A couple of months ago my former spouse and I engaged Thurman W. Arnold III to help us mediate a…read moredivorce settlement and help us write up the settlement and present it to the courts for approval and processing. We were attracted to this approach after reading multiple accounts from retired judges on the excessive cost, stress and psychological damage done by traditional adversarial approaches. As a management professional who has been trained in how to build win/win scenarios, this approach resonated with me. Likewise, the website's clarity in its intent to have all meetings be collaborative and the focus on protecting the more vulnerable party, resonated with my former partner. I am pleasantly surprised to report that the process not only met these expectations, but clearly exceeded them. The process, steps and timing were accurately described in the first meeting. The process was executed fairly and with great sensitivity and professionalism. This sensitivity included great sensitivity in working with same-sex couples like us, who have unique legal questions due to the newness of same-sex marriages. The settlement that we amicably reached was fair, protected both parties and preserved a 37 year friendship between me and my former spouse. It created the opportunity to get through the process, protect us both and not do additional damage to our friendship and by extension to our friends and family. When we came upon tricky accounting and tax questions Thurman brought in knowledgeable and helpful accounting professionals that had spot on, accurate and inciteful advice. The process, beginning to end, was four meetings across a couple of months. The fees were hourly based and was on a 'pay as your go' approach, so there were no invoicing surprises. The process started with software used by Thurman that helped make it highly efficient, so the billable hours charged were focused on our issues and resolution of our estate. The fees were transparent, and the billable hours were used in an efficient and effective manner. The sessions were friendly, respectful and compassionate and the settlement was fair and equitable. The only negative in the experience, was that it took a few weeks to get the initial meeting as his law practice is fairly busy, but it was well worth the wait for the initial session. I highly recommend this approach if it is a fit for your situation. At a minimum, I would explore an initial consult prior to going down the road to any other approach as long as there is an openness on both parties' sake to enter into a constructive dialogue on how to dissolve your marriage.

Michael Peterson really helped me through my custody case with my daughter. My case was very…read moredifficult, but he took the time and effort .He is very knowledgeable and is very responsive. I highly recommend Mr. Peterson for any family matters because he will walk you through everything and now I get to have time with my daughter thanks to Mike!

My wife Marlene ans I needed some real estate matters taken care of right away. Called the office,…read moreexplained our situation to Elizabeth Bonilla, she was able to get us an appointment at 12 pm that day. We arrived and were greeted immediately, escorted to a conference room. Elizabeth went over our paper work and explained she could have all papers prepared in about 30 minutes. After signing paper work She said She would file all paper work with the county for us. Would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Elizabeth for anyone needing Paralegal Service. Russell Crumpacker

Thank you for helping me with the Eviction, I really am grateful that you held me by the hand every…read morestep of the way. I thought that I could do it on my own but the people at the Palm Springs Court really were not helpful. The attorney was great in court yesterday. I am very happy with all the work done by your office!!!!

My experience with this lawyer/person was not a good one. He makes up his mind about things with…read moreout hearing all of the facts. He makes a ton of mistakes and when you point them out he first denies making a mistake. And when he realized that he did he charges you for the time it took to fix his mistakes. He is very argumentative, provided poor legal advice and charges an exorbitant amount for it. Had I listened to his advise that I was guilty of let him try to lesson the penalty. Of course I was not going to do that and got it dismissed on my own. I wasted the $500 initial consultation fee and another $250 for him to fix his mistakes after I fired him. He is ruthless so I paid just to get rid of this problem so my advice is do not contact this person and never talk to him, your wallet will thank you.

Here is my honest opinion of Mark's legal services: Mark is a highly educated, informed and…read morewell-versed attorney in the field of family law. He knows the rules inside and out and he has a very calm and cool demeanor. He is an avid writer who presents his arguments on paper very clearly and effectively. He represented me in my divorce over the course of 1.5 years and we were eventually able to settle out of court, in order to avoid a long, drawn-out and messy trial. Although the process was very stressful and expensive, I feel the end result was to my benefit in certain respects, given the family law court system is generally a free-for-all. That being said, there are a few things to watch out for when working with Mark in my personal opinion. First, read your retainer agreement carefully as he is a sole practitioner and for the most part, does all the work himself, including tasks traditionally belonging to a secretary, paralegal or otherwise, and he charges his full rate for those tasks. The bills add up quickly. Additionally, since he lacks support staff to review his work, besides his secretary, it is imperative you review all your documents and motions for accuracy before signing them to be filed with the Court. Any mistakes can quickly catch up to you and cause great damage down the line and in turn, cost you tens of thousands of dollars. After having lost a major pre-trial motion in my case which nearly doubled the amount of temporary support I had to pay, I felt forced to hire another attorney to act as co-counsel in order to verify and double-check all of Mark's work and advice. Without the second attorney acting as a fail-safe, I would not have been comfortable continuing the process with Mark on his own. Given it was a year into the divorce, it would have been very costly to completely replace Mark with a new attorney and get him/her caught up with the entire case. Nevertheless, as I mentioned, be very aware of the legal strategies and documents you are presented and take the time to read through everything thoroughly before signing off on it. Second, while Mark is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the law, his in-court demeanor is very relaxed and he is quite soft-spoken, and as a result, he can be seen as too passive at times, especially when opposing counsel is throwing a fit and putting on a show. One would think that when one is in court, the law is what matters, but sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the oil. That being said, eventually the law prevails over the in-court antics of opposing counsel. Third, in my opinion,if you are a client that pays all your bills on time and that pays your temporary support on time, you will be viewed as a steady source of income for not only your attorney, but the opposing attorney as well. In my experience, it felt like there was an unspoken rule between the attorneys to drag out my case as long as possible given I always paid my bills on time (I had to pay for opposing counsel's fees as well) and they had no trouble collecting their fees. But like I said, that is the feeling I had during a very stressful and financially draining period of time between the start and end of the divorce. In the end, I learned that a hasty decision can end up costing you tens of thousands of dollars if you do not hire the right attorney and you must make the time to thoroughly participate in your case and review all the work done by your attorney. This may be counter-intuitive given you are paying the attorney to do the job, but in the end, nobody cares about your case or life more than you. All in all, carefully consider all your options before making a decision on who to hire.

Dealing with attorneys has never been a forte of mine. However, it is sometimes a necessary evil…read more I was referred to Heritage Legal to update my trust and will. From the moment I contacted them, the whole team there were never less than utterly professional, polite, personable and absolutely thorough. Chris Heritage made the whole effort extremely understandable and pain free. He is an exceptionally good listener (a rarity in today's world). He provided excellent advise, insights and understanding to a process I had no initial understanding of. Chris provided me with an education which ensured I was able to make cogent and reasonable decisions. A no bullshit attorney who furnishes you with exactly what you need? Priceless!! Thank you to Chris, Rand and all the team at Heritage Legal.

I was there filing my bankruptcy, talking to him, and he was booking his trip to Greece at the same…read moretime. Rude and no feeling care as long as you paid.

Incompetant, did not communicate, he took my money and I got nothing. I wanted a divorce and I…read morewaited 20 mmonths before talking to another lawyer.

Tried many times to contact this firm by text, in person and by Email. Not even the courtesy to…read morecontact me about a high profile case.

Our relationship started in April 2024 with initial contact with Parker Stewart , Salvatore…read moreBommarito's assistant. Very pleasant and things started out well and we had an in office visit a few day later. Sal was pleasant, we talked about our defamation defense, wine, golf and other things. We asked Sal if we should respond to the letter from the prosecutor's office but were advised to wait and see if things escalate. We took his advise. Things then escalated and after a few emails with Parker we were advised their trial calendar was very busy and to contact one of Sal's "colleagues". I then sent what turned out to be the final email asking if said colleague was going to be brought up to speed on our case without a cost to us. After this we were ghosted. I would recommend you do your homework, I obviously did not do enough myself. This obviously is not in his wheelhouse and I was asking for results.

Overall I had a fantastic experience with Sal and his assistant Parker. I consulted with several…read moreattorneys before ultimately deciding to go with Sal at the recommendation of a friend. It was one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. Overall the outcome was exactly what I was looking for and nothing less. Realistically, given the situation is was actually the best possible outcome for all parties involved. The opposing party even went as far as to ask me to thank Sal for helping us reach the outcome we did. 10/10 would recommend Sal for anything family law or real estate related!

Attorney Mark McGowan is truly exceptional. We are profoundly grateful that he practices here in…read morethe desert. We sought Attorney Mark McGowan's guidance for our estate planning and trusts because of his outstanding training at Stanford, and he exceeded every expectation. He embodies everything one hopes for in an attorney: consummately professional, personable, and engaging, with a wonderful sense of humor that makes even complex discussions approachable and reassuring. Most importantly, Mark McGowan possesses extraordinary depth of knowledge in wills and trusts. He answers questions with clarity and precision, and his insight is remarkable. He thoughtfully incorporated provisions into our documents that no previous attorney had considered, including details that reflect both his expertise and his genuine commitment to protecting his clients' interests. Mark McGowan is also exceptionally responsive and efficient, providing timely communication and a seamless turnaround in preparing our documents. If you are seeking the very finest legal counsel, Mark McGowan is unequivocally the right choice! He is simply the very best!

Mark is as thorough as he is pleasant!! He explained my new trust in great detail, prepared the…read moredocuments very quickly, and, when I had to be in the hospital, he came to the hospital for my signatures. Truly outstanding service! I'm thankful to have found him!!

I trusted this law firm to help me with a car accident case I had years back. The case was won but…read moreI only received a little over $1K, not only did they not fight for me to get a greater amount as they settled with the first and only offer but the chiropractor they sent me to got a bigger check than me from my own settlement and I'm sure this law firm did too.

We had a Lemon of a vehicle so I searched and found Coronna , Johnson & Zamora Legal offices and…read moreour case was assigned to Abel Favela .Abel was precise, professional, and fast . From the time I went o get his help to when it ended it was about 2months or less . I highly recommend Abel Favela 100% if you wanna get what your entitled to . Whether you speak English or Spanish they are there to help . Thank you Abel Favela for all your help you were awesome

I met Ms. Barrett in regard to some issues with the possibility of a divorce. I liked the woman -…read morepersonally - it was costly $ 350.00 for one hour - I assume this is the going rate. She got some information for me within 15 minutes in regard to the deed of my house - otherwise - despite the first 30 minutes were supposed to be free - I spent 55 minutes in her office and as she is not taking credit cards, I had to bring the money to her office the next day. I asked the secretary to have Ms. Barrett call me, as I had a question - after thought - she never called. 2 days ago , 5/7/2012 i called the office again, told the secretary, that I have question for Ms. Barrett - and to please return my call - no return call. I am extremely upset about her - being a lawyer !!!! - taking my money and then not answering a question - this should have been included in the initial fee I paid - or tell me, sorry, this will cost you $ 6.00 @ minute to get the answer. So, Ms. Barrett, I'm still waiting for your response. Evelyne Alexandre Simmons. you have my number !!!!

From the owner: Gay/Lesbian Divorces, Estate Planning (Will and Trusts), Trust Administration, Probatesread more

Victoria Penley has helped me in multiple cases over the years. All I can say is she is my first…read morechoice when I have needed legal representation and would choose her again when the need arises. Her experience and expertise shines through. As a result my outcomes have been better than expected in matters she has come to my aid to resolve. Thank you Victoria for taking such great care of me!

I have known Victoria Penley for over twenty years she is very dedicated to her clients. We have…read moreused her for many legal issues. Save has a always been very professional and great at her profession. I highly recommend her.