Raines Schurr Alissa

I was constantly asking to be kept in the loop in what was going on in a group representation, and yet kept getting left out of communications. I was dismissed in the group representation settlement based on an assumption and not a confirmation, meaning the settlement would have happened without me agreeing to the final outcome because Alissa felt my stake was not big enough to warrant her time and effort. To me personally, Alissa came off like she just wanted to take the easy way out instead of working for it, even after I explained I didn’t care about how much it would cost for her services, I wanted to fight for moral reasons and was willing to pay. In the end, she charged an outrageous amount of money for not accomplishing anything other than a few phone calls to request an insulting settlement amount for our group. In my opinion, if she felt there was no way to win, she should have declined the case after the consultation. I don’t even think she read the plaintiff’s papers to see what she could do for us. I personally caught a few inconsistencies in the documentation, and another lawyer who only spent two days with my paperwork (for free, by the way - thank you David Stein for your free help and advise) found a huge mathematical flaw in the plaintiff’s argument. Combined, these flaws would have given us a strong case for at least $300k more than Alissa was trying to settle for. The same other lawyer also found legal means to dismiss the whole case, which Alissa did not. I was also worried about my own privacy, as one day on the phone she gave me WAY too much information about another person in the group representation that had nothing to do with our case. Not as big of a deal, but it took several days to receive an e-mailed receipt of my payment, yet only a few minutes to charge my card. This had me nervous, as I wasn’t sure if there would be any surprise fees on the final receipt/bill. I also feel that she didn’t do a good job guiding us. Being as this was my first time dealing with any type of legal confrontation, I had no idea what to expect in court, when I should show up, where I should meet her, what time, etc... and I had to be proactive in requesting this information. I felt like she should have reached out to us without needing me to ask. I also had to request a summary of events that took place in the court, otherwise I’m not sure if she would have sent them to (all of) us or not. I guess I will give her the benefit of the doubt that I just asked too soon and she was in the process of doing all this. In conclusion, if you are looking for a lawyer that will just do a quick settlement, no matter if it means you are doing 99% of the sacrificing in the settlement, then she’s great. Otherwise, I’d advise going to another firm that is willing to put up more of a fight, more of an effort understanding the case, and give you your monies worth. We all decided to go with another firm and that firm has shown more aptitude and drive in 2 visits than the entire time with Alissa. They also have kept all defendants in the loop and have been very proactive in guiding us in regards to court visits and court summaries. On a positive note, her staff was very polite on the phone and she did behave professionally in court for the brief time we could observe her. Perhaps in a smaller, easier case, she'd be a good lawyer for you.

Alissa is an excellent attorney. Very curious and professional. She was always available and answered every question. Intelligent and reliable.