Messner Reeves LLP

Karla is one of the best people I've ever worked with. Total asset!

I had an absolutely terrible experience with attorney Brenda Bartels, and I can’t express how furious I am. I hired her for a simple letter, and what I got was a nightmare of hidden charges and outrageous fees. I was quoted one price, but I ended up paying three times that amount! They kept piling on charges for hours of “work” that I never agreed to, and it felt like I was being scammed. To make matters worse, I sold some equipment and desperately needed paperwork in a timely manner. Brenda and her team failed to deliver, leaving me in a bind. I had to scramble and use LegalZoom to get the paperwork myself, and guess what? They still charged me for services they didn’t provide! I repeatedly requested a full breakdown of my billing hours and payments, but my requests were completely ignored. Instead of getting any clarity, I received another bill threatening to send my account to collections. Unbelievable! This whole experience was infuriating, and I would strongly advise anyone considering her services to think twice. Save yourself the headache and find an attorney who values transparency and actually delivers on their promises. Brenda Bartels is not worth your time or money!

This firm has lawyers in different cities who join on under the Messner Reeves umbrella. Those lawyers turn in their charges to the billing department at the Messner Reeves headquarters in Denver which then sends bills to clients. My lawyer, through Messner Reeves, was Ms. Bartels in Colorado Springs. I would pay one of their/her bills only to have another pop up with charges dated before the bill I had paid -- in other words backdated. Dozens of backdated charges would pop up weeks and even months after I'd pay a bill the date of which was a later date than the new charges! It was total chaos. I complained to the billing department at Messner Reeves in Denver, and was told there had been other complaints and my complaint would be forwarded to the president. Never heard back, so I assumed they had erased the bill as the charges could not possibly be verified by the client. That was months ago. Today, two days before Christmas I received another Messner Reeves bill with many new charges added to the bill I complained about -- the new charges were backdated, by Ms. Bartels, to June!! It's an endless loop that appears to be some sort of a scam. There is no being paid in full as charges back in time can be created and billed to you months later. I changed lawyers months ago because the representation was ineffective. In one week, with a phone call, a letter and a meeting, my new lawyer got farther for a fraction of what Ms. Bartels billed me for over the course of months. Before changing lawyers, I would despair at how nothing was being done. Ms. Bartels even told me she didn't read my emails then billed me for reading my emails! I don't know how I'm going to get out of this endless billing loop. Steer clear of this law firm. The fact that they allow such chaotic billing for unverifiable charges indicates something is very, very wrong. (Btw, my new lawyer issues a straightforward bill each month that I can easily check with my records, and his firm NEVER back dates charges to slip in with later months' bills.)