McKennon Law - Newport Beach, CA

I hired McKennon Law (ML) to represent me on an ERISA LTD case. I’m sixty-nine years-old and disabled. Following is a very short version of my experience with ML, which is backed by documentation. Unfortunately, Findlaw.com doesn’t allow numbers in their reviews, so my first review was removed. The attorneys who worked on my case, Joe Hoff and Zlatina Meier, seemed knowledgeable and competent, and we had an excellent rapport during the two plus years of litigation. The Judge ruled against us on all but one issue and awarded only thirty-one thousand dollars out of potentially three hundred-thousand dollars in unpaid benefits, PLUS accrued interest. There were a couple of things I think ML could have done better, for example there was an argument omitted on one issue, and another issue should have been a slam dunk but wasn’t communicated very well. In spite of basically losing, I still would have given them a four or five star rating for the work they did. That quickly changed when I saw the ridiculous fees they had deducted! My biggest complaint is that the Retainer Agreement did not reflect what I’d agreed to in our verbal fee negotiations! It was vague and deceptive, which seemed to be by design. My understanding was that I would pay them thirty percent of the award and reimburse them for expenses, and they would keep any attorney fees awarded, but the written Agreement ALSO gave them any interest awarded, which they never mentioned during the negotiations! The interest owed, after sixteen years, was likely to be more than the unpaid benefits in my claim! I would never have agreed to give them half of the proceeds IN ADDITION TO the thirty percent contingency fee! In their initial accounting after the Judgment, ML was planning to keep ninety-six percent of the Award, leaving me FOUR PERCENT. When I told Mr. McKennon that I was going to file a complaint with the CA Bar Association regarding the deceptive language and outrageous fees, he promptly decided NOT to deduct the interest. I also believe the expenses were inflated. For example, Ms. Meier had told me what my share of the mediation fee would be, but ML charged me nearly twice that, and refused to adjust it! Between what I paid and what the Judge awarded ML, they were reimbursed more than DOUBLE for their expenses, which they KEPT! The Judge awarded McKennon Law attorney fees at an outrageous hourly rate. The bottom line— McKennon Law’s proceeds from my lawsuit were more than a quarter of a million dollars, while mine were just over fifteen thousand! There was also an incident during mediation in which Mr. McKennon raised his voice in a phone conversation with me in a manner that I believe was threatening and unprofessional. If you decide to hire McKennon Law to represent you, I suggest that you conduct all fee negotiations in writing, so you have a record of what was said, and have another attorney look over the Retainer Agreement before you sign it. There are MANY five-star reviews for McKennon Law on the review sites, but I’m wondering whether they were written BEFORE those clients saw what they would receive after the fees had been deducted. When I told Mr. McKennon that I would be writing an honest review, he threatened me with legal action.

I hired McKennon Law (ML) to represent me on an ERISA LTD case. I’m sixty-nine years-old and disabled. Following is a very short version of my experience with ML, which is backed by documentation. Unfortunately, Findlaw.com doesn’t allow numbers in their reviews, so my first review was removed. The attorneys who worked on my case, Joe Hoff and Zlatina Meier, seemed knowledgeable and competent, and we had an excellent rapport during the two plus years of litigation. The Judge ruled against us on all but one issue and awarded only thirty-one thousand dollars out of potentially three hundred-thousand dollars in unpaid benefits, PLUS accrued interest. There were a couple of things I think ML could have done better, for example there was an argument omitted on one issue, and another issue should have been a slam dunk but wasn’t communicated very well. In spite of basically losing, I still would have given them a four or five star rating for the work they did. That quickly changed when I saw the ridiculous fees they had deducted! My biggest complaint is that the Retainer Agreement did not reflect what I’d agreed to in our verbal fee negotiations! It was vague and deceptive, which seemed to be by design. My understanding was that I would pay them thirty percent of the award and reimburse them for expenses, and they would keep any attorney fees awarded, but the written Agreement ALSO gave them any interest awarded, which they never mentioned during the negotiations! The interest owed, after sixteen years, was likely to be more than the unpaid benefits in my claim! I would never have agreed to give them half of the proceeds IN ADDITION TO the thirty percent contingency fee! In their initial accounting after the Judgment, ML was planning to keep ninety-six percent of the Award, leaving me FOUR PERCENT. When I told Mr. McKennon that I was going to file a complaint with the CA Bar Association regarding the deceptive language and outrageous fees, he promptly decided NOT to deduct the interest. I also believe the expenses were inflated. For example, Ms. Meier had told me what my share of the mediation fee would be, but ML charged me nearly twice that, and refused to adjust it! Between what I paid and what the Judge awarded ML, they were reimbursed more than DOUBLE for their expenses, which they KEPT! The Judge awarded McKennon Law attorney fees at an outrageous hourly rate. The bottom line— McKennon Law’s proceeds from my lawsuit were more than a quarter of a million dollars, while mine were just over fifteen thousand! There was also an incident during mediation in which Mr. McKennon raised his voice in a phone conversation with me in a manner that I believe was threatening and unprofessional. If you decide to hire McKennon Law to represent you, I suggest that you conduct all fee negotiations in writing, so you have a record of what was said, and have another attorney look over the Retainer Agreement before you sign it. There are MANY five-star reviews for McKennon Law on the review sites, but I’m wondering whether they were written BEFORE those clients saw what they would receive after the fees had been deducted. When I told Mr. McKennon that I would be writing an honest review, he threatened me with legal action.