I feel a little awkward yelping about a lawyer, but this was by far one of the easiest, least…read morestressful legal interactions I have ever had, so I have to write a review. I've had to engage an attorney many times over the years for business issues, adoption and family law stuff, real estate, a nasty situation with my insurance company, and, of course, traffic court. It's always been super stressful because when a lawyer represents you, you have to trust them 100% with a situation that, if it goes wrong, has lasting negative implications for your real life. For the attorney, they go home at the end of the day and don't have to live with the outcome, but you know, you do. So there has to be a level of trust in both the lawyer as a person (are they good guy? Honorable? Dependable? Honest? Motivated to help you?). Their competence and skills in and outside of the courtroom also matter: Do they actually know this area of law? Are they good at lawyering? Can they make a compelling argument and win my case? Sam Kaufman exceeds expectations all of these areas. He's a genuinely good person who wants to help and embraces his role as an advocate for us ordinary peons who don't know anything about the court system and its complicated rules and procedures. Sam Kaufman explains everything in language you can understand and communicates regularly. His staff is very professional with regular updates, and he was always available personally over the phone or in his office if I didn't understand what was happening. When I had to make decisions, he clearly laid out the options, the pros and cons of each choice, as well as what the possible outcomes might look like (both logistically - e.g. would I need to show up in court? And also, legally - e.g. what would this mean for my case as a whole?). In terms of skills and competencies in the actual courtroom - he's top notch. Not only did he win my driving infraction case (and I might not have been 100% free of blame in this instance, if you know what I mean?), but he was able to do it without me having to testify or go to court. He's great a negotiating before the actual hearings and clearly has good professional relationships with the "other side" as well as the judges and their staff. He's well-liked and respected, even by the "other side" and that makes a huge difference in his ability to work out a solution that everyone finds agreeable. I am so impressed with this experience and though I hope to not need his services again, I'm glad I have a trustworthy option of who to call if I need help.

Went to Kaufman for my divorce; they met with me and assured they could help after the first…read moremeeting. Sent over the contract and I submitted my $5k retainer. After that, they asked me to come sign something--so I went to the office and the woman at the desk handed me a large, multi-page (~30 or so pages?) document and said to let them know if I have questions but to just sign it and that everyone that works with them signs. No explantation. I looked it over and it was all of the reasons why they can't work with the judge that primarily handles divorces in Key West and me signing was basically me stating that I didn't want to work with that judge. I was surprised and had some questions, so I asked to speak to Rachel Moss, the attorney I had initially spoke with; she came down the stairs partially just so that she could see me, let me know that she was very busy but what did I need...I let her know I had some questions, like why they can't work with that judge. She was very dismissive and said that it's all in there and that I just needed to sign it if I was going to work with them and again pressured me by saying everyone signs it. I felt intimidated and out of my expertise and signed it...but then I left and did some research. I found out that the other judge that my divorce would likely be handled by did not generally do divorces/family law. I brought my concerns up to the firm and was basically told well that's how we do things--so I asked for my retainer back and we'd part ways. They refused. I had to reach out to them and tell them how dishonest I felt this practice was, to take my money without even disclosing the fact that they don't like working with any judge, let alone the judge that handles the majority of family law cases in Key West. Basically, they offered me $1k back if I signed another document and walked away. I refused so I could speak out about this and not be concerned about them coming after me legally for voicing my experience with this firm. My advice is to AVOID KAUFMAN LAW FIRM.