I was recommended to Smitherman law by a co-worker of mine. Within 10 minutes of talking to Kellee…read moreI knew I was in good hands. I felt comfortable and she reassured me that her and Erika would do everything they could to help me. They both are very knowledgeable and understanding of what I am going through and compassionate when I tell them my fears and worries.

I would highly recommend this law firm her team has been diligent on working with my divorce. They…read moreare very thorough and don't miss anything.

She is an excellent attorney very smart and fair. She did legal and financial work for me. Highly…read morerecommend.

I hired Catherine initially while going through an extremely high conflict divorce…read more My divorce was finalized late January 2023. By the middle of March 2023 my ex-wife was up to her usual disparaging and hurtful behavior. I had hired Catherine during my divorce and to say that she helped me throughout that process is an extreme understatement! When I met Catherine it didn't take long to discern that she is not like any other attorney I have ever spoken to. Catherine is caring and compassionate; she is thorough and knowledgeable. Due to a simple misunderstanding my ex-wife kept my daughter from me for 5 months. My ex-wife and her attorney fabricated lie after lie. The situation started when I advised my ex-wife that I planned to exercise my parenting time for spring break. I arrived on a Friday in March to begin my parenting time and my ex would not allow me to have my daughter. I called the Columbus police department and they advised me there was nothing they could do; that only the judge could enforce the shared parenting plan. That began 5 months of hell as my poor daughter was once again kept from her father. Catherine fought for me and filed several motions until the heat was enough that the other side started wanting to negotiate. I could not have gone through such a trying time without Catherine by my side. This past week marked the first time in over 5 months that my daughter was with her daddy.

Catherine's dedication to my family, and countless others have made her phenomenal in her field. No…read morematter what the situation, she is able to handle it with professionalism and poise. I wish I had her as my divorce attorney, but I am extremely thankful I had her for this custody issue. I have recommended her to anyone needing counsel. She has proven over and over again that she can be trusted, and will give it her all. Small backstory: My divorce attorney was less than stellar, my ex would consistently violate the terms of our custody agreement and got away with it. The kids grew tired of their mother having different boyfriends in and out of the house, alcohol issues, being alienated from friends and family, etc. Every time the children requested extra time or I requested extra time, it was not even an option. Requesting special event time, which was well within my rights as stated in our paperwork, was a nightmare. Nasty phone calls, texts, threats of never being allowed extra time again. My children never wanted to leave my house, and would often cry before I would take them back. Still to this day, their mother makes them feel guilty about wanting extra time with me, or accuses them of loving me more than her. One day my daughter called me to pick her and her sister up. A storm had knocked the power out, and it was very cold. I tried to call my ex, the girls tried to wake her but she wouldn't get up. I picked up the girls, while still reaching out to my ex which she never responded to. Roughly an hour later she finally called. It was in full on war mode. I took the girls right back to their mothers house. She had called the police, and told the girls I was going to jail. My ex forbade the girls to speak to me for almost 3 days. Took their phones away, she wouldn't even respond to texts/calls. When I finally got to speak to my oldest daughter, she was crying, apologizing, saying she should have never called, everything was her fault etc. My daughter could only speak to me while on the bus to and from school, otherwise her mother would listening to every single word. After that enough was enough. So, I set up a consultation with Catherine. She was very straightforward and honest, listened to each of my concerns and gave me realistic options. She did not pressure me into making any decision, it is difficult to get fathers rights overturned, but I was willing to take that chance if that meant I could help my girls. It didn't take long after discussing these things with my family to get things rolling. Communication was always there. Right off the bat she was able to negotiate extra visitation time. I am responsible for transportation to and from school during my time and it is a 45 min drive one way, so we needed to see how things would go. This was certainly a big step for the girls, and everyone involved. Except my ex. For the first 8 months of separation she played the victim (narcissism at its finest) emotionally manipulating our children, and I had plenty of evidence of Parental Alienation. Catherine was aware of these games and strongly suggested a GAL. This motion was granted. My children met with the GAL at both of our homes, and informed her that they wanted to live with me. Unfortunately she made the recommendation for the girls to stay with their mom due to being established in their school. Catherine made every effort during our hearing to remind the GAL, and the magistrate that the children were moved without court or my consent. She also reminded them that my ex pulled the girls from not just one, but 2 of their schools during her moves. As well as lying to the enrollment center. My number one concern is what is best for my children I knew I couldn't disrupt the progress my children were making at their current school. No matter what school they would go to they were always excellent students. I agreed with my ex to remain the residential parent for school purposes. But Catherine was able to get everything else we were asking for. My girl's wishes included. Catherine reminded me that Fathers matter too!!

If I could give this firm 100 stars I would. They are absolutely incredible people. They are…read morecompetent and kind. What a combination! We were recommended to this firm by our local family attorney who met Mr Petroff at a training. They mentioned he was a great man. Well we were assigned Elizabeth Mitchell due to the nature of our case. She has a lot of experience with child services cases we were dealing with. I have to say Elizabeth is very communicative and intelligent when it comes to family law. She was in constant communication with my husband and myself. She made sure to keep us updated with every change in the case. Elizabeth is definitely meant for this line of work. If you need a firm who will fight extremely hard for your family this is it right here. I loved working with them. Thanks again!

I would NOT recommend anyone Erika Smitherman from Petroff Law Offices…read more She came unprepared for the hearing and agreed with almost everything the opposite side insisted on for the financial part of the settlement. Didn't have anything prepared for the child custody part. Days before hearing she lied to me about the possible outcomes and her strategy. If you still decide to go with her, prepare the templates you want for settlement yourself, and bring paper and a laptop as Erika most probably won't have it. Also, get ready to send the same documents over and over for discovery, and don't feel surprised if you get documents about opposite-party discovery with a few months' delay..

Was referred here by another lawyer who we really like, and Dianne was great. Down to earth,…read morestraightforward, professional. Loves dogs. We have a fairly technical issue to resolve, and she has a plan to take care of it.

i can't say for Dianne herself but her paralegal was very rude and disrespectful. i was looking for…read morea price range for a dissolution and she interrupted me and practically yelled at me. i would never recommend this office.

I hired Stephanie (and Pam!) to handle my divorce after dealing with a LOT of frustration with my…read moreprevious lawyer (I.e., expensive billings every 2 weeks, not responsive to email, no results in almost a year, etc.). In less than 3 months, she finalized my divorce and avoided trial. We won on all of the major points in both the divorce and child custody. Stephanie was extremely responsive to my questions and concerns, provided AMAZING results from day 1, and ended up costing a fraction of what my previous lawyer billed. I seriously cannot recommend her enough!! I can finally close this chapter! Thank you so much for everything, Stephanie and Pam!!!

Very pleased with the responsiveness and professionalism of this law office. Our estate planning…read morewas completed much sooner than we anticipated. Appreciated the time and patience in explaining the terms included in the documents. We felt very much appreciated during our interactions. Highly recommend this law office.

Great customer service from all of the staff.I highly recommend these lawyers.read more

I called for some help dealing with the estate of a deceased loved one. Courtney was extremely…read moreknowledgeable and helpful. Good advice is hard to come by, and it's refreshing to finally get some during such a trying time.

Over a period of several months this past winter and spring, my wife and I had the pleasure of…read moreworking with Mr. Gary Vinson and his Office in crafting a Family Trust for our family. I had been dreading this task for the usual reasons (don't want to think about dying, worried about family dissension, etc.), but Mr. Vinson supplied ample verve, sensitivity, and good humor, along with exceptional professional expertise, to make the process as pain-free as it could possibly be. At the outset, Susan and I had no clear idea of what we were doing or even what we actually wanted to accomplish. But Mr. Vinson's insightful questions, laying out of options, thorough discussion of pros and cons, demystification of probate law and estate planning, and exploration of alternative outcomes clarified for us the different choices we might make and the possible outcomes of those choices. Ably assisted by his partner/Office Manager/spouse, Mr. Vinson prepared necessary documents for us along with clear instructions on how to proceed going forward. He also made an offer (still open) to meet individually with any of our seven children in case they need help understanding the structure of the Trust and their place in the arrangements. I'll mention parenthetically that the whole effort was, to my mind, surprisingly affordable. In short, working with Mr. Vinson and his Office has provided my wife and me with great peace of mind and the sense that we have provided for our children and grandchildren as best we can. Thank you, Mr. Vinson! Over a period of several months this past winter and spring, my wife and I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Gary Vinson and his Office in crafting a Family Trust for our family. I had been dreading this task for the usual reasons (don't want to think about dying, worried about family dissension, etc.), but Mr. Vinson supplied ample verve, sensitivity, and good humor, along with exceptional professional expertise, to make the process as pain-free as it could possibly be. At the outset, Susan and I had no clear idea of what we were doing or even what we actually wanted to accomplish. But Mr. Vinson's insightful questions, laying out of options, thorough discussion of pros and cons, demystification of probate law and estate planning, and exploration of alternative outcomes clarified for us the different choices we might make and the possible outcomes of those choices. Ably assisted by his partner/Office Manager/spouse, Mr. Vinson prepared necessary documents for us along with clear instructions on how to proceed going forward. He also made an offer (still open) to meet individually with any of our seven children in case they need help understanding the structure of the Trust and their place in the arrangements. I'll mention parenthetically that the whole effort was, to my mind, surprisingly affordable. In short, working with Mr. Vinson and his Office has provided my wife and me with great peace of mind and the sense that we have provided for our children and grandchildren as best we can. Thank you, Mr. Vinson! Over a period of several months this past winter and spring, my wife and I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Gary Vinson and his Office in crafting a Family Trust for our family. I had been dreading this task for the usual reasons (don't want to think about dying, worried about family dissension, etc.), but Mr. Vinson supplied ample verve, sensitivity, and good humor, along with exceptional professional expertise, to make the process as pain-free as it could possibly be. At the outset, Susan and I had no clear idea of what we were doing or even what we actually wanted to accomplish. But Mr. Vinson's insightful questions, laying out of options, thorough discussion of pros and cons, demystification of probate law and estate planning, and exploration of alternative outcomes clarified for us the different choices we might make and the possible outcomes of those choices. Ably assisted by his partner/Office Manager/spouse, Mr. Vinson prepared necessary documents for us along with clear instructions on how to proceed going forward. He also made an offer (still open) to meet individually with any of our seven children in case they need help understanding the structure of the Trust and their place in the arrangements. I'll mention parenthetically that the whole effort was, to my mind, surprisingly affordable. In short, working with Mr. Vinson and his Office has provided my wife and me with great peace of mind and the sense that we have provided for our children and grandchildren as best we can. Thank you, Mr. Vinson! Over a period of several months this past winter and spring, my wife and I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Gary Vinson and his Office in crafting a Family Trust for our family. I had been dreading this task for the usual reasons (don't want to think about dying, worried about family dissension, etc.), but Mr. Vinson supplied ample verve, sensitivity, and good humor, along wit

If you're looking for the best Real Estate, Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts and Probate Lawyer in…read moreColumbus - Gary Vinson II Attorney at Law is your man. I can't tell you how wonderful it has been working with Gary. He is very good at what he does. He really knows his stuff and is very generous with his advice. You will be impressed by him - I guarantee it. Gary has been a very dear friend and business partner of mine since 2000. He has done more for me than almost any other attorney on the planet. I thank God for Gary. In a world of corrupt and greedy lawyers, Gary is the oasis you're looking for. Call him now!