Bowles & Verna LLP - Walnut Creek, CA

I am in Chicago, but I received a frivolous lawsuit from California because I shipped something there. I used google to find a California lawyer. I chose four law firms to check out. Two of them were very hard to get a hold of a person. I finally connected and found out they have no experience in dealing with this very common lawsuit. I called the third one and was told the lawyer is very busy and I should email- which I did. I asked a very basic question- would it help if I was willing to come to California and go to court? She said that by California state law she can not give any legal advice before I send her a $5,000 retainer. Wow. "The check is in the mail." On to the fourth law firm. Bowles & Verna. Someone actually answered the phone quickly! At this point, I probably needed a therapist in addition to a lawyer as I rambled on about how I have been in business for over 40 years and have never been sued and.... All the while, I heard the clicking of her key board as she was taking copious notes of everything I was saying. I actually felt better. Someone was listening! Within an hour, a lawyer, Cathleen Huang called me, even though it was after 5pm. She could tell from the notes that were sent her that I was upset and she wanted to get back to me as soon as possible. Besides being very knowledgable, she was a calming voice and let me know she understood how upsetting these situations can be and that she had the experience to handle it. Basically, a good human being- not a retainer getting machine. She told me about a retainer but was not pushy at all. We hung up. I thought about it for about 5 minutes, and called her back and asked where to sign. Within two days, she got the case dismissed. I own a company with over 100 employees that I built by being customer driven. Because of that, I know that my experience with Bowles & Verna was not just good luck. Someone hired and trained the person answering the phone, paid her to take notes, and immediately found the appropriate lawyer to quickly get back to me. They also hired Cathleen, as I am sure they recognized that she would take good care of their clients- like family. Their billing rates are also reasonable. I don't normally write reviews, but I am a big supporter of small business and recognize that finding a caring, responsive, competent law firm is not necessarily easy, especially if you are a small client. I hope this was helpful.