Strip, Hoppers, Leithart, McGrath & Terlecky Co., LPA

Review of [Attorney Chad Fossit] I am writing this review to express my deep dissatisfaction with the unethical billing practices allowed by this firm. My initial contact with this firm was a different attorney who had confidence that Attorney Chad Fossit was the best for Probate issues, such as removing a guardian. My experience with attorney Chad was extremely disappointing due to the following issues: 1.Deceptive Billing: Billed for time and services rendered prior to the receipt of the Engagement Letter. There was no consultation fee. This is highly unethical, as no formal agreement was in place at the time these charges were incurred. 2.Delayed Invoicing: All Invoices were sent via unregistered U.S. Mail to Virginia in 2/3 month increments, making it difficult to track and verify the charges in a timely manner. This was very deceptive since “ALL” other communications were via email. It represents a direct violation of the Engagement letter and raises serious concerns about the firm’s unethical billing practices. 3.Failure to Perform Services: During our last conversation in Sept 2023; when ask why there were no filings with Probate court concerning removal of the guardian, which happen to be the heading on each statement and only subject of the agreement, Attorney Chad stated he felt “We” should concentrate on the Visitation schedule being resolved, instead of the main purpose of the engagement contract. The visitation schedule was a “dead horse” and as of this writing has yet to be finalized by Probate court! We disagreed on several responsibilities he felt were mine, that was clearly his job, so we parted ways. 4. Billing Errors: On multiple occasions, I noticed that other clients’ billing charges were included on my invoice. After bringing this discovery to the firm’s attention Sept 2023 , I was begrudgingly issue (1 “courtesy”) refund, (although there was a second instance) Attorney Genshaft assured me future invoices would be sent by would be email…. I received the refund invoice by regular U.S. mail January 2024! Another invoice dated 02/22/2024 -Removal of Guardian received by regular U.S. mail to Virginia May 2024! (Is it possible Attorney Chad works from home) 5. Non-Existent Phone Conversations: Billed for phone conversations that never took place. This practice is unacceptable and further eroded my trust in the attorney’s integrity. 6. Block Billing: Billed for several distinct task as a single entry without specifying the time devoted to each service. They were all “lumped” together as one line item! Several tasks were unauthorized! 7. Organizational Disarray: The attorney was unable to locate any evidence of my retainer fee payment, (which was made on the same day the agreement returned), for a period of nearly ten days. Despite this, the attorney billed me for services rendered during that time. Additionally, the law firm, including its accounting department (according to the attorney), required my assistance in providing the receipt, as they were unable to locate the receipt emailed to me by the accounting department! 8. Unprofessional Conversation: Non-stop talking about himself, his family, his daughter and his client…. To the point that he gives all his clients (with laughter) cartoon name! On several occasion, I had to loudly clear my throat to get his attention and back on the subject. Overall, my experience with Attorney Chad has been marred by these unethical billing practices, wrong appt. dates, mis-spellings of names, (even.. one attorney mis-spelled the other attorney’s name in an email!). It appears Attorney Chad’s "main" purpose was to ensure the Retainer$$$ were retained. I strongly advise potential clients to exercise caution and thoroughly review all invoices if they choose to work with this attorney. I stand by this review, because i am the voice for my mom, stuck in Probate court under protest!

Never have I met a man who loves the sound of his voice more than Attorney Chad A. Foisset. When my divorce was finalized, I was happier to be done with the lawyer than the husband. I have never felt so disregarded and unimportant as someone’s “client” until working with Chad. The first time I met Chad, it was over the phone as he gave me instructions on how to park. I interjected several times and told him that I would not be driving, as I did not have a car and would be walking. He continued to give me parking directions, then invoiced me for the time he spent talking over me. This was a common theme throughout the months I worked with Chad; I knew more about his personal life than he did mine because he would not shut up about himself and did not mind talking over me. I told him several times that I was concerned for my safety (as I was leaving an abusive situation). Weeks later, when I brought this issue up again, he said that I should have told him sooner that I had safety concerns because “things like that are important” for him to know. He also misspelled/misremembered my last name “Lee” as “Ling” on one of the documents and I had to correct this mistake. It felt surreal having to correct my lawyer (whom I had already paid thousands of dollars to) who did not care enough to know my name on a legal document. I was led to believe that Chad was my best option because he was referred to me through my company’s employee benefits and therefore received a referral discount. I paid the retainer deposit and worked with him to fill out my side of the paperwork. He then ghosted me for about 10 weeks, during which I left several voicemails and emails asking him to get back to me. He did not respond to me until I asked his firm to transfer my case to a different attorney. When he did respond, he was “sincerely” apologetic and admitted that his actions caused my case to be delayed. (I was forced to continue working with him until my divorce was finalized because there was no other attorney who practiced family law at his firm.) If I could go back in time, I would definitely go with other attorneys/resources. Chad added so much unnecessary stress to an already extremely stressful situation. I felt so dehumanized and disregarded working with him. Every conversation was him talking at me about his previous/other cases, his personal life, his experiences, how lucky I am to work with such an experienced attorney, etc., then invoicing me for the 40 minutes he spent blabbering. Especially if you’re a woman, I advise against working with Chad, as he will not take your safety, your case, or you as a client seriously.

Had the pleasure to have Ken Goldberg as my attorney this past 6 months. He was very professional, thorough and lestioned to all my concerns during court. He brought light to a very difficult time for my family. Kens organization and communication in the court was a A+. Highly recommend if your looking for a straightforward and honest attorney.

A.C. Stripp is the man.

Mr Strip is a great man and a great steward. My family is lucky to have him taking care of our future.

Very professional, in a great part of town.

Lawyer A.C takes care of business. I know I'm in good hands!

Very knowledgeable and versatile attorneys. I am so grateful to have this firm, they have helped me through frivolous cases to life changing ones.

We have used Strip Hoppers repeatedly over the past 15 years, both for personal and business reasons. They are always professional, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. It's great to know they have your back. We would recommend Strip Hoppers with no hesitation.

Although I found my lawyer to be fantastic and did a good job representing me, it became apparent as the case wound down that a Senior partner was intervening in order to protect a friendship over having justice administered.