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> 100i29922929Brandon A Cline, Esq., LLC Review
100i29922929Brandon A Cline, Esq., LLC
Attorney in Peachtree City, GAReviews: 18 | Overal Rating: Average
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1.0 star
Posted by anonymous
June 8, 2017
I asked for the Law Offices of Troy Hendrick to help me with plea negotiations on a citation for Failure to Yield. The accident was not my fault but I did not have witnesses to prove it. My driving record was perfectly clean and my insurance company had already taken care of the other person involved in the accident. A negotiation for a reduced or dismissed citation would keep my MVR clean and my insurance cost from escalating. After listening to the details of the case, I was advised that the approach in my case would definitely be a plea for a reduced or dismissed citation. After paying the fees, my case was handed off to a contracted attorney, not in the office of Troy Hendricks. That Attorney was Brandon Cline. I later found out that in the contract the Client is advised that the hiring Attorney can use a Contract Attorney, but this was all after I had paid. Mr. Cline made no effort to contact me and discuss my case before the 1st court date. Without 24 hour notice, Mr. Cline reset my 1st court date, causing me to waste time driving in from out of town and going to court. After not hearing from him for two more weeks, I contacted him to inquire as to what his approach was going to be in handling my case. He immediately said he would plead "no contest" with no points and a reduced fine. I advised him that I didn't need an attorney for a "nolo" plea and a "Nolo" would not keep the citation from being reported. I told him that the Office of Troy Hendrick advised me that a plea negotiation of a reduced or dismissed citation was the approach to be taken. He advised he would try. On the day of court, Mr. Cline runs in a couple of minutes before court starts, goes to the Prosecutor, talks for 15 to 20 seconds and then tells me he needs to see me outside. He tells me that I can get a "nolo", no points and a reduced fine. I told him I had already advised him that I did not need an Attorney for a Nolo. He said that the Prosecutor would not reduce or dismiss the citation. At this point, I felt betrayed and didn't have a lot of options other than to plead "not guilty", for which I was not prepared. He never advised me that I could have asked for a Continuance. After entering my plea and paying the fine, I approached the Prosecutor and asked had my attorney attempted to negotiate for a reduced or dismissed citation. She advised that Mr. Cline advised that I wanted to plea nolo. She went on to say that Clayton County does not reduce or dismiss citations. I contacted the Law offices of Troy Hendrick to notify them of my dissatisfaction. Attorney Henry initially tried to defend Mr. Cline. There was no defense! The bottom line is this: I clearly understand that plea negotiations are not guaranteed, but this attorney put in little or no effort, other than resetting the 1st court date and showing up to the 2nd Court date. I decided to file a Grievance with the Georgia Bar, not because of the case outcome, but because Mr. Cline failed to provide adequate Counsel. Many of the responses Mr. Cline provided to the Bar were untrue such as “he tried to call me”. I provided the Bar with AT&T call logs for my home and cell phones to prove he did not. Mr. Cline also told the Bar that he communicated with the Solicitor about my case via email. I was advised by that office that they found no communication concerning my case and not surprising to me, Mr. Cline did not provide any email(s) to the Bar to prove that he had attempted to negotiate on my behalf. The Bar did not sanction Mr. Cline because they did not think that I had enough proof to substantiate the sanction, but the hiring Attorney, The Law Office of Troy Hendrick, after reading my Grievance, decided to refund my fees, in full, and apologized for my trouble. I’m not sure why Mr. Cline decided to treat my case as an afterthought and not provide the services for which he was paid, but it is my hope that he realizes that not everyone will allow that type of behavior.