Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant, LLP - Denton, TX

I hired Colby for what should have been a straightforward child support modification case. From early on, communication with his office was a problem. His paralegal was not aware of the current child support net resources cap that Texas had recently raised, despite that figure being central to my case. She also called me repeatedly regarding routine matters, even after I gave clear written instructions in email that I preferred communication in writing due to my work schedule. In addition to these calls, the firm scheduled multiple intrafirm conferences, each of which generated additional billable time. Colby told me that opposing counsel was unwilling to negotiate or engage in settlement discussions throughout this process. Despite this, I was billed over $7,000 in under four months, including time billed for researching mediation venues and identifying a potential mediator. Mediation never actually occurred — the case went straight to a preliminary hearing instead. The firm's communication practices also created unnecessary billing. It wasn't limited to discovery documents — even routine communications, such as requests for dates or questions relayed from opposing counsel, followed the same pattern. The paralegal would send a request and not wait for my response before following up with a phone call, and then again with a follow-up email — generating multiple separate billable communications for what should have been one exchange. On several occasions, I received three billable communications within a period of less than 16 hours, despite the firm being fully aware that I work shift work with long hours and had asked them, more than once, to reduce this pattern of communication. After I repeatedly asked the firm to stop over-communicating in this manner, Colby filed a motion to withdraw from my case, citing 'lack of communication' as the reason — this occurred a little over a month before my scheduled hearing date. After withdrawing, Colby refused to send me the settlement negotiation history or documents from opposing counsel, stating he had 30 days to transfer my file, which would place the transfer after my hearing date had already passed. As a result, I went to my hearing representing myself, without knowledge of any prior settlement discussions or offers. At the hearing, opposing counsel and I negotiated and reached an agreement within the first five minutes. During that conversation, she stated that she had never actually been presented with the settlement offer that Colby claimed he had extended to her on my behalf.