unprepared most of the time very expensive for what you get…read more spend most time helping you adversaries

We are extremely disappointed with the representation we received from this law office. My…read moresignificant other is currently going through a difficult divorce and custody case. At first, everything seemed to be going smoothly with Peter assigned to the case. However, once things started to intensify, we were quickly made to feel like an afterthought. Despite being in a financially tight position, we trusted this firm--my S/O used his tax return and borrowed money from me to hire representation because the other party was constantly filing motions and avoiding mediation. When it came time for the temporary support hearing, Peter was unavailable due to a family emergency, and the attorney who filled in was completely unprepared. They failed to accurately present my S/O's income, failed to explain his parenting time, and failed to reference any of the documentation already submitted to the firm. Even worse, during that same hearing, we were advised to get a guardian ad litem and were then encouraged to drop the firm altogether in order to receive whatever was left of our retainer. The retainer was $5,000. In the end, they showed up to court twice, filed zero motions, and used every dollar--leaving us with no refund, no strategy, and a burdensome temporary support order to handle alone. We trusted them in good faith and ended up worse off than if we had filed everything ourselves with the help of the circuit clerk. This firm didn't just fail us--they left us more vulnerable than when we started.

I would give them NO stars if I could. RUN!! RUN -…read moreNothing accomplished in over a year and and I paid $21,7375. on this case. After I said no more $$ will be paid until I see some forward movement. He filed a motion to withdraw. SURPRISE - This was simple divorce case that was dragged on for months and months. The only thing accomplished was monthly billing. I saw no motivation to work in a timely manner... They sent out monthly bills and then hounded for payment. Several times I had to go back and correct the billing it was for someone else. All of my legal bills were for emails. Its highway robbery. Opposing counsel kept asking for documents that we provided. Mark never took a aggressive stance for us. Even when you ask them not to respond, they do so anyway and charge you. I had to call many times to get anything done.

RUN!! incompetence and I paid $20,000 on this case and got nothing. I would have been better off…read morerepresenting myself. he cheated and abused me and all i got was the automatic 20% on child support - I have 2 special needs kids and this lawyer could not get anything i needed - all she could do was send me a bill for emails. she even made a change behind my back in the papers after i left court to get my ex to pay court costs to her instead of to me. NOW - 3 1/2 years later i am getting an abusive collection notice from Wakenight. I paid $20,000 myself and she still billed him for another $5,000. I met with the lawyer ONE TIME the day of court. i have had litigation with the ex since then at a 1/4 of the bill and favorable outcome - however i can never go back to the divorce decree and get what i lost then. so it matters who you choose - Run away fast!

I hired Jeanine as a GAL for a custody case because my lawyers suggested her and told me the case…read morewould go much smoother having someone to adequately represent my daughters best interest. I sat down with her and explained the situation, gave her a retainer, and it then took over 3 months after being appointed GAL to have a private face to face conversation with her client, my daughter, and I had to ask for that to happen. She did no questioning or investigation into outside and neutral factors of my daughters life, such as school or doctors. Jeannine simply repeated what my daughters desires which were said in the presence of the opposing parent, or over the phone with her in the presence of the opposing parent. Rather than do her job and make a recommendation to the court in the child's best interest, she only repeated what she heard, which takes no work, what my daughter wanted in the presence of the other parent and never spoke to me again, but spoke to the opposing parent a number of times. I believe she was biased towards the other parent and the multiple charges for talking to the other parent and not me enforces my beliefs, unfortunately my daughter now has to deal with the problems resulting from Jeannine's poor work, especially waiting so long to talk to her minor client 1 on 1 allowing ample time for her to be manipulated by either parent. I would never recommend her to anyone.

I would look for another attorney! I used Thomas Grotta and Robert Engel during my divorce. Every…read morecase is different but they essentially gave everything away from the start. I go back to court constantly to get post decree matters resolved because of a poorly written marital settlement agreement. Do your research before getting divorced and if you start to not like how things are going in court..... get a second opinion. They are a very expensive firm and in retrospect I could have just given everything away myself and saved a ton of money.

Joel is very experienced in family law. He has worked on 2 cases for me and acheived the best…read morepossible outcome, especially when dealing with an ex that is hiding money to avoid parental responsibilities. He is not one of those lawyers that silence themselves to preserve legal friendships, rather he fought for my family and what was right. I'm confident that he was the right choice for my representation with the complicated twists that my case had! I would highly recommend Joel!

From the owner: Joel C. Zimmerman & Associates, Ltd. is a dependable Tinley Park, IL Divorce and Family Law Firm…read more We can help you work through difficult situations and guarantee we will work hard to win your case.

We used their services with wills and going through the probate process when family members passed…read more They were very helpful through the entire process during that difficult time for our family. Mr. Jahnke was our primary contact; him and his staff were very professional and friendly, and handled everything. Would definitely recommend their services.

Absolutely terrible…read more Never met our attorney before traffic court, he showed up minutes before we were called up, could not even get a 1 mph reduction, standard fine, traffic school etc Hiring him saved us nothing, just cost us in the long run with the fees Best part is we were promised he would file our traffic school paper work for us so we would not have to take another day of work to go back (court is right across the street from the office) When we went to drop it off at the office like he told us to, they told us no! They will NOT file it, they closed the case Save your money for your fine, because you will get no help here

I hated every minute of the time I spent working with this company. They were slow when time was of…read morethe essence, crushing our case from the start. Then they simply dragged their feet from there until I fired them.

While it is important to receive high quality legal services, which I did with this frim, it is…read morealso very important to have good customer relations and report with your lawyer. I worked with Adam Sault, I found him to be very professional, friendly and had a great sense of humor. It was a pleasure working with him.

Choosing Sterk Family law was THE WORST, most expensive decision I've ever made. I was…read moreconsistently double-billed for several attorneys reviewing the same email, over-billed for trial preparation, and billed for additional "drafting and working" on items never requested. I would never recommend Sterk Family Law.

Gwen and Shelby were amazing to help me finalize my divorce…read moreThey were referred to me byThomas GrottA who was retiring I highly recommend them