I do not recommend using Mr. Holmes for any legal service, and I strongly encourage you to hit the eject button if you’ve retained Mr. Holmes for arbitration. He is prone to misconduct and seems to view himself above the law.
As you may know, James Holmes was the face of misconduct in the Georgia family law community several years ago after he was blasted by the local news media for charging a male client over $100k as the Guardian ad Litem. While Mr. Holmes thought he would get away with charging a $100k Guardian ad Litem fee to a wealthy doctor, the rest of Georgia thought differently and Mr. Holmes reduced his fee following the public scrutiny. If the fee was appropriate then why did he reduce it?
I was unaware of Mr. Holmes history of misconduct when I regrettably agreed to hire him as the arbitrator for my modification case. While serving as arbitrator, Mr. Holmes demonstrated a total lack of understanding and concern for the law. Here are some examples.
My attorney failed to appear at a arbitration hearing and Mr. Holmes denied my request for a continuance from all hearings without my counsel present. Instead, he ordered me to proceed without counsel and to pay several thousand dollars to him for his time at the hearing. Mr. Holmes subsequently refused to release my final order until I paid him.
Mr. Holmes was guilty of misconduct in ordering me to appear pro se at the hearings because all parties have an absolute right to counsel at all arbitration hearings in Georgia. He is aware of this law and knows he violated it but he is unwilling to reimburse me. This speaks volumes about his ethics and concern for the law.
By way of another example, it has come to light that Mr. Holmes opened my case file alone in his office and reviewed a letter from my prior attorney to me during the pendency of my case. This came to light as a result of a recent bar grievance against my former attorney before the State Bar of Georgia. When I asked Mr. Holmes why he opened my case file, he was predictably evasive. Mr. Holmes chose not to disclose this misconduct to my new attoney and failed to withdraw from my case.
Additionally, Mr. Holmes failed to address the matter of child support submitted to him because he claimed to not have enough evidence to make a decision — arbitrator’s are given great latitude to exercise discovery so they can make a final and definite award on the subject matter submitted to them. Unfortunately, Mr. Holmes chose to punt the issue instead of gathering the information he claimed to need — he had completed DRFAs, resumes, paystubs and testimony. I now have to pay additional money to resolve this matter because he chose not to make the effort.
Finally, at the end of my binding arbitration, Mr. Holmes handed a personal hand written note to opposing counsel with instructions to deliver the letter to a partner in her firm. Apparently, Mr. Holmes sends crude jokes to this partner via hand written letters as a running gag. Could you imagine similar conduct from a judge acting as an independent trier of fact? Total lack of professionalism.
If you have a strong case and the matters are important to you then use an ethical arbitrator who focuses on the law and not the money.
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As you may know, James Holmes was the face of misconduct in the Georgia family law community several years ago after he was blasted by the local news media for charging a male client over $100k as the Guardian ad Litem. While Mr. Holmes thought he would get away with charging a $100k Guardian ad Litem fee to a wealthy doctor, the rest of Georgia thought differently and Mr. Holmes reduced his fee following the public scrutiny. If the fee was appropriate then why did he reduce it?
I was unaware of Mr. Holmes history of misconduct when I regrettably agreed to hire him as the arbitrator for my modification case. While serving as arbitrator, Mr. Holmes demonstrated a total lack of understanding and concern for the law. Here are some examples.
My attorney failed to appear at a arbitration hearing and Mr. Holmes denied my request for a continuance from all hearings without my counsel present. Instead, he ordered me to proceed without counsel and to pay several thousand dollars to him for his time at the hearing. Mr. Holmes subsequently refused to release my final order until I paid him.
Mr. Holmes was guilty of misconduct in ordering me to appear pro se at the hearings because all parties have an absolute right to counsel at all arbitration hearings in Georgia. He is aware of this law and knows he violated it but he is unwilling to reimburse me. This speaks volumes about his ethics and concern for the law.
By way of another example, it has come to light that Mr. Holmes opened my case file alone in his office and reviewed a letter from my prior attorney to me during the pendency of my case. This came to light as a result of a recent bar grievance against my former attorney before the State Bar of Georgia. When I asked Mr. Holmes why he opened my case file, he was predictably evasive. Mr. Holmes chose not to disclose this misconduct to my new attoney and failed to withdraw from my case.
Additionally, Mr. Holmes failed to address the matter of child support submitted to him because he claimed to not have enough evidence to make a decision — arbitrator’s are given great latitude to exercise discovery so they can make a final and definite award on the subject matter submitted to them. Unfortunately, Mr. Holmes chose to punt the issue instead of gathering the information he claimed to need — he had completed DRFAs, resumes, paystubs and testimony. I now have to pay additional money to resolve this matter because he chose not to make the effort.
Finally, at the end of my binding arbitration, Mr. Holmes handed a personal hand written note to opposing counsel with instructions to deliver the letter to a partner in her firm. Apparently, Mr. Holmes sends crude jokes to this partner via hand written letters as a running gag. Could you imagine similar conduct from a judge acting as an independent trier of fact? Total lack of professionalism.
If you have a strong case and the matters are important to you then use an ethical arbitrator who focuses on the law and not the money.