When I asked the OC Bar referral service for an attorney to guide me in administering a trust, they connected me to Suzanne Storm at Attlesey Storm LLP in Tustin. Suzanne—as well as her office team—did the job beautifully. Throughout the process, Suzanne remained mindful and sensitive to everyone affected by the situation. In my interactions with her, Suzanne proved herself to be a responsible, ethical lawyer who offered healthy, fair legal advice at reasonable expense. From the get-go, Suzanne stated she could do as much or as little as I wanted, letting me know what tasks I could do (like submitting files to county court, county agencies, etc.) to save the trust money. Suzanne kept track of the process, she cleared up some murky details that would never occur to me (like state tax obligations), and overall she offered measured support in making sure the trust was implemented properly. In stark comparison, I first contacted the attorney who drew up the trust for my parents: in one phone call he was impatient, condescending, and unprofessional as he made disparaging remarks about my siblings. Suzanne is a first-rate, highly professional attorney. On top of that she is very personable, which made a stressful process manageable.
Review Left On 02/28/2020
Eric W
I am an attorney, real estate developer and have various other businesses. We use Suzanne Storm for all our legal work except for the rare time when she will refer us to someone else when she does not consider herself an expert on a particular issue. We have retained Suzanne in many different matters both litigation, transactional and employee related over the last 5+ years. She is truly a gifted attorney and great person. She goes above and beyond for her clients with her dedication and hard work. I am very proud to say that we have NEVER lost a matter with Suzanne, and there have been some very difficult and complicated ones. She is not the kind that would “guarantee" us a success, but she goes above and beyond to make it happen. As I mentioned, I am an attorney myself, and I am not an easy client. I am very demanding and expect the very best. I am very happy to say that I consider Suzanne an attorney’s attorney - in other words, where attorneys go when they need help. I believe that is the best compliment I could give her. You should definitely take the time to meet with Suzanne and I am sure you will be convinced as well.
Review Left On 02/28/2020
Cheryl Sapienza
We hired Suzanne Shaw Storm to help my husband and I sell my business. Suzanne was great in guiding us through the transition, making it as easy as possible. We also are working with Suzanne for our living trust. Suzanne has structured our estate planning with sensitivity and the highest level of professionalism. We highly recommend Suzanne as your attorney.
As the owner of a construction company, I have utilized the counsel of Suzanne Storm on a number of occasions for all sorts of matters. Her expertise has been invaluable and she's never disappointed. I highly recommend her and the firm.
Review Left On 02/28/2020
J Jones
I had no complaints with the handling of my account. The firm handled everything for me with great professionalism. I would highly recommend them.
Review Left On 05/28/2019
Gloria Keating
I want to thank Mr. John Ward for the excellent work he did as my attorney. Plus, I really appreciate his prompt responses and attention to detail in handling my case. Due to Mr. Ward's diligence and expertise my case was handled quickly, without a court trial and still had a favorable outcome.
I cannot thank you enough Mr. Ward for your assistance on my behalf. Your legal expertise and professionalism went above and beyond my expectations throughout the course of my case. You are by far the best Lawyer in your field. If anyone is in need of an excellent lawyer; Mr. Ward is your best bet.
Review Left On 03/28/2019
Jessica P
If I could write a 0/5 stars, I would. please see the other yelp reviews that are 1/5 as well. The 5/5 starts are from friends, business partners and affiliates of the company. Do not hire any of these attorneys. They will double and triple bill you for little to no work. They will then betray you, humiliate you and drag out your case for more money. before they harm your chance for successful lawsuit resolution. They will also tell you they wouldn't take your case if they thought you would lose...then- they will go out of their way to make you feel bad when you ask about the billing and documentation that they billed you for. DO NOT USE THIS LAW FIRM. They are unethical, dishonest and will harm your case.
Review Left On 02/28/2018
Jim Comoe
I own an investment property 50/50 with a partner who used to be my handyman, consisting of a Victorian house, and 7 rental units. I put all the down payment, and my partner moved into the house. The deal was he would fix up the property at no cost to me, and I would pay for the material.
At first everything was fine, until he stopped supplying accounting statements and the tenant/rental info. He fixed up the inside of the 6 bdrm / 4 bath house he was living in, and did very little to the units in back. He rented them to family members at way below market rates, and later let the yard and property fall into disrepair. He stopped paying his $400.00 rent, and after several years of trying to get him to comply, he started hiding from me, so I hired Suzanne Storm from the law firm of Attlesey/Storm LLP. She told me she had a lot of experience in real estate matters and partnerships, and did all the paperwork and filings, and prepared the case for trial, which began a year later.
On the day of trial, the opposing attorney offered to settle. As much evidence as we had, Suzanne pushed me to settle as well, and warned that trial could take three days. The opposing attorney was very difficult to work with, and came up with all sorts of crazy reasons why my partner did the things he did. He also made false allegations against me, so she thought it was best to settle, which would save me money in fees.
She stated we would settle under the condition that each partner would get a professional appraisal of the property within 30 days, and present it to each other. If a purchase amount could be agreed upon, he would purchase my 50% share. If we could not agree to an amount, then the two original appraisers would recommend a third appraiser, and we would be bound by this appraiser's value, whatever he came up with. Furthermore, he would have 90 days to secure financing, and another 60 days to close. If he could not get financing, we would list the property for sale. Additionally, my partner would provide monthly accounting, and bank statements, clean up the yard, and maintain the property. Within 30 days I had my appraisal, but he did not. I granted him another two weeks as he requested, but he did not meet that date as well.
In the meantime, he had my appraisal, which he claimed represented a value that was too high. I suggested we put the property on the market at my appraiser's value and see what happens, but he declined. In the meantime, two months passed with no progress, so I called Suzanne, and advised her he was not complying with the Settlement Agreement, and suggested we go back to court and advise the Judge. Also, I had not received any accounting or bank statements, and mentioned the property was still in the same poor condition. I then looked up my case online, and it showed settled, with no further court dates scheduled. I was shocked, since it was my opinion it was still an active case, and now I found myself with no recourse to force my partner to comply. Suzanne put another attorney in her office on my case, and after I stated I didn't want someone else working on it, and mentioned I felt no closer in resolving this matter, then I did when I started the lawsuit, she got offended, and quit on me. The thing is I was only being honest, I didn't mean to upset her. In addition, my legal bill was almost $60,000.00, and now I was required to hire another attorney, or proceed by myself. She ended up calling a courier to deliver my documents, and we set up a payment plan to pay the balance owed to her.
So, here I am, proceeding by myself to get my partner to comply, without her help. After all this money spent, I can't afford to hire another attorney, and now I don't know what to do. Plus, there's the issue of getting someone to learn and become familiar with my case. I'm wondering now if I should have gone to trial like my instinct originally told me.
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As I mentioned, I am an attorney myself, and I am not an easy client. I am very demanding and expect the very best. I am very happy to say that I consider Suzanne an attorney’s attorney - in other words, where attorneys go when they need help. I believe that is the best compliment I could give her. You should definitely take the time to meet with Suzanne and I am sure you will be convinced as well.
We highly recommend Suzanne as your attorney.
I cannot thank you enough Mr. Ward for your assistance on my behalf. Your legal expertise and professionalism went above and beyond my expectations throughout the course of my case. You are by far the best Lawyer in your field. If anyone is in need of an excellent lawyer; Mr. Ward is your best bet.
At first everything was fine, until he stopped supplying accounting statements and the tenant/rental info. He fixed up the inside of the 6 bdrm / 4 bath house he was living in, and did very little to the units in back. He rented them to family members at way below market rates, and later let the yard and property fall into disrepair. He stopped paying his $400.00 rent, and after several years of trying to get him to comply, he started hiding from me, so I hired Suzanne Storm from the law firm of Attlesey/Storm LLP. She told me she had a lot of experience in real estate matters and partnerships, and did all the paperwork and filings, and prepared the case for trial, which began a year later.
On the day of trial, the opposing attorney offered to settle. As much evidence as we had, Suzanne pushed me to settle as well, and warned that trial could take three days. The opposing attorney was very difficult to work with, and came up with all sorts of crazy reasons why my partner did the things he did. He also made false allegations against me, so she thought it was best to settle, which would save me money in fees.
She stated we would settle under the condition that each partner would get a professional appraisal of the property within 30 days, and present it to each other. If a purchase amount could be agreed upon, he would purchase my 50% share. If we could not agree to an amount, then the two original appraisers would recommend a third appraiser, and we would be bound by this appraiser's value, whatever he came up with. Furthermore, he would have 90 days to secure financing, and another 60 days to close. If he could not get financing, we would list the property for sale. Additionally, my partner would provide monthly accounting, and bank statements, clean up the yard, and maintain the property. Within 30 days I had my appraisal, but he did not. I granted him another two weeks as he requested, but he did not meet that date as well.
In the meantime, he had my appraisal, which he claimed represented a value that was too high. I suggested we put the property on the market at my appraiser's value and see what happens, but he declined. In the meantime, two months passed with no progress, so I called Suzanne, and advised her he was not complying with the Settlement Agreement, and suggested we go back to court and advise the Judge. Also, I had not received any accounting or bank statements, and mentioned the property was still in the same poor condition. I then looked up my case online, and it showed settled, with no further court dates scheduled. I was shocked, since it was my opinion it was still an active case, and now I found myself with no recourse to force my partner to comply. Suzanne put another attorney in her office on my case, and after I stated I didn't want someone else working on it, and mentioned I felt no closer in resolving this matter, then I did when I started the lawsuit, she got offended, and quit on me. The thing is I was only being honest, I didn't mean to upset her. In addition, my legal bill was almost $60,000.00, and now I was required to hire another attorney, or proceed by myself. She ended up calling a courier to deliver my documents, and we set up a payment plan to pay the balance owed to her.
So, here I am, proceeding by myself to get my partner to comply, without her help. After all this money spent, I can't afford to hire another attorney, and now I don't know what to do. Plus, there's the issue of getting someone to learn and become familiar with my case. I'm wondering now if I should have gone to trial like my instinct originally told me.