Tomassian, Throckmorton & Inouye LLP - Irvine, CA

Im writing this review as a warning to anyone thinking of hiring Serge Tomassian. I retained Serge’s firm to help me with a roof leak on our new home. I learned the hard way that he was the wrong attorney to work with and I paid a big price for the lesson. So now, here’s a list of things I learned while working with Serge. 1) Ask Serge how much he’s already billed you, before you even retain him. I know, seems like a silly question, but just ask. Right as you are about to sign the retainer agreement, ask Serge to send you how many billable hours he’s charged you before you’ve started working together. 2) Make it clear to Serge upfront that you will coordinate the scheduling of his vendors directly. Get the vendors contact information and you reach out to the vendors directly by phone. Even if the vendors don’t return your calls and call Serge instead of you, make it clear to Serge that vendors should only coordinate their scheduling with you, not him. Seems silly to even say, but I learned the hard way. 3) Ask Serge to not speak with vendors unless you are on the phone. Anything he has to say to a vendor should be easily said to you as well, right? Then, when you get your bill from him, see if there are any communications with vendors without your knowledge. 4) Don’t email Serge, only call. I personally prefer email over calling, but after getting my first invoice from Serge, I quickly learned why I should’ve never emailed Serge in the first place. 5) Get a notepad and write down every time you talk with Serge by phone, how long you talked and what it was about. When you get his invoice, you’re going to need this as a reference to compare all of his charges. 6) Listen to your gut when something doesn’t seem right. If Serge gets defensive and you aren’t getting clear answers, go with your gut and don’t hesitate. Good luck!