I've consutled Pocklington law several times over the years on various issues as well as referred a…read morefew friends and family members. My experience has always been receipt of a thoroughly evaluated response to my legal issue. Those who I have referred have echoed the same and many hired them.

Dan was referred to me for divorce assistance by a previous coworker. Dan has been very polite and…read morepatient with me. I was very impressed with how he communicated with the judge. I was very relieved to find local help that didn't require a huge retainer. I am very pleased with Dan work and highly recommend him.

Now I know first-hand why Joe, Robert, Jenn & team are widely recognized and respected across our…read moreCounty. They are true experts that intend to bring your case to completion. Robert Sehn led my divorce case. He is tremendously knowledgable, and throughout the case, was highly regarded by the judge and opposing counsel. Robert's initiative and attention to detail is stellar. During our settlement conference, Robert began crafting the the agreement memorandum in real-time after moving through a complex set of variables. This firm is the very best--they will get your case to the finish-line, as they did mine.

I'd highly recommend avoiding this firm. Please read below and anything I said below can be…read moreverified or is a statement of opinion. Joe Wolch and Kate Mignani my message for you, don't ever forget how a 30 year old respondent with no law experience and a $20 a month ChatGPT subscription outsmarted and beat your entire firm in court. Law School 101: It's not what you know, what you feel or think, it's what you can prove in court Joe. (I did also have an attorney but most of my preparation was done with AI). Big thanks to Joe Wolch and Kathryn Mignani for representing my ex in both our divorce and a restraining order case. In my opinion, it lacked evidentiary support and may have been tactically motivated, as I've come to learn is not uncommon in Family Law cases for leverage in negotiating. For a marriage that lasted just six months with roughly around $5,000 in total community property, no kids, no houses, they still managed to rack up over $57,220 in legal fees on her side. This review is legitimate and follows Yelps TOS as it deals with my experience with them being the OC in this case. Their client (my ex) was ultimately found not credible and impeached multiple times in court, leading Honorable Judge Wendy Coates to dismiss the TRO completely. And at the end of the divorce case, she had to write me a equalizing check for property division.... Kathryn Mignani specifically was the attorney that questioned me when I was on the stand testifying. During my testimony, I observed Kate Mignani struggling with basic questioning and often stuttering over her words, and seemingly not able to respond with how I was answering the questioning. From my perspective, she seemed unprepared to challenge testimony that I had carefully and anticipated for months. I studied for hours on how to properly answer these questions and Mignani didn't grasp I was able to circumvent what she was wanting me to say. In my opinion, this demonstrated a lack of competence in trial advocacy. My attorney and I were expecting at least a little more in-depth questioning but got nothing of substance. I have no formal legal training, so I actually used AI and large language models to simulate potential cross-examination questions from Wolch, Mignani, and their paralegal (I believe her name is Kate Gums). I fed the system our prior correspondences and noted their behavioral patterns in how they reacted to documents my attorney, Aaron, and I would submit. This helped me prepare extensively for what I anticipated would be a much more thorough line of questioning. The AI was actually more in-depth and subjectively speaking, harder to answer than Mignani herself. In my personal opinion, it was fairly obvious from the start that this wasn't truly a domestic violence case, but rather an attempt to manage my ex's public image. Now I don't know whether or not Wolch's team advised my ex this claim had no foundation, but one can only hope they did. Looking back, I'm surprised Wolch's firm chose to proceed. But seeing the attorney's fees disclosure each party exchanged, showing around $57,220 plus several days of trial that hadn't been billed yet, it now puts the situation into a clearer perspective. I left the courtroom genuinely surprised that someone this terrible in trial advocacy could be in active legal practice. Joe Wolch, who I assume owns the firm and I'd assume is responsible for approving this case and continuing it to depths of ridiculousness, continued to pursue the matter despite the absence of any credible evidence indicating wrongdoing on my part. This resulted in an unwarranted challenge and attempt to ruin my reputation and professional standing. I understand not every attorney shines in litigation, but in my perspective, this felt more like someone winging it than advocating effectively. Kate Mignani was absolutely terrible at questioning me up on the stand and I'd highly advise contacting me if you want to see the transcripts of how awful she was during the trial. If anyone is interested in reviewing the partially redacted public transcript or the case itself, feel free to reach out, everything was said on the record and is available for verification. Thank you again, Joe and Kate, for representing my ex throughout both our brief marriage and a lengthy restraining order dispute. Despite a marriage that lasted just over six months with limited community property and no children, legal fees on her side exceeded $57,220. In my opinion, the TRO lacked evidentiary support and appeared strategically motivated. Ultimately, Honorable Judge Wendy Coates dismissed the restraining order after finding my ex's testimony not credible and specifically noting that certain claims were impeached by video and witness evidence. It turns out the court sided with actual evidence over uncorroborated allegations. I never had any doubt I'd win.

With 2 dui's literally back to back. My fiance was in a situation. I already know.... how can you…read moreget two back to back. Oooh and did I forget to mention he had one from like 7 years ago that we thought was a dry and reckless but turned out to be a wet and reckless. We had no other choice but to deal with it. I advised my fiance he would need to hire an attorney. He automatically wanted to go with the attorney with the most reviews. But I advised him he should be cautious. I called the attorney he wanted to go with and didn't get a good feeling. I called 2 other law firms and again didnt get a good feeling. I finally called Christopher and felt confident so we setup a meeting and my feeling of confidence increased. He didn't make any promises of what the outcome would be but he did leave us feeling like we made a great choice. He kept us informed and anytime we had any questions I contacted him and he got back to me quickly. I always texted him and called when needed. I know attorneys are busy in and out of court and in meetings so I didn't want to take up his time from working on cases. Christopher advised my fiance to get on the scram cam as a pre plea. This would help him in court if need be. We got the run around from the scram place. They said he needed to be sentenced first. So I contacted Christopher and he gave me a womens name. I called the scram place back and got ahold of the women Christoper referred us to. She handled everything. He always kept us informed if he was running late due to being in another court room. He negotiated and did everything he could and got my fiance the best outcome. He was facing jail time due to his prior. He was able to get one case down to a wet and wreckless, 5 days community service with half time and the other case 10 days community service, with 3 months dui class. Regular court fees. All in all I'm 100% positive we got the best outcome. He knows his stuff and will fight to get the best outcome. He will go over the D.A to speak to the supervising D.A if need be. If you are looking for an attorney who can get you the best outcome Christoper is the best. Hopefully we never need his services again. But it's good to know we know someone we trust. He is worth more than what we paid for. So call him today and thank me later

I reached out to Christopher Varnell when I needed help and he really came through. He personally…read morereturned my call right away and was professional throughout the whole process. He was very responsive (texting me back almost always instantly). To find a good lawyer who replies in a timely manner is hard enough, but to find one who TEXTS you back for every question? AMAZING! I was nervous about the process and pretty in the dark before reaching out to Christopher but he was more than willing to answer questions and walk me through everything step by step. He didn't make any guarantees on outcome, but was very knowledgeable and I left his office confident. Also smiling in the end with the outcome. He is very direct and to the point, so if you're looking for a lawyer with just buzzwords, fluff, and all-talk, he's not your guy. He's very familiar with Contra Costa Country courts and has good connections which is always a plus! If I run into anything again or I have friends who need representation , I will definitely recommend Christopher Varnell.

I feel bad that I have to say I am having one of the worst experience a person could ever have…read morewith a attorney or any courtroom experience. This attorney could care less about any harm caused by him or my previous divorce attorney and the wrath of those two attorneys continue to destroy me, my reputation and anything that comes up with my name attached to it, by having all my assets thrown into a probate pool, daily. I'm super saddened to find out that this attorney, my biological family, and others sit around flipping that pen to help people that really aren't involved with anything legal I have going on and are funding their quest to over throw me and the local government through my hardwork, insurance money, fraud, and other real unauthorized transactions, while leaving me, my parents, and my 2 children homeless, and taking the blame for all the donation fraud and abu se and coming up empty handed on everything. Whatever game of backward day between the attorneys and the police, has left us out of control of our lifestyle, however, we've been assured that the homeless person who is taking control of our finances is still not authorized, but there better than Leslie Snabb. In time I hope Sgt. Black can realize that I do exist as a person and stop selling me, my identifying documents and competing with someone half his age, just as I would have hoped Ms Hoffman, and Mrs Stanley would stop competing with me too. This is a modern day Cindrella Story that I have been dealing with sense I was ten years old, when my grandmother had passed away. I am sorry you all are having issues that are hard for you to look at, at this time, but I dont think destroying me any further will bring you a positive balanced life, and end mine, like you all have recently prayed for,however I hope you can find it within yourself to stop using me my funds, or treating me like Im deceased. I also haven't signed anything at any police department giving up any monetary gain, gifts, rewards, or donations and I haven't added any type of legal representative other than the Attorney Carlos Carbajal Esq., recently... Thank You... Leslie S

Hired him 9/01/2017 got no updates, no court hearings, no settlement conference as promised as of…read more02/20/2019. Will not be able to continue paying for legal services rendered.

Divorce is not something I thought was going to be part of my life. The process is confusing and…read moreoverwhelming. Ethan and Giselle have explained so much to me, and listened to my thoughts and feelings about my case with thoughtfulness and compassion. There are no guarantees. Nothing is sugar-coated. Just honesty about options and preparation for all outcomes, even if they're maybe not the ones you expect. During most situations, anger arises because something happens that was not planned or was unexpected. By being honest and forthcoming, these great attorneys have helped to remove anger and bitterness from the process, allowing me to move forward with this new life in a positive way. I really cannot thank them enough.

Merritt Weisinger, Esq. helped me a lot after my 1st lawyer messed up (I feel that way. I wasted…read moremuch time and money.) my simple case. If I had known about him, I would have hired him from the beginning! Merritt Weisinger, Esq. knows the law ,is professional, caring, and reliable. He is very experienced (over 35 years). Experience matters! Since he was always so very busy that it was sometimes difficult to contact him. But in my case, fortunately it affected none or little. Thanks to him my case moved forward. Thanks to him, the property division was done pretty properly. Thanks to him the spousal support is to be paid 3 months longer. I appreciate him very much! He and his son, Ethan, Esq, (a young lawyer) are kind enough to have given me rides for free from/to the station and their office when I went there by train from a far away place. They are good and kind! Karen (paralegal) is also good and nice.

Words cannot express how tremendously grateful I am to Anthony Luna and his team at Cal Injury…read moreGroup for their sincere compassion and legal assistance during one of the most challenging times in my life. I truly would have been lost without him. Aside from my attorney's obvious knowledge and skills, he is genuinely committed to his clients. Anthony is caring, devoted, honest, transparent and easy to work with. With each circumstance that arose, he gave practical advice and supplied the necessary information to allow me to make my own informed decisions. He guided me through the long and daunting legal process, yet never lost his patience despite my overwhelming inquiries. My case lingered on for 2 years. I didn't receive much of the needed treatment from my employer's insurance company, but we were able to mutually resolve the case, thanks to Anthony. He went above and beyond to represent my best interests and to make sure we received a fair settlement. I would never hesitate to use or refer Cal Injury Law Groups outstanding services in the future. Simply put, lawyers like Mr. Anthony Luna are truly and exceptionally rare. His level of expertise professionalism surpassed my greatest expectation. Thank you, Anthony!

10 months later and Anthony and his team don't seize to amaze me! A win for me, so unexpected and…read moreso appreciated ! I had no clue , and he pursued for me, and won. He makes a difference in my life and will make a difference in yours, that's why I'm writing this. This whole team is in good communication with me, and they are efficient, respectful and kind.

I cannot recommend Nicole Palang and the staff at Bay Area Family Law Center highly enough. Going…read morethrough a divorce is incredibly difficult, but Nicole and her team were attentive and helpful every step of the way. Nicole is incredibly sharp and professional, yet remained very approachable whenever I had questions. What really stood out was how dynamic she was in the final stages. I expected the process to drag on much longer, but she worked efficiently with the judge and the opposing attorney to get everything finalized. I am so grateful to have had them as my guides.

Anne Bonfiglio for the WIN!!!! 5 stars simply isn't enough to convey my experience having retained…read moreAnne as my counsel in a divorce and RO case. The lady knows her stuff and is worth every penny. She's been in the game for 40 years, and in my opinion, experience matters. She's that rare combination of firm but respectful, professional yet compassionate, extremely knowledgeable but not arrogant. I trusted her immediately. In the courtroom I felt well prepared by Anne, and she didn't miss a beat. She is incredibly skilled at knowing when to speak up and when to hold back. She is whip smart, and excellent listener and has a laser sharp read on people. I would not want to be opposing counsel against her. She arrives calm and prepared, and has a firm handle on what the judge needs to see to rule in your favor. I'm not just thrilled that we won; I've been genuinely impressed with Anne's capability and professionalism throughout the whole process. She is responsive, prompt, and will go out of her way to let you know how to keep costs down. Without hesitation, I give Anne Bonfiglio and everyone I interacted with my gratitude and highest recommend! Thank you for being on my team, Anne!!!

She came highly recommended by an industry leader in Criminal defense. This also makes her very…read morequalified for the times where it seems divorces are crossing the lines into criminal behavior. When Danielle saw that my case requires the expertise of her colleague , she did what only someone truly invested in the well being of their Client would do , she handed my case over to the more specific specialist of finance..... wow. I'm impressed. Thank you Dani!

She helped us with child custody. She was always available and on time. We never felt alone. This…read moreprocess was hard but with Danielle and her professionalism we got what we wanted. I highly recommend her. She was tons better than the local attorneys. To this day if we need anything she is only a phone call away!