Burg Criminal Defense

I am leaving this here for the next person who wants to hire this "credible firm" i fear that i have fallen into a scam or, at the very least, a highly disreputable operation. We initially discussed our case with Howard Stern of Stein Lotzkar & Starr PS, who appeared at one of the hearings in Issaquah and projected confidence and competence. Based on that interaction, we agreed to retain him and paid a flat fee of $4,000. Very shortly afterward, however, we were informed that he had retired and our matter was transferred to Jason Lantz of Burg & Lantz. At no point were we made aware that Burg & Lantz was a completely different firm. We only realized this later, when we attempted to raise concerns and make a complaint regarding the representation. Since then, the experience has been extremely troubling. Mr. Lantz has appeared unprepared, confused court dates, mixed up the defendant with the perpetrator and witnesses, and overall demonstrated what feels like negligence toward the case. Mr. Stern originally indicated that this matter was dismissible, yet it has now progressed to the trial stage. When we attempted to contact the firm directly, the receptionist was rude, dismissive, and ultimately hung up on us. The listed phone numbers for Burg & Lantz do not appear operational, and the online chat system seems entirely AI driven. At this point, I genuinely cannot tell whether this is a legitimate law firm. We have completely lost confidence in this representation and would like to know whether there is any way to annul or terminate the agreement we signed, recover our file, and seek proper legal representation elsewhere. We are deeply concerned about both our case and the manner in which it is being handled. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. On top of everything, when I called the first to express i was unhappy and stressed about the situation, the receptionist cut me off, told me I have absolutely no reason to be upset because this is standard procedure. They took my money, showed up to 3 court hearing on zoom that took (5-6) minutes and asked for 3 continuous untill the prosecutor said we need to go to trial. Then Jason Lantz dropped me as a client.