I made the unfortunate mistake of hiring Kurt Scharfenberger earlier this year for an unlawful termination case against my previous employer. Before I actually signed the agreement; Kurt was super nice, informative, and seemed to know what he was talking about. We met one day and after hearing my story he agreed to take on my case and represent me. After signing the agreement I didn’t hear from him for nearly two months. Only after taking the initiative to contact him did I actually get some info regarding the steps that had been taken in my case, and even then, the info provided was vague and Kurt didn’t seem interested in answering my questions. Instead of responding directly to a couple quick questions, he simply sent me a 35 page PDF file and suggested I read it. After doing so I still had questions and emailed him again to address. No response.
Fast-forward four months later, again with absolutely no contact, I suddenly get an email from Tarra, Kurt’s assistant, informing me when our deposition was scheduled. I was told to be in their office 30 mins prior to the deposition for preparation. Again, I asked several questions regarding the process. Answers were again vague and left me confused as to what to expect. About a month later, attorneys from my former employer requested the deposition date be moved, and I was contacted by Tarra to discuss possible reschedule dates. Six days were floated as a possibility, to which I told Tarra any one of those days would work for me, just let me know which day and I’d plan accordingly. Again, no response. Two more months pass with no communication and suddenly one day I get an email from Tarra confirming the rescheduled deposition for the FOLLOWING DAY. Less than 24 hours notice. Again, the instructions were for me to be there 30 mins prior for preparation.
Here’s where things took a turn for the absurd. I replied to Tarra’s email to inform her I was never given a final date for the deposition out of the six days that were originally pitched, and would attempt to rearrange my schedule for the following day to be able to make it. Shortly after I sent that message I got a reply from Kurt asserting a false claim that I supposedly knew when the deposition was scheduled, and if I had questions I should’ve contacted their office (ironic due to all the questions they failed to answer in the past). He also stated, despite knowing I was in the process of rearranging my schedule, that they would cancel the deposition and reschedule for a day when I was available. I replied to reiterate I did not know when the deposition was scheduled, as they never told me, and also requested that they NOT cancel it, as I was freeing up the day so I could make it. Kurt replied again and once again asserted the false claim that I supposedly knew when it was scheduled, and also stated that “per your request, the deposition for tomorrow has been cancelled.”
Understandably, this appalled me. I could sense something foul in the air at this point, as no one could possibly be this incompetent and stupid. Kurt, who was supposed to be my legal counsel in a very serious matter, treated my case as an oversight. A case that I had been waiting for nine months to get the ball rolling on. I wrote him and his assistant a very stern response to what had transpired, once again firmly stating that I did not know when the deposition was scheduled, and this whole issue had been created by their failure to properly communicate with me. I also called attention to the fact that Kurt ignored a direct request from me to not cancel the deposition and did so anyway, further complicating my day as I then had to rearrange my busy schedule for the following day a second time. Kurt’s response was, and I quote verbatim: “Don’t send me e-mails like the one below. We can and will withdraw from the case. You were aware of the date and we expected you to be here. If you had any questions you should have called or e-mailed.” I replied again, stating for the final time that I did not know because they never told me, and the error was clearly on them. Next message I got was Kurt confirming they were withdrawing from my case. Nine months for nothing.
This is clearly what he wanted. From his first response to me about the deposition date I could sense an ulterior motive. His behavior that day was brash, unprofessional, immature, and unacceptable. He let one simple office error that they created completely wreck my entire case, despite my attempts to try to salvage the day by rearranging my schedule to make the deposition. They disrespected me and insulted my intelligence due to their own mistake and extremely poor communication, and in the process cost themselves thousands of dollars by dropping a solid case of unlawful termination. Yes, folks. This is the law office you are thinking about trusting your serious business with. If you have any doubts whatsoever about anything I’ve said regarding these people, feel free to contact me and I will gladly share the emails with you that I have saved. This is by far and away the most unprofessional experience I’ve ever had with any legal firm. At the end of that day I was flabbergasted at what I had experienced. I highly encourage you to reconsider your options before you make the mistake I made. Isn’t it ironic that not only are there absolutely zero Google reviews posted for Kurt, but every time I tried to publish this one it never appeared. Hence, the creation of this domain.
If you need one more example of why you should hire someone else, consider this: My new attorney examined Kurt’s case files and found that he hadn’t even prepared the lawsuit correctly. He was asking for things that aren’t even possible with this type of case and he also failed to pursue certain things that are standard in this situation, meaning by the end of it all I would’ve likely missed out on thousands. Just horrendous. Might explain why Kurt ran with the B.S. deposition discrepancy to get out of the case. Also, that bit about them requesting me to be at their office 30 mins prior to my deposition was also ridiculous. My new attorney informed me that is not nearly enough time to properly prepare a client for such a thing, as they take an entire day to do so. Sometimes two. Cases of this nature are often won and lost during the deposition. That’s how important it is. Kurt was only going to take 30 mins to prep me for something that goes on for hours and can make or break a case. Embarrassing and just not good business. Worst legal mistake I’ve ever made, but at least it paved the way to a good attorney and a much better situation for me.
My final take: STAY AWAY!
Good luck in your search.
