This is an honest, heartfelt review from the other side of the table. My divorce was just…read morefinalized this week. I chose not to get an attorney, my ex chose this firm. Because I didn't have an attorney, Mr. McGill could deal with me directly. Therefore, as not his client, I can tell you what the experience was like as the "other" party. I am paying the attorney's fees, so I feel as though I have a right to voice my opinion here.
There is a reason I personally don't hire lawyers, this experience was the epitome of why. In my humble opinion, it is all about the "billable hours."
Communication was always polite and mostly professional, however, I had to constantly push for information and answers. I asked the same questions on a regular basis from mid May to early July. I finally got the answers to those questions in Mid July. I completely understand that my ex had major decisions to make, however, they were pretty simple questions in my mind, based on what we both knew to be true. They may very well have been huge decisions on my ex's part, however, there were other things I was offering to do that more than made up for what I was asking about.
Mr. McGill would ask me the same questions over and over again, when I had already answered them several times, this was annoying. What kind of lawyer doesn't document the responses in a way that he can refer back to them? Maybe it is a lawyer thing. Maybe it is just me, I am a record keeper and I document everything I can in black and white, as proof of what has been said and done.
I understand that my ex wasn't his only client, however, wasn't there a file laying around somewhere with my answers noted? Didn't he have my original paperwork to refer to, where his questions were answered BEFORE he asked them? I understand wanting clarification, however, my responses were the same each and every time. It was all very repetitive, and quite frankly annoying. This is where my opinion on billable hours comes in. Our dozens of email exchanges probably padded his fees.
At the end came the Consent Decree. The wrong dates and counties were noted on the draft submission. Seriously, you don't know what year it is or what county the proceedings are taking place in? More billable hours for revisions?
I was eternally grateful that the final draft was sent to me last Tuesday, I got my signature notarized, emailed the page back to him that same day, and then there were crickets.....I finally asked on Monday when the papers would be filed with the court. He told me one of his "runners" was taking them to the courthouse on Tuesday morning.
Thankfully the Judge's clerk emailed me confirmation that the Judge had signed the papers that same day while cancelling the scheduled resolution conference, otherwise I would have had to wait for confirmation for god only knows how long.
With something this important, there is a ton of stress and lost sleep. Emotions are high and lives are literally on hold. Communication solves a lot of that. I don't know, maybe he was in constant communication with my ex.
Keep in mind, Patrick McGill owes me nothing, I was not his client, but I am paying his bill. I felt as though he drug his feet through the entire process. My ex and I didn't disagree about anything from the beginning. It was really a very simple transaction, there was no arguing back and forth, neither of us were trying to stick it to each other. He and I have no ill will towards each other.
My ex has been paid his half of the equity on our house, the two debts of his that I offered to, and promised to pay off have been paid off. The Consent Decree stated that those needed to be paid within 30 days of the Judge signing. Done, Done, and Done. The only debt left for me to pay off is Mr. McGill's bill, I am still waiting to actually get a physical copy of that.
This didn't need to take 4 months to complete, it could have been done a long time ago, for a lot less money. Again, this is just my opinion. We all know the saying about opinions.....
Thank you for reading, and take this for what it is, my personal opinion.
