Law Offices of Peter J. Mueller, Unresponsive, Illusive, Poor Customer Service, Arbitrary Billing Practices San Marcos, California

Attorney Mueller and his staff are the most unresponsive law firm I have ever dealt with.  Over the six month period that I attempted to work with this firm, I never once felt as if Attorney Mueller was on my side.  He is a smooth talker and seems to be intelligent but once I hung up the phone I quickly realize that he didn't provide any real advice or direction in my case.

After my first conversation with him, Attorney Mueller never returned a phone call unless he was threatened with a formal complaint.  On numerous occasions, I called his staff, sent e-mails and left voice mail on his personal cell phone only to be ignored or told that Attorney Mueller was unavailable.  His staff never attempted to set up an appointment so that I could speak with him nor did he ever phone me to update me on my case.  The junior attorney who worked my case quit the firm without notifying me or passing my case onto another attorney.

The cumulative effect of this unresponsiveness was that on two occasions, while Atty Mueller was under retainer,  I did not have legal representation or advice on the day of court / mediation.  I can understand someone being busy but to totally leave you hanging after they take your money is totally unprofessional.

After I started complaining, the bills started to come in.  Attorney Mueller and his staff managed to wipe out my entire retainer without adding any value to my case or appearing in court on my behalf.  I felt betrayed.  Although it is difficult to imagine, Atty Mueller caused me more heartache and stress then did my ex-wife during this same period. 

To add insult to injury, two weeks before my case was to be heard, after depleting my retainer and refusing to speak with me on the phone, Atty Mueller sent me papers to withdraw as my attorney.

Please, if you are in the military or if you are a father who truly needs a responsive attorney, stay away from this firm.  After calling a few more attorneys, I discovered that (even though he is experienced) Atty Mueller has problems maintaining a steady staff and has high personnel turnover.  This makes perfect sense and is probably 50% of the reason my requests for contact never got answered.  That being said, the fact that Atty Mueller refused to contact me even when he knew I had specific issues with his firm reveals much about his character and ethical foundation.