I am writing this to warn others: do not be fooled by the radio advertisements. My experience with Coldwell Law Group was an absolute nightmare that cost me over $30,000 and left my legal rights unprotected. It started with a "marketing representative" who made grand promises. I didn't realize at the time I wasn't speaking to a legal professional. My initial $2,500 retainer was gone before I even finished submitting my intake paperwork. During the process, I was shocked by the vulgar language used by the staff; I assume they use it to sound "tough" or like they are going to "get it done," but it is actually just unprofessional and a cover for their lack of progress. The Billing: This firm is a billing machine. They forced multiple attorneys to bill for outrageous hours--phone calls and emails that I am certain never took place. The Performance: How do I know the billing was fake? Because when my court date arrived, my attorney was completely unprepared. They had: No knowledge of our previous conversations. None of the evidence I provided to prove my ex-husband was not entitled to half of my bank account (funds from my portion of sold household assets). Because my attorney failed to pay attention to the specifics of my case, my ex-husband got to keep his assets AND take half of mine. In court, specifics and evidence are everything, and this firm failed to provide either. I am incredibly bitter that I trusted this firm. They are professional at marketing and billing, but completely incompetent in the courtroom. Save your money and your sanity: stay far away from Coldwell Law Group. read more

I had a very poor experience with Colwell Law Group. I paid over $10,000 and felt like very little meaningful work was actually done on my case. From the start, it seemed like I was being pushed to assign work to different people "just in case" something came up, which only added to the cost without giving me confidence that real progress was being made. Over the course of just a few months, I was passed between three different lawyers. The first attorney assigned to me was going on leave only two weeks later, which made me question why she was assigned to my case in the first place. Every time a new lawyer took over, I had to spend more time re-explaining my situation, only to later get random calls saying someone else was now handling the case. It felt disorganized, inefficient, and incredibly frustrating. What made it worse was that I repeatedly asked each lawyer about a payment I was owed during my case. Every time, I was told, "I'll look into that for you," but nothing ever happened. After switching to a new law firm, that payment issue was addressed and resolved within five days. That alone made it clear to me that Colwell Law Group had not been properly pursuing matters that directly impacted my case. I eventually hired a different law firm, and the difference was night and day. They worked diligently with me, actually went to court, helped resolve my divorce case, and still charged me substantially less than what I paid Colwell Law Group. To make matters worse, I raised my concerns by email about everything that had taken place, and no one made any effort to meaningfully respond or address the situation. Based on my experience, this firm felt far more focused on billing than on actually helping their clients. I would not recommend them. read more

I had a decent experience with this firm 5 years ago when I was fighting my ex for custody, but in hindsight my case was very strong- my ex was arrested for DV and child endangerment, so my dog could've probably won my case also. so I hired them again last year to represent me in my support case. What a mistake. I really should have looked at recent reviews, because things have really gone down hill since then. They passed me around to 4 or 5 different attorneys. One after another, none of them seemed to even read the details of my case. They certainly charged me for catching each new attorney up on my case details. They squandered my exorbitant retainer, they charged erroneously for simple tasks like a a half hour for a 1 sentence email reply. They were inputting my evidence to the courts the day of trial. They bled me dry, and I ended up representing myself and paying almost $1400 a month to a woman I have true 50/50 custody of my children with, after becoming unemployed before my court date because my employer went chapter 7. When I spoke with the court clerk in Columbia county family court, she said " oh yeah colwell is bad. That's where lawyers get their start" now they're writing emails CC'ng my father in law, threatening to hold him liable for some $700 charges they racked up after I fired them, because he helped me with the retainer on his card. Ridiculous. save yourself the trouble and go with a different law firm. The reviews speak for themselves. Colwell is a sinking ship, they can't keep good attorneys for long, and they will leave you high and dry. read more

For the past several years we have been dealing with a serious issue that has been causing a great deal of anxiety, stress and financial strain on our family, which over time has become more serious. We made several attempts at finding effective legal counsel to help and guide us, but none of those individuals were able to assist us. Finally, we were referred to the Colwell Law Group, LLC. Our first meeting at the firm was with the Client Relation Manager, Tara Kiernan. She truly listened to us with an empathetic, non-judgmental tone. She shared the details of our situation with one of the attorneys and assured us that their firm would be able to help us find a solution to our problem. Very soon after, we were back in the office for our first meeting with Atty. Rebekah Carson. From the outset, Atty. Carson had an immediate grasp of the legal, financial, familial, and emotional entanglements of our case and presented concise and tangible suggestions toward its final resolution. Her knowledge, professionalism, attention to detail, timely communications, empathy and accessibility that extended to evenings and weekends have been testaments to her dedication. Atty. Carson's tireless efforts on our behalf during this very trying period have, without exaggeration, been a blessing to us and to our extended circle. Now that the matter has been resolved, we offer our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to her. She will be our first contact should we ever face a similar situation again. For anyone who is searching for an attorney, we highly recommend Atty. Rebekah Carson for her acumen, efficiency and kindness. read more

I hired this firm for a modification to a grandparents visitation rights case. Was told by an interviewer, a lawyer who was leaving on maternity leave and finally a lawyer assigned to case. All 3 said we had a great case to modify ,nothing out of the ordinary. the reason we wanted to do this was to have more time with our grand daughter. Her mother , our daughter passed away back in Sept,2024. We got next to nothing from Saratoga Family court ,a phone call/ week which the father refuses to answer. So when the agreement wasfinalized we were told the father has "custodial rights",never heard that term used by anyone in the firm prior to that day. So now months later, $12,000 and much heartache we are still waiting for $1,000 in our retainer returned to us. One of the worst experiences in my life, next to loosing our daughter. DO NOT HIRE THESE PEOPLE. read more

The "free consultation" is with the owner's nephew (also named Colwell) who is NOT an attorney. To speak to an attorney they deman a $10,000 retainer -- every other comment is about Colwell's unethical practices. The $10K retainer means you would have to *claw* your money back through the courts once they have it. read more

Simple divorce, no fighting, paid fee up front. They took six months to file a Separation Agreement that contained errors and sentence fragments, then took five more months to file an Addendum to the Agreement that also contained errors and sentence fragments. I spent hours writing the Separation Agreement, they failed to perform basic clerical work with any degree of proficiency to present it to the court. They obviously did not proofread either document. I was told a second addendum could be prepared, but it would just further delay the settlement. It was suggested that the parties agree with each other and leave the inaccurate agreement as is. There was no activity or communication for months at a time. The first lawyer quit then the case passed through two more lawyers. I do not understand how a lawyer's office can fail so badly and still continue to offer services. read more

This is a detailed review and I hope it helps others. Overall, I'd say to look for a different firm. Cons: I did notice the reviews and decided to take the chance anyway. At first, my experience was great. Consultation had me hopeful. However, consultation is not with an attorney. You cannot speak with an attorney until you pay the $6000 retainer fee and sign the Letter of Engagement. Then, you will be assigned an attorney. That is the first red flag. My attorney is James Lesperance. He is well versed and knowledgeable at what he does. He kept in contact with me quite often in the beginning and communicated well on what to expect in the coming court cases. 100% of the time he was right about what happened. I felt very comfortable with him. But, after 6 weeks of working together, he started to not contact me as much. Paperwork he was going to send to me, he never did. I looked for it and filled it out myself, then submitted it to the courts. Courtesy calls stopped. So, I started calling once a week to try and get updates. None of my calls were returned. I'm still waiting to review the amended custody order (if it's even completed) Second red flag. Invoices kept coming regardless of the amount of contact we'd had. The last one I looked at reflected he was working on my case for an hour reviewing the paperwork I submitted. However, in that hour he did not email me or call me just to check in or let me know if there were any updates. Third red flag. Office people seemed to get annoyed with my calls. Fourth red flag. Additionally, the amount of money you spend in comparison to the work that gets done and the time spent on your case is outrageous. 5th red flag. Pros: Friendly staff during consultation and most calls to the office. Had a question about my bill which they refunded some of it. Asked to amend the Engagement Letter, which they allowed. Attorney is knowledgeable. My next and hopefully last court date is June 1st. I'm hoping I can increase this review after that, but I'm not feeling confident about it. At this time, James, I would give 3/5 stars. The firm itself gets a 2/5. It has been a really disappointing experience. read more

Great marketing which gets their name out there but very dirty business ethics and very under experienced team. Dishonesty was just the beginning. read more

Would not recommend !!!!! They told me it would only cost no more than 5,000.00/6,000.00-- NO-KIDS- so should be simple ??? So 14 months and 18,000.00 dollars- Stay Away read more

If I could give zero stars I would. I thought they were wonderful at first, then I found out they only care about your money. I paid them basically to read paperwork. I did all the leg work, they didn't disperse the paperwork like they were supposed to do I DID IT. 95% of my money went to them reading papers. Then the lawyer I had incorrectly filed paperwork with the court got in trouble by the judge and the same week she left the practice. The managing lawyer then tried to blame ME for their mess up, how is it my fault they didn't follow the courts rules on how to file their papers is beyond me I'm no lawyer. Then she told me she didn't want to represent me as she didn't have anyone in the office to take my case that does family law they lost all their lawyers in the same week. Yet she told the judge that she was willing to learn, maintaining to me that she didn't want to do it and didn't have the experience. She refused to listen to anything to do with my case and filed a motion to be relieved full of lies. When I confronted her on her lies she got aggressive and mean, told me I was just being argumentive and ignored me from that point on. I can prove how she is with her own emails. I paid for things and services I never even received from these people at all. It's disgusting how they take advantage of you. Also because she played games with me and the judge the last two court hearing she delayed my case and now I have no place to live with my newborn baby. She knew this! She didn't care! Don't go here unless you just want to flush your money down the toilet! read more

I contacted them for free consult. After providing some initial details as requested, I was NOT contacted by the lawyer I reached out to, but someone else, who asked me to AGAIN provide the information that I had already submitted. (The first red flag for me because what I submitted to them was obviously not even read or acknowledged), so I decided to read some reviews, and after doing so, I decided against using them. (usually I would have read reviews first). I asked them to stop contacting me, but they won't. Now they won't stop contacting me, leaving messages on a regular basis and pressuring me for an appointment. I'll never use them, and I'm changing my number. read more

I was very fortunate and grateful to work with Kyle Starks. My situation was referred to as a "sicky-icky" problem by many lawyers, however, Kyle addressed it head on with patience, support, and understanding. I cannot thank him enough for standing by me to support me through the domestic violence part which played a significant role, as well as applying his knowledge to resolve the partition for selling the house. Kyle is a remarkable, professional, compassionate, and dedicated attorney! Thank you, Kyle! read more

Awful representation, just want to bill not actually work the case. In 6 months, first attorney was fired, second appointed attorney retired after 2 months. Each time I was billed for case review. We go before judge in 1 week and I just was appointed a new attorney with no experience. So far $10,000 for absolutely nothing. Terrible representation and staff turnover! read more

We hired Colwell Law Firm after a very long discussion with Jennifer who seemed to really understand what we were trying to accomplish. Once we agreed for our case to be taken and paid $2,000 we were given a lawyer who didn't really seem to understand how complex our issue truly is. We needed 21 years of family court cases looked at plus a bunch of opened and closed cases under different names investigated. Our lawyer charged us $3,000 for phone calls and letters that we could've made ourselves for free. The final determination was that he didn't want to take the effort or the time to truly listen and understand that on the surface everything seemed legit but once you dig deeper and see all the different cases that were opened you'd clearly see what we were asking for. Our lawyer didn't look into anything past the last 5 years. Truly disappointed and I would never recommend this law firm to anyone. Go ahead and say i'm not a client but my credit card paid for someone who is. COLWELL RESPONSE: You are correct that you are not the client and therefore all of the information concerning the case is privileged. However, without disclosing specifics, it is truly disappointing to receive this feedback considering the amount of time the attorney assigned to the case spent on reconstructing the history of the matter when the client could not. The attorney assigned to your matter is experienced and highly qualified. What is lacking from your oversimplified assessment of the matter is that the client was unable to provide any documentation necessary to address the concerns; provide a location for the opposing party and had no recollection of the location vis a vis county or courts from which the prior orders were established. The client failed to provide any information that could have assisted in the process despite many requests. This inevitably prolonged the discovery of the possible solution to the issue and cost more in attorney time. I would have been happy to discuss with the client the outline of services rendered by the attorney on the matter and explain the possible recourse, as outlined in the detailed strategy letter sent to the client. Unfortunately, no one could have reviewed the extent of the "21 years of family court cases" when the client was unable to provide the firm with any certainty the location of courts, states or location of the other party. Moreover, the attorney was limited to the records maintained by the jurisdictions located, which did not include the history you expected. Given the information available, the submission of signed authorizations, and the extensive investigations by counsel, the client was offered a strategy based upon the foregoing. I am happy to discuss the services rendered with you if you choose to make an appointment via telephone. MY RESPONSE: The Colwell Law Group, LLC truly disappointed that your highly experienced lawyer didn't listen or review anything past the last 5 years. I provided over 300 pages of documentation that obviously wasn't reviewed because it would've been clear that there was numerous case numbers opened all over the country. We provided all necessary information and your law office charged us $3,000 for letters and phone calls we could've made ourselves. We hired the attorney to help with what we couldn't do ourselves. We were desperate for help and you robbed us. Your "very experienced" lawyer hasn't even completed 2 months at your firm and has less than 5 years experience in NYS...pulled directly from your website. We asked for help in locating a woman who likes to assign herself aliases and rename her son so that she can't be found. All counties that your client lived in were provided. We can't provide information regarding a person who doesn't want to be found and does everything in her power to hide herself and son. This said person signed legal documentation that I provided to you via email that she knowingly opened a new case in Colorado when there was already a pre existing case opened on the same child in New York County determined by the fact that she filed for COLA adjustments in New York County. Two separate county (NYC and Troy) judges sided with your former client that multiple cases were opened and cases were closed under different names including her mother's name. The current case was adjusted to reflect this but your "experienced lawyer" couldn't seem to read what was provided directly to him. read more

The Colwell Law Group is a talented and competent group of professionals. I worked with Andrew Botts. I could not have asked for a more kind and knowledgeable attorney. I am from Michigan and needed to find an attorney in the Albany area. I didn't know who to call. I was one lucky person to find this group of practitioners. Mr. Botts did a sensational job handling my PPO. I so appreciate him and the group for taking my case. I highly recommend this law group. You will not be disappointed! read more

DO NOT GO HERE!!!! This place only cares about money not their clients! I made a consultation appointment with the owner Kevin for their group to represent me in my divorce. We went over my financials and was more concerned with how I was going to pay for this and wanted 5k for a retainer and handed me the contract. I started to read it and he said it's just basic things I have to go to my sons game so if you have any issues you can reach out and we can go over it tomorrow and left to get copies and charge my card. I felt so rushed and felt like an inconvenience. Should have been my first red flag!I had an order of protection and relied on my attorneys to communicate with my ex and his lawyer and relay it to me. My first appointed attorney had a conversation with him and called me to tell me all the lies he spewed to her and told me "he's really funny" I was disgusted! My lawyer who is supposed to have my best interests tells me that her abuser is funny!? I fired them after they failed to inform me of a pending court order that would remove me and my children from the marital residence. In the course of 6 months I paid them over 10k and had 4 attorneys. When picking up my file I received the most pathetic Manila folder with only court papers. Paperwork wasn't filed, I was lied to, not kept up to date on my case and spent a ton of money in the process. When going through any event needing a lawyer it is stressful enough and these are not the lawyers u want representing your best interests. read more

Unfortunately Would not recommend. Attention to detail is lacking. Seemingly Straight forward case with errors and missing documents along the way that increases your retainer. Final Paperwork with confidential information mailed to incorrect house number on the address. read more