Complaint Review: Keith L. Allen

Do NOT Hire - In 2016, we hired Keith to handle a case. We paid $3500 for Keith to file an answer for a request pertaining to child support. The order had already been in place for years, it was to make an adjustment, so it should have been a simple process. We just wanted representation so that it was done quickly, correctly and legally. We got none of those from Keith.

For the first few months, we did what was asked, which was fill-out paperwork and send requested documents to Keith. Then Keith was hard to get in contact with; he did not return calls, texts or emails. He would get back but say he was on vacation or very busy. After 7 months of going back and forth and the answer still not being filed, Keith disappeared. We started to send emails to document each time we tried to contact him. We had to call from work numbers or friends' phone numbers (since he did not know those numbers) in order to get Keith to answer the phone. He always said he was "working on" our case. We finally decided to hire another attorney so we could get this case taken care of since over a year later, nothing had been done and the answer still had not been filed.

From there, we made 10 attempts to contact Keith requesting an invoice of the work he had done and for any money left over from the $3500 we had paid him. Clearly he had done little-to-no work, so there should have been remaining money to be returned or an invoice to show why the $3500 had been used up. Keith refused to take our calls or reply to our emails, so again, we had to call from numbers he did not know in order for him to pick-up. When we did, he claimed he had sent the invoice but it must have been our old address. We gave him the new address, he claimed he would send the invoice, still nothing. This went on for a year-and-a-half until we stopped trying to resolve this matter directly with Keith.

We started to check into Keith and found that other people have had the same issue. Also, Keith practices Family Law and he has been non-compliant in his own cases. Because of that, Keith has been reported as not eligible to practice law TWICE for not paying child and family support (see below):
6/22/2012 Not Eligible To Practice Law in California Suspended/Child & Fam Supp noncompliance
9/26/2011 Not Eligible To Practice Law in California Suspended/Child & Fam Supp noncompliance
Full info here: members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Licensee/Detail/187976

If you or someone you know has been ripped-off by Keith and have a fee dispute, you can contact the Orange County Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program.
-Info through this link: calbar.ca.gov/Attorneys/Attorney-Regulation/Attorney-Fee-Arbitration/Approved-Programs#30
-By Phone: 949-440-6700 x128 OR 949-440-6700 x153
-Email: tvuki@ocbar.org

Avoid Keith L. Allen