Annette seemed to be on the same page as me when I hired her but I soon found out wrong. She wouldn't file motions when I asked her to. The other side would file a motion but rather then her file one as well so we could go to court just once for everything, she would go to court fight that motion and then wait several months and then file another motion. All the while costing me money. My ex wasn't complying with the court order but rather than filing a motion to compel she just told me to keep letting it happen and we would bring it up at our final divorce hearing. Well that never happened. I explained to her that I wanted to be as involved as I could be able to save on costs. During the initial consultation (which was suppose to be free but I was charged for) she said that was more than acceptable. After almost a year of me fighting with her about this she finally said that it was never acceptable and I should have never asked for it. Well after our divorce hearing that's when she told me about everything that she should have told me before that could have easily been corrected and could have helped me in the divorce. I moved during the waiting period but I asked her before and she said it was more than ok. Well after the divorce she told me it was a stupid move and it cost me a lot more than money. She doesn't tell you want you need to hear which doesn't help. I had to pay: * for therapists to be served that she failed to place on the witness list. * her $300 to make copies of papers mounting over $4,000 that I could have done myself. * I missed out on alimony because she failed to ask for it. * her to keep reviewing documents because she couldn't remember things. I had to explain things to her a half a dozen times in order for her to remember only part of the story. Even in court she couldn't remember my children's names or ages; which looked really bad. * to meet with her to give her copies of the same papers because she kept misplacing hers * redo my answers to my ex's discovery request several times and then for her to go to court because his attorney filed a motion to compel (that was a $10,000 mistake! Ooops!) And if you're expecting a monthly bill you can forget about that. I kept asking her about it and she said we were good on money. Well that was all wrong. I paid her her initial $5,000 retainer. Then after 6 months paid her another $5,000. Well by that time my bill was all ready over $15,000. Then we went to our final hearing and she wrote an estimated $15,000 for everything only to find out her bill was well over $25,000. I asked her about this and she played it off. That all of her clients received bills like this because she waited six months before she sent anyone out a single one. But she wanted payment for all of it now. Well after I received her full bill (only after demanding it) I went through it and am fighting a good majority of the charges. She failed to file papers with the courts, she failed to reply back to opposing counsel to prevent you from going to court, she filed court papers late, she failed to ask for anything I wanted out of the divorce. She also failed to bring with several things to court which hurt me.
Let's just say she has no respect for how much you make or what she can do to help reduce your costs. You have to stay on top of her to make sure that she is doing what she is suppose to be doing. You also need to double check everything she files with the courts to make sure everything is listed and it's filed on time.
I could have probably done a better job by myself and just saved the money. I do not recommend her at all. I did to a friend several months after hiring her and this friend is also have a terrible time with her.
Law Firm Reviews
My ex wasn't complying with the court order but rather than filing a motion to compel she just told me to keep letting it happen and we would bring it up at our final divorce hearing. Well that never happened.
I explained to her that I wanted to be as involved as I could be able to save on costs. During the initial consultation (which was suppose to be free but I was charged for) she said that was more than acceptable. After almost a year of me fighting with her about this she finally said that it was never acceptable and I should have never asked for it. Well after our divorce hearing that's when she told me about everything that she should have told me before that could have easily been corrected and could have helped me in the divorce.
I moved during the waiting period but I asked her before and she said it was more than ok. Well after the divorce she told me it was a stupid move and it cost me a lot more than money. She doesn't tell you want you need to hear which doesn't help.
I had to pay:
* for therapists to be served that she failed to place on the witness list.
* her $300 to make copies of papers mounting over $4,000 that I could have done myself.
* I missed out on alimony because she failed to ask for it.
* her to keep reviewing documents because she couldn't remember things. I had to explain things to her a half a dozen times in order for her to remember only part of the story. Even in court she couldn't remember my children's names or ages; which looked really bad.
* to meet with her to give her copies of the same papers because she kept misplacing hers
* redo my answers to my ex's discovery request several times and then for her to go to court because his attorney filed a motion to compel (that was a $10,000 mistake! Ooops!)
And if you're expecting a monthly bill you can forget about that. I kept asking her about it and she said we were good on money. Well that was all wrong. I paid her her initial $5,000 retainer. Then after 6 months paid her another $5,000. Well by that time my bill was all ready over $15,000. Then we went to our final hearing and she wrote an estimated $15,000 for everything only to find out her bill was well over $25,000. I asked her about this and she played it off. That all of her clients received bills like this because she waited six months before she sent anyone out a single one. But she wanted payment for all of it now. Well after I received her full bill (only after demanding it) I went through it and am fighting a good majority of the charges.
She failed to file papers with the courts, she failed to reply back to opposing counsel to prevent you from going to court, she filed court papers late, she failed to ask for anything I wanted out of the divorce. She also failed to bring with several things to court which hurt me.
Let's just say she has no respect for how much you make or what she can do to help reduce your costs. You have to stay on top of her to make sure that she is doing what she is suppose to be doing. You also need to double check everything she files with the courts to make sure everything is listed and it's filed on time.
I could have probably done a better job by myself and just saved the money. I do not recommend her at all. I did to a friend several months after hiring her and this friend is also have a terrible time with her.