Jenna Hatch LongOkura law office Beware of this attorney!! Salt Lake Utah

As I stated previously, we of course have the complete file available for any authority that the client wishes to have review it.  My offer remains available for the client to properly mediate or arbitrate regarding the validity of her bill and the actions taken by the firm.  I am confident of our performance and of the contents of our file in displaying the turth of the situation. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to set the record straight.

 These things are untrue about a withdrawl.  I have an email and letter from Camilla Van Orman

This client is known to us.  Fortunately, the vast majority of our clients are very satisfied and so it is easy to know who anonymous posters are.  Ms. Shafer must be willing to forego confidentiality since she posted this on a public forum but we will attempt to only tell what must be told to set the record straight.  Ms. Shafer (and her father) came to us regarding a family law case.

Ms. Shafer went to court with us representing her. After much negotiation and advice of counsel, and participation by the parties, opposing counsel and the court, a final agreement was reached by the parties.  The final agreement was read into the court record in front of the parties and in front of the judge.  The judge than asked the parties if that was an accurate agreement, if they understood it, and if they agreed to it.  Ms. Shafer said yes to all of these questions.  

After this final agreement, Ms. Shafer changed her mind.  Probably in part because her father actively attempts to control aspects of this case but he is not our client.  The client and her father are not on the same page, yet Ms. Shafer feels pressure from her father and so these things erupt.

Ms. Shafer no longer wanted to be bound to her agreement in court.  Obviously, this is not so simple.  The court will enforce that agreement because now it is the Order of the Court!  

In the interium there were many phone conversations and other actions taken by us on Ms. Shafer's behalf.  Her retainer was $3,500.00, which is the retainer on all of our contracts and we happily provide that information to anyone who asks. We find this retainer amount to be approximately the middle ground (if not on the low end) of what other family law lawyers with similar years of experience take as retainers.  Ms. Shafer expended her retainer and owed us money.  

We withdrew from Ms. Shafer's case because she owed us money. We were not "fired" by Ms. Shafer and she was actually asking us for more work on her case which goes against her statements about dissatisfaction with Jenna Hatch, who is an excellent attorney.  We have three other attorneys at the firm, none of whom worked on this case and so Ms. Shafer's blanket anger at the entire firm seems misguided, but it is because all of this stems from her not wanting to pay her bill.

I, as owner of the firm offered twice to meet with Ms. Shafer and her father to clear up any dispute and discuss her bill. We sent up an appointment which Ms. Shafer cancelled. My second offer to discuss things was ignored.  We sent Ms. Shafer's account to collections and, of course, now she attempts to defame us anonymously in a public forum.  

Important things to take from this:

1.  These forums give everyone an excredibly limited understanding of what can be complex contracts, activities and relationships.

2.  Ms. Shafer could not and cannot point to anything that we have done wrong.  We have repeatedly asked her to show us on the bill or in the file where an error was made and she declines to even discuss this with us.

3.  Family Law cases are emotional and we understand that they are very hard on our clients, but we really do our best to represent them with diligence, vigor, and understanding.  Ms. Shafer did understand and agree to her court order but the court system is not accommodating to people who change their minds when they get mad.

4. If you have a dispute, please take up the business on the offer to talk.  We could avoid all of this through proper mediation and arbitration channels instead of in a limited environment not well designed to resolve complex problems.

My offer stands to take to, mediate or arbitrate with Ms. Shafer.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Long Okura

Owner, Long Okura P.C., Attorneys at Law