I am usually a positive person and rarely write a bad review. The information I am going to provide…read moreabout my case (case number 2023-518907-DM at Oakland county), handled by Mr Bernier can be verified on courtexplorer.oakgov.com I must first say that Mr Bernier is a very pleasant and respectful person, and used to always ask how I was doing. We kept good communications for the most part. My divorce was contested, mainly about parenting time, and when I interviewed Mr Bernier for the first time, I was very clear about my expectations to go to a trial not an arbitration, if an agreement can not be reached through mediations, and he agreed to represent me. I have a graduate degree and I have done extensive research about divorce before I spoke to him. I provided him with a USB and a binder that has all the exhibits and a written description of my position. Our first trial date was set 10/23/23, on 10/3/23, the opposing attorney filed 3 motions for spousal support, attorney fees and to exclude our witnesses and exhibits from trial. The opposing attorney indicated during the motion hearing, which anyone can watch at the media center in the county building, that he notified Mr Bernier about the motions over the phone and he served him the motion notice, and that he filed the motions because he never received our exhibits and witness list despite requesting them from Mr Bernier. The motions were heard by the judge and granted, since we weren't present, on 10/18/23. Mr Bernier, not only didn't answer the motions in writing and go to attend the hearing, but didn't even notify me about the motions till our scheduled meeting date to go over our trial strategy on 10/20/23. Since my attorney and I weren't present at the motions hearing; the judge postponed the trial date indicating that we weren't ready, despite being ready. When I met with Mr Bernier on 10/20/23 and for the following months, he kept insisting and pursuing me to go to arbitration, indicating that he agreed with the opposing attorney to do so, and the opposing attorney will let us use our exhibits and witnesses if we go to arbitration. I asked him to file the motion for reconsideration with the judge, and helped with the draft, but he filed on 11/07/23 a motion to compel discovery (discovery that I requested prior to hiring him) and asked the judge to allow us to use our exhibits in the motion, since the other party wasn't complaint with the discovery. Outside the court house, the opposing attorney indicated that we filed the wrong motion, and the judge will not hear the case of excluding our exhibits and witnesses in the motion to compel discovery, so Mr Bernier didn't have the motion heard by the judge. On 01/17/24, Mr Bernier filed a motion to compel discovery and a motion for relief from judgment (which I helped with the drafts), but he cancelled the motions on 01/23/24 WITHOUT consulting with me first. At that point, the due date to file any motion before our new court date was past. He told me again, that he reached another agreement with the opposing attorney to go to arbitration. I couldn't replace him at that point because the attorneys I contacted didn't want to take the case at that advanced point. I felt as if I was left without any options only to agree to arbitration, which took about 10 months from the point we all agreed to go to arbitration till we received the divorce judgment, and cost about 10,000$ for the arbitrator alone (rate 400$/hr) while the court would have been free, and I would have had the option to file an appeal if I deemed necessary (the grounds for filing an appeal to an arbitration award are extremely limited). There are other things that were missed by Mr Bernier and his staff, but I think I don't need to go into more details. I emailed Mr Bernier after I received an invitation from his office to write a review at the conclusion of my case, and asked him to explain to me why he ignored the first 3 motions, which led to my case being dragged way longer and cost way more money, but did not receive an answer.

Great firm! Joel Bernier is great attorney with morals, values, and operates with integrity. Highly…read morerecommend!

In 2023, I reached out to the Abood Law Firm on behalf of the biological father of a foster child…read moremy husband and I had cared for most of her life. I was trying to help him gain custody due to prior abuse by the child's biological mother. I came into that first meeting overwhelmed--bringing years of documentation, emotional, and letting them know I would be taking on financial responsibility for their services. Jeff and Ari spent hours with me, carefully reviewing every detail and truly listening. Not long after, they made a decision that I will never forget: they took the case completely pro bono. At the time, I could hardly believe it. Looking back now, knowing the kind of men they are, it makes perfect sense. What meant even more was their level of commitment to the case. Over the course of 18-months, both Jeffrey and Ari personally attended every single court date. They didn't pass us off to junior staff--they showed up, every time. Even now, that still amazes me. Their dedication, compassion, and integrity are unlike anything I've ever experienced from a law firm. They didn't just take on a case--they changed a child's life. They won the case and worked out a situation that was even better than we could have hoped for. Without hesitation, they gave their time, expertise, and resources to help a little girl have a better future. To me, Jeff and Ari are nothing short of heroes and they are incredible attorneys! I can never repay what they did, but I hope they know how deeply grateful I am. I truly consider them like family now. If you are looking for a law firm led by people of integrity, compassion, and incredible dedication--this is it. I cannot recommend the Abood Law Firm highly enough. God bless you, Jeffrey and Ari.

Jeffrey Lance Abood of Abood Law and his team are relentless at performing for their clients. They…read moreare easy to work with and quick to find resolutions that are in your best interest. They have worked with me in several capacities including post divorce matters, contract concerns just to name a few. They will put your best interests first and be there when you need them.

Attorney Jeff McCarty fights to WIN! He Will go above and beyond to see the desired outcome ,…read morethough the fate is not in his hands , he makes mountains move for his clients. Very thankful and blessed to have him as my own attorney

"Carl, we didn't neglect your matter, we fought it to win. There was nothing mishandled or…read moremisdirected. However, there are situations where we have an ethical duty to withdraw from a matter. Those situations can include dishonesty by the client, failure to pay, and a breakdown of the attorney client relationship. We can't go into specifics here on a public site about your case. However, there are situations where clients have unreasonable expectation that ignore established facts which drive a breakdown in the attorney client relationship. We're regretful that you are unhappy and wish you the best in your future endeavors." I appreciate your reply, as it demonstrates for others just how little respect you have for your clientele, whom you enjoy attacking in public; I'm only the latest one. And how dare you insinuate I was dishonest with you, or failed to pay? Or suggest there were any unreasonable expectations? Of course you can't go into specifics, because you have nothing to support your disingenuous characterizations. I could have easily represented myself in this case, but I didn't want to directly engage my ex in front of the judge. I understand family court well enough to understand just how poorly you did. One can only wonder how many people you've abused because they're unfamiliar with the legal process. I do believe you do fight to win, but only cherry-picked personal injury cases, and your other clients suffer. If you don't think FILING A CRUCIAL RESPONSE ON THE WRONG CASE is mishandling something, that clearly demonstrates your ineptitude and unwillingness to accept responsibility. Jeff McCarty was completely oblivious that the judge did not have the document during the hearing, and the consequences were disastrous. The error would have gone undiscovered if I hadn't known how to check the register of actions - and when I wrote Jeff about the gaffe, he ignored me. When I wrote a second time holding Amanda to task for the misfiling, he suddenly cared - about her. Jeff had been unprepared as usual, including the time we had to track him down for a hearing and he was clearly disoriented when he appeared. There was the time Jeff changed the hearing date and forgot to tell me. And the time I called Amanda and she thought my file had been closed, because of Jeff's dawdling. The case got off to a bad start because Jeff wasn't prepared and wasn't sharp enough to challenge the opposing party's dishonest testimony before FOC. He was provided concrete evidence of the perjury and failed to seek immediately, or ever, sanctions and attorney fees. The ABA writes "perhaps no professional shortcoming is more widely resented than procrastination. A client's interests often can be adversely affected by the passage of time or the change of conditions." Jeff had an ethical duty to zealous advocacy and failed. The last thing I asked you for was a final billing, which I requested multiple times over months. I never received it. According to the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board web site, Jeff was appointed to represent a woman in a claim for Social Security Widow's Benefits, and it was found he sought to charge an illegal fee, and in a collection suit filed against her, he failed inform the court that he had previously agreed that he would not charge or receive any fee unless authorized in accordance with the Social Security laws and regulations. This is consistent with the lack of integrity I experienced and he's found a home at Rasor. You took $15,000 from me and failed to help me advocate for my kids who have suffered emotional abuse. As if your lack of humanity for children who had their innocence destroyed weren't reprehensible enough, you have chosen to attack me with foolish innuendo. You didn't have the energy to fight in court so now you're battling another client on social media. Your kinds words are as worthless as your character and your cowardly accusations.

Stacey is the best family lawyer in the metro Detroit area. She fights for her clients to get them…read morethe best custody arrangement. She will help fathers get the 50/50 custody they deserve.

I hired Staci Giske in September. She completely disappeared for two weeks after she processed my…read moreretainer fees upwards of $3,000. She would not email me back or call me back to let me know if my case had fully been filed so that I could tell my husband (for legal reasons, I need to wait until I had the paperwork processed). In the meantime, he was receiving solicitations in the mail from attorneys without even knowing I filed due to her utter lack of respect for me, for my husband and normal, professional communications, in general. I clearly wanted to be the one to tell him. In addition, she has now falsified and withheld my money since I released her from my counsel. She offers a free consultation (it's on her website too), like most attorneys, but then charged me $400 and took that from my retainer/credit card. For months my amazing new attorney and I have tried to in a kind, professional manner get my money refunded. She said she would refund it. She was missing a little over $1,000. She refuses to refund the full amount. Sadly, I am forced to file a complaint against her with the state bar and I need to go to small claims court to get my full $3,000 refunded. It is sad that a woman attorney would treat a soon to be single mother with two young boys who is facing financial hardship like this. Staci Giske is unethical, she violating the law and she is beyond unprofessional. I am posting this review to protect others from going through an enormous amount of unnecessary stress that I have had to deal with from hiring her. I will eventually get my money back because I have mounting evidence that she falsified work after I terminated her services and charged me after she offered a free consultation, but this is the last thing I need in my life while going through a divorce. Be careful, she seems nice and caring, but she is the complete opposite once you give her your money.

You told me very blatantly there are no options and I'm "in a pickle", you made no attempt at…read morehelping me. I have retained other legal counsel through this same plan for this exact matter, and several options were discussed and will be negotiated with the plaintiffs attorneys who brought this judgment to the county sheriff's office.

These people are the worst, the people you talk to when you call know nothing of the medical…read moreprofession. They know of no procedures and everything has to be explained to them. They ask the wrong questions and are not smart enough know that they are stupid. I have several things wrong with me performed by two doctors, they could not wrap thier heads around two doctors when all theier cases are one doctor. Stay away from these fools for your own good. RobertRRabideau

This guy told me he would help me and I even drove to his law office three times. And then he blew…read moreme off. Completely blew me off and I am a father trying to get back his two sons that were taken from me. He is clearly not a person that is a parent of children or he would have more room in his heart for somebody like me.. I strongly recommend you do not use him as your attorney. I prefer attorneys that have not lost their connection to compassion.. I won't swear or use the F word here so I will just say this... F U Pencildick

Front desk staff was very helpful and informative in my visit today, looking forward to working…read morewith them soon hopefully.

My husband and I hired Mr. Bennion when we were unexpectedly served papers regarding a paternity/…read morechild custody case. From the moment we consulted with him we felt confident in his knowledge and ability to handle a "unique/difficult " case such as ours. He delivered on his promises and kept us realistically informed on all matters. I would HIGHLY recommend hiring him!

If you are a male you should run when this woman's name appears on your mediation sheet. She only…read morecares about the mother of the children and men that have went to school and have any career that doesn't have a set schedule she will tell you to give up custody of your child. Why should anyone be penalized for making something of themselves because the woman you thought you loved was really trying to create a meal ticket for her and her mother to stay home and not work? Deborah told me that I should quit playing victim when my estranged wife has called the ATF on her own father for supporting me, FAA numerous times on me and her uncle for supporting me and finally made many false claims to the police departments including faking an injury to get a DV case against me. She told me that my items I wanted back I should just replace them and move on...some of these items are very sentimental to me. This woman has issues with men and shouldn't ever be used as a mediator. There are many other items I could list she did but the list would go on and on.

Kindest, Strongest Attorney around 5.0 stars…read morePosted by Elizabeth June 27, 2018 Deborah O'Brien handled my recent divorce. She did an excellent job in preparation, mediation, and court. Deborah walked me through the toughest experience of my life with grace and kindness. She was tough when she needed to be and supportive when I needed her to be. She was wonderful to work with. Her staff was very helpful and responsive. She was there when I needed her, I highly recommend Deborah !