Stephen Ruben

"Worked hard my whole life and put enough money away to buy a house in SF. Made enough to pay the mortgage. Got married, the marriage went South, big time. Despite having a flawless record as a father, provider, employee, my ex had a ruthless attorney....I had Stephen Ruben, incompetent, dishonest, banned from practicing in another state. He lost EVERYTHING. My house, my 401K, my child for two years, (I prevailed in the end with A DIFFERENT ATTORNEY. Mistakes, lies, errors of judgement, (professional and personal), are the best way to describe this man. So, this guy was BANNED FROM PRACTICING LAW IN ILLINOIS, sanctioned by the Illinois Bar. Yet he didn't tell me this, nor any of the many clients he had that I've spoken with who are now banding together to try and get sanctions brought against him here in CA. (Above facts regarding Illinois verified by YELP) To me he lied throughout, charged me well over what he said he would and in the end, told me I can't afford him, (after costing me over one hundred thousand dollars). He did nothing, but muck up my case; from the aforementioned misrepresentations, to telling me he was great friends with the commissioner/judge, to not having the documents my ex was served with signed by the courts, to promises regarding 'what was happening next'. ("Don't worry, you'll never have to sell your SF home and your son will be coming back to you"). Corrupt, incompetent, dishonest and this was MY personal experience. There are many, many others I will put you in touch with who have contacted me regarding similar. Contact me if you wish. He had me pay maximum alimony despite a prenuptial stating 'no alimony'. His logic, "It will look good to the Courts when it comes time to judge". Not the case at all. In fact, it set the judge's mind that the max was appropriate. He had me pay a large portion of my spouses attorney fees, again saying his will look good. He regularly asked me to send him emails with what I was thinking about regarding the case; asking for any additional insights I may have. He did nothing with any of this information, instead billing me for reading the emails. He asked my to lunch more than once, then billed me for consultation. Further, his own ex-employees, (a para legal and his IT resource), contacted me separately about his transgressions and or treatment of them. How can I say this? Run away from this guy, (and if you've already been wronged by this individual, contact me and I can put you in touch with others seeking compensation. Other: Regularly recommending that I send him 'everything' I was thinking about, then billing me an exorbitant rate for reading emails, (which were never used in any strategy or court action). Asking me to lunch several times, then billing me for the time spent, (even if I paid)."

Jeff H.

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"This man preys upon us at our most vulnerable time to enflame both parties, the result of which is less harmony and more money in his pocket. He also does a terrible job of explaining the reasons for, and the ramifications of, his decisions. He gives preferential treatment to those who are the huge-money items, where he's undoubtedly led parties into trial, and will not respond and keep delaying and canceling meetings if you're not in the top 5% of where his money comes from. After many calm complaints of feeling neglected, I got a letter saying he was releasing me as a client--20K later--and I am a teacher! Luckily, I found another level-headed attorney who worked diligently and with my pocket book and emotional health in mind to strike a good deal with my ex-wife, with whom I am now on much better terms (we have two children, and Ruben never thought about how his tactics might effect their lives). Overall, Ruben's whole ethos is animosity-animosity-animosity and money=money-money. Don't be fooled like I was by the great view from his office and slick talk. Buyer be seriously aware!"

Scott L.

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