Brian Yusef Bernard - Austin, TX

It took me awhile in contemplation on whether or not I should write this review but seeing others' writing, I see that I owe it to myself and others to speak on Mr. Brian Bernard. I was first introduced to him by a good friend of mine who was actually upset with him that he had spent $500 on his daughter's behalf and received no service. He said he was upset with Mr. Bernard for not doing anything and he, his daughter, and his daughter's mother had reached out to him several times and Mr. Bernard became upset. They parted ways but I decided to give him a chance because I felt that any grievance over $500 is DEPLORABLE because I am a pre-law student and I understand that attorneys charge anywhere from $250 to $1000 an hour for their time. I talked this attorney for the first time last October and he was the cheapest attorney of them all. When I talked to him again this year, the price went up because I needed him to travel I was still good with it because it was 5k and it was cheap for what I needed him to do. He hastened me to get the money and said if you don't hurry, your parental rights will be terminated. Within two months, I had half of his money and a brand new apartment. I gave him the money, knowing he would not do any work without all of it. I made a good faith payment was what I called it. The first time I had ever heard him "bubbly", he called me and appointed me his paralegal. He said he would begin "making a file". For the next month, he had me collecting my own documents. The paralegal did nothing but sort them in an app. I accepted that because he didn't have to start at all ... I tried to get a loan for the rest of his money and got denied. The loan company stated I had "filed bankruptcy". A couple Fridays ago, I told Bernard how badly I wanted to get him his money but that it appeared that someone had filed bankruptcy in my name and that would prohibit me. I asked him to perform a nationwide search and told him I would pay him for his time. He obliged mentioning nothing of payment. He said he would do it the following Monday Monday morning rolled around and I woke up to a text, an email, and an app notification from his paralegal, demanding the rest of his money. I texted Bernard about it and he didn't respond. The week went by and I called his assistant to see what was up. I texted her on our group chat and also called his paralegal to no avail. Suddenly his assistant called me and apologized, stating that it was all a misunderstanding and the alerts take place every 2 weeks. She said Bernard could do my search for $750 as it would allow him 3 hours. He has 25 years of legal experience and I knew the search only takes minutes even for a beginner. It was a PRICE GAUGE. She assured me no more alerts would be made and we hung up. Funny thing is, I had never gotten the alerts in the MONTH I had worked with him. Not ONE...so if they were every two weeks, they would have alerted me at least once right? Plus, who charges someone almost A GRAND to perform a search when they are having issues getting the INITIAL money they owe to GET THEIR KID BACK. I asked for a refund last Saturday and havent gotten a single text, call, or email. I paid him $2000 to be his paralegal for a month and to be presented false hope that he was on my side. What do I think? Well, I think he is money hungry and unconcerned with your personal problems. I think he located the OC in this case and used the documents I collected for him to sell me out, making me think that ALL THE SUDDEN, he was willing to work for half the money, up front. I also think he tried to sucker the money he didn't get from my friend out of me....but who am I ... Just a paralegal in training, on the Dean's List in school, and a double major in Business.