I visited Christina McPherson once for my divorce. After collecting a $1000 retainer, she stopped returning my phone calls and never did any work on my case. She apparently closed her business to go back to school, but she did so with the help of my money. She was unprofessional and unethical in the extreme. I wrote her many emails, left many messages, and sent postal mail. She apparently is back in business, but a tiger doesn't change its stripes. If you have a choice, avoid this fraudster. (2021) Update in 2023: Per Ms. McPherson's request, I emailed her. She replied that she was ill and was not expected to survive; she did not contest the fact that she stole $1000 from me in 2004. She rejected my request to make good on her obligation. My previous review stands. read more

When life decides to throw you a curveball, you may find yourself in need of some legal help. My employer was served paperwork stating that my ex-wife was calling herself a creditor for student loans she had gotten before we were even married. She was holding me accountable for half of her student debt after we had agreed that she wasn't going to. Had levied my bank account and started garnishing my wages. Nowhere in the legal documentation was she ever named creditor of anything. I am frankly amazed this even made it through the courts. Decided I definitely needed to seek legal help. Found McPherson Law Group on yelp*. Did the consult and met with Amanda Martin. Communication is mainly through email which is convenient. She managed to build a solid argument that never needed mediation by a judge, other than his stamp of approval. The whole ordeal took 9 months. Whaddya gonna do? This was my first experience with a lawyer and I would say it went well. Any lawyer hopefully gets better with experience, and I would say Amanda did her homework on this one. I hope none of you ever need a lawyer, but if you do, give McPherson Law Group a call, or send them a message! read more

Amanda Martin has been such a big help to me through a very confusing and emotionally trying divorce. She fiercely protected my son and I and made sure our needs were covered. In addition to her excellent work, she carefully walked me thoroughly through the whole process. I didn't seek counsel until very late in the game and after the positive experience I had I sincerely wish I had contacted her sooner. I would have saved myself a lot of pain trying to navigate everything alone. I highly recommend Amanda Martin and McPherson Law Group to anyone seeking family law counsel. read more

As the Bay Area is rife with so many mom & pop chop shops and upstarts by supposed professionals that finagle a license out of a professional licensing board, I exercise extreme caution when hiring for ANY type of job nowadays. In fact, I've had incredibly poor luck with a range of business types within the Bay Area: everyone wants to charge an arm and a leg for slipshod work or jobs that lack the value and results I seek. My experience with McPherson Law Group has been honest, straightforward, and full of information I can use. Unlike other attorneys I've had the utmost displeasure of being scammed by, I consider this group subject matter experts in their practice areas. When my needs were not met by their practice, I was informed of that too, which enabled me to seek the additional services that I required. Lastly, I would like to thank them not only for being down to earth and lacking the pretentiousness of other attorneys, but also for not snowing me with high-flying industry speak, or worse, pontificating and whining at me about the series of events indicated by the case. If you want advice broken down into layman's terms, and grounded in reality, then by all means consider an initial consultation with this group and see if they can help. read more

Christina gets top marks across-the-board. She handled two matters for my family this year and did an excellent job on both. The first was an updated estate plan that included a new marriage and number of rental properties. Christina is very knowledgable about the process and highly organized. She walked us through each step, described in detail each decision we had to make, and then worked with us through the signing process. Christina is among the most organized people I've ever met. She arrived on signing day with a thick binder that was meticulously put together and marked for signatures and initials. Her attention to detail made this process easy. Christina also gets high marks on a custody case she handled for my sister this year. She has handled 100's of these cases and knows all of the ins-and-outs. On the one hand, she is calm, friendly, and personable. On the other hand, she is a zealous advocate for her clients and effectively stands up to the biggest bullies. Christina is highly responsive and engaged in her work. Responses are quick and we felt the personal touch and caring throughout the case. We were glad to have her in our corner. I highly recommend Christina in both the estate planning and family law arenas. read more

I just got off the phone with Christina of Christina McPherson Law Group and I'm just blown away with how helpful and easy to talk to she was. She's not only very knowledgeable but also caring and emotionally supportive. Just the kind of person you want to talk to when it comes to issues surrounding either separation or divorce. I'm so glad I called her and highly recommend her to anyone that needs help with family law issues. read more

Amanda is incredibly professional and personable. I love how easy it was to communicate my complicated issue with her and for her to understand. I'm grateful for McPherson's flexible business model and is such a convenience for clients with specific problems. read more

I had a question regarding whether I needed a QDRO for a legal separation. Instead of trying to sign me up, she advised me that I likely did not need one for the transaction I needed. She advised me of the exact first steps I should take to ensure the requirement. That five minute advice saved me time and money. She was courteous, bubbly and a joy to speak with. read more

Christina and her associate, Amanda Martin, handled my divorce last year. I was so pleased by their professional work that I used them again when I had to petition for spousal support. My ex-husband's attorney was very belligerent and difficult, but Amanda (who was handling the s.s. case) was never intimidated by him. She very capably proceeded with everything that needed to be done, even all the many unnecessary hoops he was making us go through. She reassured me whenever I felt discouraged or doubted the strength of my case. And she did an awesome job at finding precedents that supported my case. I got the spousal support and even attorney fees! I was very very pleased. read more

Christina helped me with my divorce and was very professional throughout the process. She always kept me informed on any changes or correspondence. Responses were prompt. The most important factor to me was that she had my best interest in mind and not trying to nickle and dime me. A lot of lawyers are just out to drag things out for their own personal proffit. Christina is all about getting it done the most timely and cost effective way. She is very personable and a pleasure to work with. I cannot say enough good things about her. I would highly recommend her to anyone and would definitely use her again. read more

Christina has been super helpful and very knowledgeable about family law. She's very easy to talk to and willing to go out of her way to answer any questions. Highly recommended! read more

Christina made getting a power of attorney done really easy. She called me back the same day I called her. She was very to the point and helped tremendously. This process could not have been easier than what she made it. read more

After being completely let down by two local law offices I decided to give Christina a try. I could not wait for my divorce to be final. The previous attorney had already been sitting on my file, not making it a priority for alomost a year! I met with Christina and within a week she had my packet ready. I sent it in and within 2 months it was finally all over. She was fast, available and reliable. I felt very comfortable communicating with her and it was worth the drive. read more

To make it worse...they have delayed releasing my file to my attorney, who can't get started until it is received. So, I have now gone 2 weeks without legal representation during a pivotal time in my divorce. My new law firm has called them every single day for the past week asking for the file (and I'm getting charged for these calls!), and still...nothing. read more

My husband & I hired Christina to do our living trust. She came highly recommended by my brother, and she exceeded our expectations. Christina makes house calls!! She came to our house, and walked us through each & every section, answering all our many questions. Plus she handled everything. Christina is very professional, knowledgeable, and personable -- and she still checks in with us, which really shows us she cares. read more

Christina is an exceptional attorney who genuinely cares about her clients and cases. She helped my family and me through a difficult child custody case and then completed an updated estate plan. Christina's service, responsiveness and command of the law took us to successful results in both matters. The estate plan included structuring our family trust, healthcare directives, powers of attorney, and all the rest. Christina walked us through each step and ensured we understood every decision that went into the plan. She was also incredibly organized and complete. Christina created a highly detailed written plan once she understood our wishes. She completed the process by taking us through each section and explained everything again. The entire process was well run and comfortable. I recommend her estate planning services to everyone. Christina also gets high marks on a custody case she handled for my sister last year. She was amazing throughout the process. On the one hand, she was calm, friendly, and personable. On the other hand, she was a zealous advocate for us and effectively stood up to the biggest bullies. Christina is highly responsive and engaged in her work. Responses are quick and we felt the personal touch and caring throughout the case. We were glad to have Christina in our corner. I strongly recommend Christina in both the estate planning and family law arenas. read more

When it came time to draft a Living Trust for the family, we turned to Christina to get the job done. She was very easy to talk to, up to date and knowledgeable on the current family law, and had a pre-meeting questionnaire to fill out prior to our first consultation. This streamlined the first meeting and prepped us for what to expect/what info was required for the trust. After a few meetings and emails, the trust was drafted and finalized within ~1.5 weeks. She called in a notary to make things official and we are very happy with the result. She packaged the trust in a nicely organized binder and now we have family protection because of her services. If you need to get a family trust done, look no further ... Highly recommended ! read more

Christina has done an excellent job in helping us navigate and creating a new Family Trust for our aging parents. She has made the process so much easier. She is professional and easy to work with. I plan on using her for redoing my Living Trust for my family and business. read more

I wish I could give Christina a negative star rating to be honest. Initially she seemed competent, but after a while it was clear she was all over the place. Her first strike was to send me the necessary forms stamped with the wrong address to her business. I filled them out and sent them to the prescribed address. I then get flurry of emails from her asking where the forms were. I responded to each email. I was charged for each correspondence at between $30 to $90 a pop. She eventually figured out that she'd used the wrong address stamp on the forms. I also requested an invoice from her to indicate what my balance was. I'd secured her services on October 2014, and I got nothing from her until today (4/2/15). According to my new attorney, that's actually against state bar rules, but whatever. She also billed me for my emails requesting an invoice! I talked to her about a QDRO, and she told me she knew a guy in Walnut Creek and not to worry. She agreed with me that I needed a QDRO. It turns out I don't need one since the retirement funds are in IRAs. I sent her an article about QDROs, and she charged me for the email and the hour (!) it took her to read the article. I talked to her about which box to check on the IED, Actual, Estimated, or Proposed, and if I'd followed her advice, my request for temporary support would have been jeopardized. I set up an appointment to see her in person, and drove from my new apartment in San Jose for the 9 AM meeting in Dublin, only to have her call me around 9 AM claiming we were supposed to talk via phone. She charged me for my emails complaining about my having wasted my time. My new attorney requested my file be sent to their offices on multiple occasions. Yes, I was billed twice for those requests by both attorneys. Christina said via email that she'd been having trouble with the mail recently. I'm a high school teacher, and I've heard every excuse under the sun; that one would have made me laugh if I weren't being charged for it. So at the end of the day, I'm actually not much further ahead in this painful process than I was in October of last year. I've had to secure the services of another attorney Shane Ford with Ford Family Law in Oakland. He's been great and frankly a breath of fresh air on the competency front. My $3000 retainer that I paid to Christina is all but gone. My first and only invoice makes for depressing reading, but I get back $402. On the itemized invoice, 24 out of 30 line items deal in some way with emails back and forth. If I'd been given a timely invoice, I would have certainly curtailed my correspondence and absolutely dispensed with Christina's services sooner. I can't help but feel a little bitter about having thrown money away (see teacher comment), but I'm actually angry that $1710 of Christina's invoice centers on email. In short, I really can't in any way recommend Christina. read more

My Fiance and I decided that we wanted 50/50 custody of his daughter last year. We knew going in that we would need a lawyer. We started looking around and were very unimpressed... Until we met Christina. Can we say "jackpot". She is so personable and actually cares about what you're going through. She is meticulous and knowledgeable. It's nice to send an email when you've had it and get a speedy response that not only eases your worry but gives you all the information you need to move forward. We had decided to go to the court dates alone and and see her before and after to get the counsel we needed. She's so good that I actually forget that I'm not a lawyer at times. I have done the majority of the emailing with her and I'm always more than satisfied and always confident in my next move. She does that, not me. Because of her we have gained 50/50 custody and are over the moon. We're in our last leg of this whole thing and I can honestly say I couldn't have done it without her. This is not your average lawyer people, this is a person who cares about her clients. She may be the Mary Poppins of law with her cheery disposition. read more

It is now almost a year since my divorce has been final. It was a very tough, exhausting and sad time for me. I am on my path to getting my life back together and I need to thank the McPherson Law Group, especially Amanda Martin who helped me throughout the entire process. Amanda was knowledgeable, helpful and considerate to my situation. Basically held my hand throughout. Explained the legalities and was patient with the emotional portion of this all. I would highly recommend this team. read more

Christina has been a great help. She is always cheerful and upbeat even in tough situations. She gave great recommendations as a coach, and is easy to stay in contact with by phone and email. I highly recommend her service! read more

Christina did an excellent job handing a small matter for me. She was extremely professional, making sure all the pertinent paper work was filed timely and immediately notifying me when the court changed my appointment date. She sent me a reminder a few days before the court date and arrived 30 minutes early on the court date, to ensure that any and all questions were answered. I highly recommend Christina!! read more