My ex wife and I had Brian and Ellen as mediators. I wish I had read the reviews of these two…read moreclowns before agreeing to work with them. First, Ellen just sits and I guess takes notes and stays silent. Brian acts like everything they are suggesting is necessary even if it favors the other person overwhelmingly. He told my ex wife to fill out the financial paperwork with what she thinks her monthly expenses will be and not what they currently are. When I confronted him about incorrect information given, he told me he has 20 years of experience and acted offended. Now I am stuck with an agreement that was based on false financial affidavits. Do not go through these fools. They will make things worse and waste your time and money.

Awful. Not sure who the Brian is reviewers are raving about but the Brian I experienced was nasty,…read morea bully, impatient, and made me cry more than once. The proposed mediation agreement drawn up by Brian and the other mediator (who was largely quiet) had 100% of everything my spouse wanted and 0% of what I requested and he got angry with me when I pointed out the unfairness of it. Throughout the process I would ask for their intervention as my spouse refused to speak with me from the onset and instead of helping us talk through the problems we faced, they simply accepted his silence as a part of the mediation. Never, ever, ever would I recommend them to anybody and I have made sure others know this as well.

Patrik is very Nice, I had a Divorce case that needed to be solved Fast and a friend recommended…read morehim. The process was really fast and professional. I am really happy with the service and i will recommend him to my friends (i hope they will not need a lawyer :) )

Patrick and Gabby are always on top of everything, I highly recommend them.read more

I went through a failed mediation process with David. We started the process with lawyers in the…read moreroom for a year. I finally suggested that we try it with no lawyers and only David in the room. David was successful in moving us to an agreement. However after 2 days of fighting was over and we reached an agreement, he didnt have us sign anything outlining the agreement (Memorandum of Agreement) . I would expect someone with his years of experience to suggest we outline something before we left. After my Ex-wife went dark and refused to honor the agreement, David refused to provide anything in writing. The mediation contract we both signed stated "if no attorneys are present, the mediator will assist the parties by drawing up a Memorandum of agreement or agreed upon bullet points". Davids refusal to do this cost me another year and over 100k in legal fee's. I would sue but im sick of paying legal fee's. Stay away.

David Inlander has represented me for the past four years in ongoing issues arising from a…read morecontentious divorce . I only wish he had been my lawyer in its early stages. I realized immediately that David is both a great listener and recognizes the issues with great insight. His advice has been both practical and reassuring. Many of the issues that arose were significant as they related to the best interests of my child as well as complicated financial issues . We prevailed in every instance. David's fees for the time spent were reasonable, appropriate and manageable. David's generous spirit in answering my calls and e mails was invaluable in giving me peace of mind and I never saw that time on my monthly statement. I would urge anybody managing a divorce and all that accompanies it to hire David Inlander as your Advocate.

I want to be as fair and pragmatic as possible when providing this review. My wife found this…read moreservice when she decided that divorce was the best option. Cheryl Dillon was the person we spoke with on an introductory conference call. I agree, I was not happy to be on the call, but Cheryl lost professionalism (in my opinion) and could not answer specific questions (e.g., What MBA concentration/ specialty does your husband have, or could you explain community property versus personal property and how it applies in California?) I asked specific questions regarding a document and her response was rude and "flip". Mediation around divorce is a sensitive time and it does require a certain tact and knowledge and this agency from our initial meeting fell short in some significant areas. I don't write many reviews because I know people have businesses and I don't want to take away from their growth, but in this instance I think it's critical for me to inform others so they are at least aware. Be aware of the fact that emotionally if your mediator takes sides or you even feel that way, that is not the best fit and this outfit did that.

Divorce is hard enough so the last thing my ex and I wanted was to lawyer up, head to court, and…read moreendure endless litigation. We came to Joe & Cheryl with an agreement on most things, but needed help figuring out some important other details. They helped guide us through the entire process and made every step as clear and easy as a painful process like this can possibly be. We saved thousands when compared to lawyers and court costs. (Some lawyer fees and court costs are still needed at the end of the process, but it's a fraction of what it would cost otherwise.) Joe & Cheryl were so genuinely sympathetic throughout the entire mediation process and I am very grateful for them and their services.

My employer wasn't paying me properly. The firm helped me resolve my unpaid time disagreement…read morequickly and professionally. Choate Law was responsive and helpful protecting my rights. I was respected and was made to feel like part of the team throughout the process. I can't recommend Choate Law highly enough. Their attention to detail and commitment to their clients is exceptional. Anyone facing a similar situation will be in excellent hands with Choate Law.

I highly recommend Choate Herschman if you are in need of legal advice. The entire staff is really…read morecommitted to making you feel comfortable and safe to express your concerns. This team has great communication and people skills and most importantly they get the job done! So if you are looking for an attorney who has the perseverance to successfully fight for you and keep YOUR best interest at heart, look no further!

Clearly there is a pattern with this law firm as evident from their other reviewers and my review…read morewill only be reinforcing it. After 18 months of engaging with this firm from late 2022 to 2024, I finally decided to part ways and switch attorneys (who saw me through my divorce) and below are reasons why. 1. When I first got started with this process, I was naive, uneducated and anxious. You would think that your attorney would help educate you, and make you feel at ease. Instead, firm's namesake constantly instilled fear and threatened me with adverse outcomes even when there was no basis for it. I know better now! It's like her way of covering for her own inadequacies and her way or the highway. FWIW, I got the custody that I wanted and deserved. 2. You will be billed A LOT for research without being given any estimates and the worst part, is it wouldn't help improve your outcome one bit. Happy to provide examples for anyone that wants. 3. Your case will be assigned to a very expensive and inexperienced associate who has no decision making or strategy making authority but in fact you will be charged every time for her to get direction from the firms owner/partner. Totally convoluted process. 4. Where other law firms actively utilize paralegals or legal assistants for administrative items, the Associate will do all that at a much higher billable rate. 4. The firm's partner will tell you how she has 20+ years of experience but will have petitions thrown out by the judge for being deficient or inaccurate including petitions for rules that I was billed a $900 for. They will even fail to share with you motions filed by OC months after being filed with the court. Does this constitute malpractice? 5. Even after repeatedly bringing up various concerns, they fell to a deaf ear and went ignored while I kept getting billed for things that don't matter. Eventually that led me to firing them. I am sure she will try to discredit this review like she does with all her other 1 star reviews but I am prepared to share specific examples if needed to stand by my review with them or with anyone reading this review. There is a reason for their overall 2.9 stars while others have 4-5 stars. If in doubt, you can also read reviews on Avo.

Miscommunication via email is their only method. And due to the miscommunication, you will not get…read morewhat you want, even if you agree with your co-parent. Spent over $10k and got no where. When I noticed that they limited my vacation time to only summer (our previous agreement was all year round) I reached out to them, I sent three emails with different attachments pointing out the issues, I left a nice voicemail on a Monday morning about how I would love to chat more about this on the phone. Jennifer Ward writes "Your barrage of email communications and voicemail messages this weekend are very disconcerting and there is really nothing further that we can do"- They said they no longer represent me and wish me the best of luck. Never received a phone call or any kind of effort on their part for this huge mistake.

Karen Covey Works With Racists Creates YouTube That Features Promotes Her And The Racist Jennifer…read moreLavin Gail Petrich CarolynSolava Jennifer Lavin was the GAL appointed to my case with my ex husband. Honestly the worst person I've ever had to deal with. I can say without any doubt she ONLY cares about money. He was in a very tumultuous relationship and anytime I had concerns she would tell me his significant other is not part of the case HOWEVER she would let said significant other email her and call her and charge ME for it. There was also domestic abuse charges between them and she said, well your son wasn't there so it doesn't matter. Her solution was to have us each pay her $1800 more apart from the thousands she had already received and be a parenting coordinator. Well, a week after this my son was there during a domestic incident and the cops were involved. She does not care about children. If they try to appoint her as your GAL run far far away. Do not give her any of your money. Also she refuses to meet in person and only over zoom. Including with your child. Which is not a great way to meet with children not a personal experience and how are you going to read their body language and make sure the child is alone and not having a parent listen in on a conversation that's suppose to be private. Thankfully the judge did listen to my concerns and we were able to figure things out with NO help from her. Thousands of dollars wasted and down the drain. I'm so happy I never have to deal with her again. *PLEASE READ. Your children's lives and wellbeing would be in severe danger under the watch of Jennifer Lavin! Jennifer was appointed as the GAL on my case. She met, on zoom, with my children over a 2.5 year period only 3 times. The last time was ordered by the judge once it was brought to his attention that she had not spoken with them in almost 1 year. If not for the judge requiring her to, it would have NEVER happened. During one of the calls Jennifer asked my my 9 year old daughter who visits were going with her Father. (They had recently increased his parenting time.) My daughter told her she does not feel safe or comfortable around her father. She told my daughter, "you have a voice, but you don't have a choice".Despite a withstanding order of protection in place, DCFS investigation that was concluded as "indicated" (guilty) by DCFS, and pending felony criminal charges for his abuseshe continues to advocate for him in our divorce case while the criminal case is pending. Throughout our case her focus has completely derailed from what is in the best interest of the children and caused irreparable trauma and abuse. Her pompous ego, greediness and incredible negligence over shadows her judgement and responsibility as a GAL at the cost of the safety and well-being of my children. Despite her grossly limited and costly "investigation", the judge seems to take everything she says at face value with NO supporting evidence at all. In fact, there's credible evidence that would disprove the reasoning for her baseless and harmful recommendations. Our lives continue to remain in danger by the hands of a violent abuser that the court system and Jennifer has enabled and allowed to continue his relentless abuse. Her harmful recommendations have caused further abuse and endangers our lives over and over again. My children's lives will be impacted forever and our family will never be the same. Luis Garcia If you're reading this because you were assigned Jennifer Lavin, it's too late. Here is one of the worst people you'll ever had to deal with. She doesn't do her job and charges thousands of dollars in return. She threatened to make parenting time suggestions that "would not be in my favor" to the judge, ignored letters from my sons primary care Dr regarding his health and concerns with his negligent daycare. She ignored an incident where my sons mother was pulled over smoking weed with him in the car. The police pulled her over, took my son and called me to pick him up. Even after endangering his saftey, she suggested parenting time in her favor. Another incident where his mother assaulted me in my house while I was holding my son was ignored and actually turned around and used against me.My son now sleeps on a couch in his moms living room per the suggestion of Jennifer Lavin.I can't wait for all these bad reviews and karma to catch up with her.Avoid this lady if you care about your children. Ruuuuun!!! Save your money and time. Worst and unprofessional attorney i have ever worked with! Rasist and stand by the liar in cases. She states women never lie yet women lie sometimes and she hates men! Run away or your case will fall on dead ears, charges way too much for what she deserves. Her license should be revoked!

From the owner: Divorce Law, Divorce Mediation, Divorce Education, Collaborative Divorceread more