Complaint Review: Niki Whitfield

Ms. Whitfield was retained to handle a Class 2 misdemeanor offense. At the first scheduled court appearance she showed up 25 minutes late claiming she had child care issues. At two subsequent appearances she said she had multiple cases being heard at the same time and ran in and out of the courtroom countless times. 

Ms. Whitfield did not return calls or emails and did not follow up on any details she committed to. 

A plea bargain was offered months prior (which was the objective of retaining counsel), but Ms. Whitfield failed to notify the client of the offer. After the offer expired with no response the district attorney's office elected to take the case to trial. 

Ms. Whitfield was subsequently fired after doing nothing over three months time. After retaining a new lawyer, that firm was able to sort out the details and get a plea deal within two weeks. 

A complaint will also be filed with the state.