I had started using Bob Fruitman as my attorney & he was amazing. When he became sick he told me that his son in law would help me & promised that I would be in good hands. Well Mr Thomas did not live up to the standards of Mr Fruitman. I had several people that I recommended to him nearly lose their cases because of Mr Thomas. He missed court dates, nearly caused those I recommended to him to lose custody of their children, divorces & one of my friends lost everything & is now homeless! I would NOT recommend Mr Thomas for anything!!!

Due to my experience and if I would have known what I know now, I would never have hired Rich Thomas.

I am at the end of my case and scrambling to find another attorney in desperation because he was non-communicative and in my case, misleading and deceptive. See my name? Look up my divorce case and view how lop-sided it is or is about to be.

I only wish I had seen a review first so I would have known that the risk of hiring him is not worth it, as I have spoken to others AFTER the fact and found this to be the same.

At the minimum, if I had represented myself, I would have asked for half of the community property which by California's standards, I most likely would have received. Even this was not done for me. Who gives away their stuff unless they are told by someone they should trust that they can't have it? This is only ONE issue I have had.

Oh there is so much more in hindsight. I have to accept that I was only valued at a measly $2500.00 fee, avoidance, and bold lies to my face. It's only business. Just so that I don't sound too low on life, I will chin up and use my only inspirational thought of good in my experience; that it's one of those life lessons you must learn but unfortunately it's not something you can change unless you knew or had a hint ahead of time, thus the sole purpose of my review on Rich Thomas according to my experience.

When I found myself in an emotional situation and under duress to do things I don't agree with and somehow feel is not or was not right, this isn't the person I would go to or trust with my life to protect me, my interests, or my rights, in accordance to my experience.

My experience does not come down to me not asking enough questions because I have plenty of e-mails/documentation supporting that I indeed did ask. My experience comes down to the fact that I did not represent myself or have knowledge of others credible experience at hand.

If you do a job well, you are either complimented or safe to assume you did it 'good enough'. If you do a job poorly or so bad that there is an insurmountable amount of damage, you will get bad reviews. I obviously had a very hard time and am very disappointed and undoubtedly regret hiring him.

My experience isn't just "Poor - Fair", it is Below Par. I hired an attorney to fight for my interests and at least do the bare minimum of what is expected through a divorce case. I had to ask for my own personal belongings in court at the final minute because he simply did not; and did not even allow me the courtesy of making me aware that I could ask. Just save your tears and your money and at least get a fair shake by doing it yourself if you can't afford to lose anything.

UPDATE: I tried to fire Rich Thomas due to his overwhelming lack of attention to my case and inability to cooperate. He would not return my paperwork which would allow me to fire him, showed up in court and handed the judge his paperwork stating he was releasing me as a client. What a slick move, but I'm sure he is used to it. I finally received my file after I had to fly back out to California because he did not give it to me when I asked for it. We won't go there as to what I found...yet. I may be one person he failed completely but, I doubt it.

I have noticed that on every attorney site, there is a bad review about this specific attorney in Yuba City. Then, there are always good reviews to try to counterbalance it. Sorry, but it proves nothing and not everyone is THAT stupid. If an attorney is not willing to do his ethical duty to one client, whose to say he will to all? This only shows most of us that this is simply an attorney that will pick and choose who he will fairly and ethical represent AFTER he takes your money. I think people need to know this.

Thank you.

After I hired the Fruitman Law Office last year for my divorce and child custody case, I later became a little unsure of the service I would receive because shortly thereafter the senior partner (Mr. Fruitman) passed away. While I had worked with both Mr. Fruitman and Mr. Thomas together on my case, I was still a little nervous. I have to say that Mr. Thomas did a great job handling my case (and others I have heard). It was a very difficult time for me and he kept me well informed and made me feel at ease. His staff was very personal, yet professional. I received the outcome that I had hoped for when I first hired the office. I will continue to recommend this office to my friends and family.