The Justice Firm Bryan Adamson Took retainer and did horrible job, left case in a mess just before trial St. George, Utah

Facts must be verifiable and Mr. Adamson’s rebuttal is anything but factual.  Mr. Adamson was disbarred by the Utah State Bar after a thorough investigation of his claimed "hundreds of happy clients" by the Utah Supreme Court’s Ethics and Discipline Committee, pursuant to the Rules of Lawyer Discipline.  I am currently licensed in a Court of Law according to Court Records but not practicing in the State of Utah.  I believe to be licensed or practicing in my state of residence would only facilitate an ongoing career and not permit me to retire.

In my case Mr. Adamson demonized his client, published confidential attorney/client information on the Internet, and failed to provide proper legal services.  He lost the Court's Scheduling Order, missed the Court's deadlines for discovery and only became aware of the trial after his client went to the Clerk of Court and obtained a copy of the Scheduling Order to apprise him of the upcoming trial, whereupon which he bailed. 

Mr. Adamson’s short resume in his rebuttal appears to demonstrate a poor job history for a competent a lawyer.  In my opinion any attorney in a firm such as those described by Brian Adamson, who can do the work, customarily work their way up in the firm. Mr. Adamson was apparently not so inclined and possibly let go.  Maybe more than once or twice.

The 4-inch binder his client provided was a copy of the Court File.  This file Mr. Adamson dumped in a box and shuffled with no rhyme or reason making it impossible for him to even produce the Court’s Scheduling Order when asked by his client. 

Mr. Adamson’s statements his client refused to settle is likewise not factual.  His client eventually settled the case for far more than Adamson’s assessment of the case.  In Adamson’s rebuttal this was a case against a bankrupt dealer shows his ignorance of the case.  Court records show this was a lawsuit filed against a large Credit Union represented by a very prominent and competent Salt Lake legal team.  This professional legal team on the other side knew the value of the case and settled for far more than enough to have compensated Mr. Adamson.  In addition, the settlement had nothing to do with anything Mr. Adamson had done. 

As for Adamson’s statements about his client’s feelings, he cannot possibly know what his client is feeling.   I suspect his statements in this regard are really about how he was feeling about his upcoming disbarment and investigations on complaints he knew were filed against him by some of his not so “thousands of happy clients.” 

NOTE: Curious how the number started out as “hundreds of happy clients” and turns into “thousands of happy clients” as you read further.  I believe that knowing Mr. Adamson has the propensity to dispute and contradict himself in his own alleged factual scenario on the same page is a serious warning not to deal with this man with your personal matters.

Mr. Adamson was paid a handsome retainer for the marginal work the case required and agreed to take a percentage of the settlement as well. This sum, had he remained with the case, even after he botched it up, would have more than fairly compensated a competent law firm.  Mr. Adamson's problem with me was not about money, it was about him taking money and then without prior notice to his client withdrawing from the case on the eve of trial.  He withdrew from the case because he was unprepared for trial and because he did not want to face the Court’s inquiry into his failure to obtain the documents at the bank to prove the claims.  As for his comments about his client’s abrasive personality, I truly wonder about his sense of reality. 

As a Church Nursery Leader a lot of parents thought I was nonabrasive enough to trust me with their children every Sunday.  My services there were so nonabrasive I was promoted to a Cub Master with the Boy Scouts where I enjoyed a very nonabrasive relationship with both the Scouts and their parents.  And now, as Counselor in the Sunday School Presidency, I deal with a lot of sensitive emotions between volunteers and other authorities that requires anything but an abrasive nature.  Again, Mr. Adamson’s statements at trying to salvage a disreputable reputation are contrary to facts. Please note, it was his choice to withdraw after he botched the case by waiving a pivotal discovery motion and thereby his choice not to receive a share of the settlement proceeds.  It was not his client’s choice not to pay him.  Also since this case settled, his statements that I refused settlement is again without reality or justification. 

I am continually amused that my disbarment came from my protecting the confidentiality of a client while his defense to my allegations of his poor service is an attempted humiliation of his client by disclosing confidential material he obtained in the attorney/client relationship.  While he can use confidential material he gained in that relationship before his commission in defense to charges formally filed, Mr. Adamson’s rules of ethics prohibit him from publishing that confidential material on the Internet.  Who would want an attorney that does such a thing.  Can you imagine what he could say about confidential things obtained in a divorce if he desired to put those on the Internet? 

As a final note to anyone who is also dissatisfied with Mr. Adamson.  Your formal complaint and a copy of the RipOff Report regarding his handling of my complaint of his service along with Mr. Adamson’s responses and breaches of confidentiality could be sufficient, depending on the nature of your claim, to warrant Mr. Adamson’s disbarment. 

While I understand Mr. Kehew's anger because he wanted me to do his trial, the story he has told is inaccurate. A deal was worked out on Mr. Kehew's case, but he insisted on going to trial. The trial was going to cost far more than his case was worth. (The entire case was an argument over a Subaru.) Of course that is the client's option and we were prepared to go to trial. However, the simple fact is that Mr. Kehew neglected to pay his legal fees, coupled with his extremely abrasive personality made me think that the best option was to allow him to obtain other counsel before incurring more expenses at trial. Mr. Kehew claims to have been an attorney and could have easily handled the case himself (if he is telling the truth.) If he is not an atotrney, he could easily hire another one assuming he was willing to pay.

We strive to make every client happy and our hundreds of happy clients prove that our firm is very successful in this endeavor. Our website shows dozens of testimonials from actual clients who took the time to write us about their divorces or other legal matters. However, the financial side of the business does not allow us to work for free for ex-attorneys who are want you on their case, bad-mouth the work that was done and then want you to do it for free. If we do reduced fee work or pro bono, we are usually assisting someone in need and not someone in greed.

If you want to know the facts about me, please feel free to come in for a free consultation. Regardless of your matter, I am always willing to help in the best way I can. I have been licensed for 17 years and in two states. I have worked for large firms, in house counsel for a multi billion dollar international firm and now in my own firm. I think you will see that the thousands of happy clients far outweighs Mr. Kehew's unfortunate opinoin of his case's outcome.

No one could say it better than Mr. Adamson.  When a bank could not produce the promissory note they were trying to foreclose, his position a discovery order for that document is unnecessary and his waiving a Rule 37 Motion for a Court Order to produce or exclude that document, is unnecessary well, enough said. 

As for my disbarment, maybe we should add violation of his client's right to privacy as well to my grievances.  When I was practicing, even mentioning a client's name as a party to litigation was a violation of professional confidentiality.  It will be interesting to see how the Utah Bar deals with his response.  

My disbarment was a result of my refusing to accept a suspension while healing from an injury I received in the military over sixteen years ago.  While an attorney has a right to protect himself if attacked, it will be interesting to see if responding to a customer's grievance is carte blanche grounds for a Utah attorney to spew every hurtful thing he can think of to rebut the claim. 

Regardless I believe this is just further evidence to support my opinion that this man is not a professional attorney.  Regardless of his name calling concerning my handling of the matter, had Mr. Adamson not put my case in a position so bad he was completely unprepared for trial and had to withdraw, he would have shared in settlement of that claim and been paid handsomely for doing very little as I promised when I hired him.  The case settled, but I had to do a lot more work to fix it after he took my one binder and made a mess trying to put it into several file folders.

I will rely on Mr. Adamson's response hereto as proof of my opinion regarding this man's legal character.  Similarly, his name calling and being so quick to throw around his client's personal information speaks for itself.   However, his claim about not needing discovery to produce the disputed promissory note, well, you decide.  Bottom line - how would you feel if your attorney missed easy steps to obtain the proof the defendant to your case did not have a promissory note they were suing you on.  

The tone of his response should be enough for you to decide if you want this man or his firm to handle your confidential and important legal matters.  Thank you Mr. Adamson  for proving my point.

Consumer Statement: I have been a lawyer, public defender, and city attorney as well as
private practice for over 17 years before moving to St. George Utah where I was not licensed to practice.

Truth: Consumer's name is Roger Kehew and has been disbarred in his "other state".

Consumer Statement:  I filed a law suit against a car dealership that went out of business and did not convey papers to the lender who repossessed the vehicle without legal cause.  

Truth: Debatable. Our argument was that legal cause did not exist, but it was a loophole at best.

Consumer Statement: I could not get the Utah Superior Court to rule on anything I presented.

Truth: This is a fact. The reason is because the paperwork was done in such a poor way (by Mr. Kehewand prior to him hiring me), that the court refused to hear his arguments. That is the reason he came to a real attorney in the first place.

Consumer Statement: After Bryan Adamson took my money, he lost my file, waived a very
important motion by failing to include it in a scheduling order and then
sat on the case waiving all my discovery options. 

Truth: The file was in a 4" thick binder. It was never lost and was too big to misplace anyway.
We waived a motion that Mr. Kehew thought was important and was not important at all.
There was no need for discovery. The company was out of business... as he stated.

Consumer Statement: His communications with me were horrible. 

Truth: I do not call to chat with clients. If they want an update, they are free to call. I work hard and I send bills. I do not waste client funds on unnecessary calls to give "updates". Any attorney who does this is ripping you off. You need updates when there are important events and that is what we do.

Consumer Statement: Just before trial he withdrew from the case, kept the money, tried to bill me for the devastation he caused, and left me with a messed up file, missing documents, and unable to recover from the tail spin he put on the case. 

Truth: Client refused to pay for the upcoming trial and so we withdrew. We prefer to work for money when we can.

Consumer Statement: In over 17 years practicing law, I have never seen an attorney mess up a client's case so bad [sic]. 

Truth: I can understand the frustration of someone who has been disbarred, does not truly understand the legal system, is upset that his lawyer won't work for free, and then goes online and leaves an anonymous complaint. However, I believe the great comedian Ron White who hails from my home state of Texas said it best: "You can't fix stupid."