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!!

All about the $. No scruples. Would not recommend. Especially Peyton. I hired through a work…read moreprogram and they Weren't getting paid much. When I didn't get back information in 2 weeks they dropped me. Now I have to pay someone else $2500 to repeat and I'm on long term disability. I asked them how much and they never emailed back. And U wonder why people hate lawyers.

Taylor Agler, esq. help me with my personal injury claim after an auto accident. She did an…read moreexcellent job dealing with all the insurance companies and medical bills for me....thank you so much! I will use them again if ever needed.

Susan Garner helped us with the adoption of our grandson. She worked both the original adoption…read morecase as well as the appeal we had to go through when the magistrate over our case did not follow the law. There are specific (simple and logical) requirements the biological parent(s) must have demonstrated within the past 12 months in order to contest an adoption (such as they at least attempted to stay in touch, attempted to offer some support, etc.) and the bio parent in our case had the ability to meet the requirements but made no attempt for the 12-month period the adoption case was open, so met none of the requirements and legally should not have been able to contest the adoption. It was scary that our case hinged on a magistrate that decide to through those requirements out the window because she felt it might be worth giving the bio parent another chance once she was out of prison and then out of a rehab, even though to this point she had shown no effort to meet the minimal requirements. We were worried that we would not be able to provide our grandson a forever, safe home. But Susan was optimistic. She explained the law was clear and she recommended we appeal. We trusted her and we did appeal. The case was sent to the judge for review who explained through his writings that the law was clear; the law had not been followed and as a result the bio parent did not have the right to contest the adoption. He required the magistrate continue with the process to complete the adoption. We found her staff and operation run very well and never had any difficulty with getting the information we needed. We will always be grateful that we selected Susan to represent our adoption.

Well we went to court she did not win what she wanted but we ended up having a pay a little less…read morethan half of what she wanted back even though we already paid her she waits 7 years later we could not find the proof that we needed that we did not win the case but is over we owe money again to her. I would not recommend her or her office to any body she is very very unorganize and she charge way over billed us for what she did shot use a lot of work that was uncalled for never used in the case and we had to pay for it. I would not recommend this attorney to anybody she is a waste of time and bills outrageously for stuff that she did not even do be where if you use her you will be very very sorrt

Petroff Law Office has the best team of lawyers that you could ask for. I had the pleasure of…read moreworking with Michelle Meis and Ron Petroff. My case looked hopeless before they became involved. I had a judge who was very displeased with me, an attorney who wasn't representing me and hurting my case and I was terrified. Ron accepted my case when no other attorney in Columbus would help. He was able to place me in a much better standing with our judge and saved my case. I wouldn't have won anything if it wasn't for him. His firm saw me as a person; not a billable number. They are calm, professional and truly care about you and your family. Not only does this firm aggressively and assertively work for the best interest of your family; but they provide logical, no-nonsense guidance. There is no other firm who will be there for your family the way that Petroff Law Offices will. I can never thank this firm enough. When they work for you; you'll understand why.

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 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.

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.

I had the privilege of being represented by Virginia Cornwell in my divorce, and I cannot recommend…read moreher highly enough. From beginning to end, she handled my case with professionalism, dedication, and compassion. While the process was far longer and more stressful than I anticipated--largely due to constant delays from opposing counsel--Virginia stayed focused and worked tirelessly to keep my case moving forward. In fact, she often did more to bring the matter to resolution than the opposing side, to the point where I believe even my ex began to trust that Virginia was working harder toward a fair conclusion than her own lawyer. I am certain that if I had chosen anyone else, my case would have dragged on much longer. Virginia and her paralegal, Nicole, consistently gave me honest, straightforward answers and went above and beyond to help me manage not just the legal process, but the emotional challenges as well. Their support helped me stay grounded during what was easily the most difficult time of my life. What sets Virginia apart is that she truly cares about her clients. I never felt like just another case file on her desk--she genuinely cared about guiding me through one of my darkest chapters. She and Nicole were a constant source of light and reassurance when I needed it most. If you are facing divorce or any of the other legal matters Virginia handles, I strongly encourage you to call her. By the end of your case, you will know you made the right decision having her on your side.

Virginia handled my divorce/ child custody case during the pandemic which was added stressor for my…read moresituation. I came to find out how slow the process can be. Every time Virginia needed to give me legal advice or perform an action to protect and or strengthen my case she was there and usually met or exceeded my expectations. I was impressed by how she took key points from my case for the short non-oral hearings with the magistrate. She does not pomp you up for things you want to happen but are unlikely. She is pretty straight forward with her assessment of the case and potential outcomes. Even with the pandemic I did not feel like she downgraded her attention to my case while having other clients and or obvious personal obstacles that would arise during that time. I highly recommend her for full complex divorce or for just legal counsel in mediation.

Mark and his team are amazing. They have helped me and few others I have sent over the years clear…read moreup bankruptcy issues. Wonderful team would recommend and do recommend.

I knew Mark from his involvement with the Ohio State football saturdays at Ohio Stadium. I since…read morewhen on to compete professionally and am now a team scout and coordinator. I was in financial distress, and it is difficult to think clearly and make good decisions . That, in addition to not understanding a legal process complicates matters even more. When I first contacted him for bankruptcy, Mark explained the law, outlined in clear language the steps in the process that needed to be done. He was knowledgable as well. He filed my bankruptcy case and I was very pleased with the services that were provided by Mark and his office. I was just served on Christmas Eve with a summons for another matter and I did not seriously expect a return call from the office until Monday. Well, Mark called me back on Christmas Day. And he was on his way to his family gathering where he was going to play the piano for his relatives. I had previously used him for a bankruptcy situation and the case was flawless. He had thoroughly reviewed my debts and income and filed very quickly. Because of his excellent work in getting my case filed, my credit reports all revealed that all my bills were covered by my bankruptcy. When I received the notice of my recent lawsuit for another type of case, I knew that i could reach out to Mark to get straight, honest advice, because that is exactly what he had provided in the past. Again, he reached out to me on the holiday and within 10 minutes he guided me in the right direction. I was able to attend my family gatherings with confidence that the bogus lawsuit filed against me would be taken care of. I am still surprised that he called me when he is a very busy person, even in this pandemic that will not go away. But clearly Mark cares. I simply do not understand some of the other reviews about his abilities, when I clearly have had numerous good experiences with Mark and his law firm. Mark is a good person with excellent fundamentals in both his profession and his personal dealings. This is remarkable in todays world. He is also a busy piano player during the holiday seasons, but he still called me and shared his time with me. I am most impressed with this type of work ethic. Thank you again, and Merry Christmas to Mark!!