Goldman & Pease

I had a problem with my upstairs neighbor refusing to maintain her aging HVAC system, which was causing water damage to my unit. I hired Rebecca Erlichman and Howard Goldman of Goldman & Pease LLC to assist. The firm drafted several demand letters to my neighbor and the Trust’s lawyers and then filed a lawsuit against my neighbor and the Trust for breach of fiduciary duty. Ultimately, my neighbor replaced her HVAC system and the issue was settled out of court. I highly recommend Goldman & Pease for resolving condominium issues.

The absolute WORST lawyer, Howard Goldman. Over charged me for things he didn’t do. Then he pestered me for money when he wasn’t done with the job. He filed a claim against the estate. It seems to be his m o. He’s only only sees dollar signs. When I confronted him he spoke to me inappropriately (because I’m a female). Not a nice person. No integrity at all. Doesn’t have your best interest at hand, only his own. Don’t trust him with your affairs. He’s not trust worthy! He’s out to squeeze as much money out of you as possible. Even when he doesn’t do the work. Buyer beware!

I have questions about the integrity of this firm.
My mother had not paid her condo fees for several months on her Boston-​area condo. The condo building association had hired this firm after a few months to pester my mother for the fees and ultimately to file a case against her in court.
I learned about the situation then and got involved. I told them my mother was an old woman whose mind had deteriorated. They were asking for $ 3,758 in attorney’s fees. We ultimately settled the case for $ 2,000 in attorney’s fees.
The problem is that this firm’s actual legitimate costs were almost certainly a tiny fraction of even $ 2,000. They had sent my mother three letters, supposedly hired a professional to check whether the title of my mother’s property had changed, and filed a formal complaint in court.
The firm has a very active practice working for condo building associations seeking due condo fees. I see the letters they sent and they are very brief and basically standard letters they can use again and again. The work they claimed to do could probably have been done by a paralegal for $ 18/​hour and yet they charged $ 275/​hour.
They appear to ask for 2 hours of pay at $ 275/​hr. to create a letter that was about 150 words and looks to me probably took 5 minutes. I say appear because that charge for the letter was buried in a slew of other supposed services taking 4 hours.
The firm applies pressure on you by putting a lien on the condo. They say you have to pay them or they won’t release the lien and you won’t be able to sell the condo. Since a lack of money may have caused one’s failure to pay the condo fees, that could be a problem for you.
Someone should challenge this firm’s pressure tactics. Someone should bring this case to court and have the lawyers and other workers for this firm give testimony under oath about exactly how much time they take on these projects and who does the work — paralegals or attorneys.