impacted my applications to graduate-level schools (causing them to be delayed for an entire year) is not relevant concerning their competency as attorneys, I stated it because it is demonstrative of their compassion as human beings, because they knew that is what I was doing, and the main reason why I needed their services. When you choose to screw a client, there are costs beyond the dollars and cents, and in some cases, such as this one, those costs may be far more valuable in the long run. In the end, after waiting a year, I was able to apply and I am now at a top-ranked (as in among the top few) graduate school for my chosen degree. I am not saying this to show off--rather to demonstrate what was hanging in the balance with what should have been a simple transaction for procurement of services.
My life has moved on. I was already a grown-up. And, I will not take any further time to rebut posts. I'm not saying this because my time is more valuable; rather, I have stated the truth, and even responded to allegations that tried to twist my initial words around, so my work is done. I truly posted this in the hopes that it would possibly prevent someone else from going through the same situation. And who searches Ripoff Report to rebut posts for a local law firm? And citing other cases that an attorney has worked on has no factual bearing on the details of this incident.
I am happy to acknowledge how famous Gerald Boyle Sr. is in Milwaukee. That's great for him. I am even more than happy to acknowledge the great service I received from his personal representation years ago. But none of that means they should have done what I describe in my initial post. Every word of it is factually acurate, and was my genuine experience. I cannot speculate on what caused the difference in ethical behavior and service over an approximate five-year period. All I can do is share my most recent experience as honestly as possible.
Lana
Milwaukee,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Gerald Boyle is the best Attorney in Milwaukee
#5Consumer Comment
Sun, February 21, 2010
Give me a break, Mr Boyle has practiced law in Milwaukee since the beginning of time. Mr. Boyle did not become a top notch Attorney by being a "monkey" as you claim.
Who cares if you are in your 20s and a college student? what you want a discount for being a student and working full time? guess what so are many others, but they do not need a brownie over it. Get a life.
Mr. Boyle helped me as a young 19 year old girl, who was in some trouble. I had very little money, and I don't think he ever even billed me. He only had to make some calls, but he treated me with humanity when I was all alone.
He is a pillar of our community. The Boyle family is very respected here. I will not let some fool come along and make these stupid statements about them.
Mr Boyle also represented the Jeff Dahlmer case, and did it with great dignity in a time when Milwaukee was at its lowest.
I do not think $3,000 for two weeks of work, from a famous Attorney is anything more then peanuts. Grow up.
Calling them weekly, for 7 months sounds like a hound to me. The Court system moves slowly, and that is not his fault.
You need a excellent Attorney, call the Boyle family. They are great people and they know the Law.
Screwed
Milwaukee,Wisconsin,
United States of America
Another Victim
#5General Comment
Wed, February 10, 2010
I too was represented by Bridget & her father and was grossly disappointed with their service. As stated by the previous post they are notorius for not returning phone calls. They take on too much work and do not have time to handle their case load. In turn their clients suffer. They have a lot of friends at the Milwaukee County DA's office and therefore can get some favors for clients but if you are out of the Milwaukee area you will be screwed. Even if you are from the Milwaukee area you will be completely clueless as to what is happening regarding your case and will never meet with them until the actual court date. They are often late for hearings and are all around irresponsible attornies!