Based on good internet reviews, I wanted to hire Samin to help me with my divorce, but she wasn't…read moretaking new clients. So I worked with her colleague, Elizabeth. Elizabeth provided great service and information in a timely, professional manner. At some point, she announced she was leaving the practice, for reasons I don't know. So I was transferred to Samin. Samin and I met over zoom a few times. She was friendly, informative and helpful. Then we decided that mediation wasn't working and I needed to take my husband to divorce trial. So I hired her to represent me instead of on a consultation basis. That's when things started going wrong. Over the next few months, it became harder to get in touch with her. Email responses would take 3-4 business days. Her paralegal was helping me put together forms to file (FL-150) but edits back and forth would take days to come back for my review, wheras I made sure I always returned my part within 1 business day to them. It took 2 1/2 months for her firm to complete the form and file it!!! All the while I was losing out on having the form filed for the purpose of retro spousal support. More than once when they returned the forms for my review there were errors, some glaring, which required more time on my part, more emails back and forth and -yup- more time billed to me. So one day I called the office to express my anger and frustration at the process and asked for a call back so we could talk live instead of email. I never got a call back!! Four business days later I got a stern email. Never was there an explanation or apology for why I couldn't get them to speed up or attend to my case. At one point, Samin told me it was my fault for changing my mind (for 24 hours) and telling her that I thought I might try mediation again instead of court, but then told her never mind and to proceed. Divorce is messy-it is normal to have doubts and 2nd thoughts. Instead of telling me that it's MY fault that the process is taking so long, maybe guide me through the pros and cons of each option and have a little sympathy. Plus, that mixed message only accounted for 2 business days. Not the 2 1/2 months that it took to get that form finished. After feeling ignored, underserved, overwhelmed and uncared for, I finally pulled the trigger and let Samin go. I hired Honorable Legal Services-DeAnn Salcido, who has been phenomenal. Attentive at every step, incredibly informative, educational. She gives me notes, articles with highlights an annotations for me to read. She explains my options clearly. She responds in 1-2 days every time. We've done multiple zoom calls. And her office has a marvelous online system that organizes my files, forms, correspondence and upcoming dates in a way that is clear to both of us. AND she costs LESS than Samin! If I had had DeAnn from the start instead of Elizabeth and Samin, this process would have gone a LOT smoother and faster.

I would highly recommend this law firm . Samin and all that worked on my case was professional, and…read morecompassionate in every step of the way. They kept me informed throughout the whole process, and answered all my questions and worked hard to protect my interests. I am grateful for all the support I received from the entire team. Looking for knowledgeable attorney, this is the one for you

Laura helped tremendously via divorce coaching. My spouse and I employed a mediation attorney in…read moreour own county, and each had our own attorney in our own county review the actual agreement once drafted. However, a few times along the way, I had questions and Laura was responsive and very clear in helping me understand things. Laura explains things better/more clearly than the other people I worked with. For example, she explained "reservation of jurisdiction" with more context and more thorougly than the mediation attorney and my own attorney, along with its limitations and scenarious where it has really made a difference, but did not subvert what the parties intended. I've also found valuable the general webinars where I'd heard Laura speak prior to engaging her help. Laura also helped with how to frame alternatives I was presenting. She was very sensitive to the emotional tone that we wanted to maintain (our goal was having a divorce that honored our marriage and where we had no regrets about the manner/process of the divorce itself), and suggested phrases that captured things in the warm and constructive tone that was my goal.

Laura was available and responsive in an extremely difficult time in our lives. She provided the…read morecorrect documents, was responsive, by the book, and direct when needed. She was patient when my ex was difficult to work with and continued to push things through the finish line in an amicable and appropriate fashion. Don't hesitate to reach out to Laura!

I can't say enough good things about Annette Hall Neville and her legal team. She was a tremendous…read moresource of guidance and strength through a very difficult legal process and custody battle. Annette was always informative and took the time to educate me about every step of the process so I could truly understand what was happening in an often confusing and invalidating legal system. I honestly can't imagine having navigated everything I went through without her support. She's knowledgeable, compassionate, and incredibly dedicated to her clients. The fact that she has offices in both Los Angeles and San Diego was also a huge benefit for me since I live between counties. I highly, highly recommend her and her team to anyone who needs a strong, supportive attorney who truly cares.

I want to thank you again for your support through my divorce journey. Not only did you do an…read moreoutstanding job on the legal and financial side, you showed up in a way that was emotionally and psychologically supportive for me in one of the most challenging and strange times in my life. I'll never forget that.

Vanessa was able to step in quickly and assertively when my ex tried to suddenly move my 2 kids out…read moreof state without my consent. Even though we had little time to act, she came to our rescue and was able to not only keep my kids here, but increase my parental time with them. She even got me consideration for extra expenses I had blindly been paying thru the years. Truth be told, I had gotten into the habit of just caving in to whatever my ex wanted, but Vanessa helped me see that my approach was not only bad for me, it was bad for my kids. This is the 1st time since my divorce I feel like I have an true ally and a fair custody arrangement. My kids and I can't thank her enough.

My experience with Vanessa was excellent. She is professional, efficient, and very personable…read more Without her help I know that I would not have had the successful outcomes that I had with my case both in and out of court. I highly recommend McKinnon Law Firm and I'm so grateful. Paul

I can't recommend her enough. This was a high-conflict case that took a very long time to resolve,…read moreand she stayed steady, focused, and fully committed the entire way through. After a long journey, we were finally able to reach a resolution--and I truly credit her for that. She is a fierce advocate who genuinely fights for her clients. What stood out most is how much time she takes to understand the full picture--not just bits and pieces--so she can represent you the right way. She's extremely knowledgeable in the law and knows exactly how to argue her position with confidence and precision. If you want someone sharp, dedicated, and truly in your corner, she's the one you want on your side. Wouldn't be surprised if she ends up on the bench as a family court judge.

Vicki represented me in a divorce from an abusive husband, I couldn't have done it without her…read more She has incredible attorney skills I only wanted my half and she got that for me. Above all was her caring support that helped me every step of the way. She is an amazing professional with a heart of gold.

I had the opportunity to meet Kristen Gates and she was incredibly nice. She's been practicing for…read moreover 20 years and you can tell she loves what she does. I would feel 100% comfortable recommending people to her! If you're looking for someone who will have your back, definitely give her a shot.

Kristen represented me in court with ease and confidence. As clients, we don't always see things…read morerationally and instead can make huge faux-pas that can work against you in court. Kristen has a real gift for showing you the bigger picture especially when you are up against an unreasonable and petty ex. Her advise was always spot on. She defended and cleared me against false and made up accusations. Kristen literally made the other party storm out of the courtroom before the judge could really say "court is adjourned". A real PRICELESS moment! THANK YOU KRISTEN!

From start to finish, Katie and her team supported me with my dissolution of marriage extremely…read morewell. Not only did she explain things in a direct way, she was very attentive to detail which was important to me. When something like a big, emotional, and life altering transition consumes you, it's essential to have the support of a team who knows the ins and outs of the process. My settlement was reached after consistent efforts to mediate in a fair way and with strategy when dealing with my ex who attempted to cause confusion and delay at every juncture. Her wisdom, patience, experience and professionalism paid off in the courtroom as we worked through the issues with evidentiary hearings time after time. In the end she ensured that I was able to reach every single one of my goals. She reviewed her motions with me ahead of time and was open to feedback, took the time to clarify material facts to get everything exactly right, and counseled me on the essential merits of the case so I did not lose focus or come across unclear. She kept things on track and did not waist time nor money. Together we handled spousal support, child support, retirement, division of assets, and domestic violence that resulted in a restraining order. It was evident early on that Katie is well respected in her field. My ex went through several attorneys and because it went on for so long, a little over two years, (no fault to Katie) we presented before several different Judges who all respected her. I always felt prepared. She and her team are organized, efficient, and outstanding listeners which resulted in efficient progress and ultimately success. Most importantly, my children are safe and are now thriving. Because she protected my home and my retirement, I have a future where I can start to hope, dream and live again. I would without hesitation, highly recommend Anderson Family Law. Thanks to Katie and her team, I have my life back. I could not have done it without her help.

My review is based on the experience I had with Ms. Andersons representation of me to get a…read morereduction in alimony. We filed our motion in May of 2020 and finally got a court date in November 2021, this was due to Covid, not Ms. Anderson. Prior to this court date we had a mediation in October 2021 in an effort to avoid trial. The result was my ex wifes offer to reduce alimony approximately 40% but Ms. Anderson was firm it should be more like 65%. On this advise I chose to go to trial. At this point I felt she was doing a good job, the trial is where she failed. Due to the courts post Covid schedule we ended up needing three separate court dates. I felt the opposing attorney made these appear seamless and this is where I become concerned of Ms. Anderson. Before all three court dates I contacted her office to see when I would meet with her to prepare for trial, each time Ms. Anderson seemed to think a brief phone consultation was sufficient. Due to this lack of preparation much of the important documentation was not presented to the judge, leaving him I'll informed to make his verdict. The most crucial mistake was the substantiation of a trust that validated $36,000 in overhead to my business. The judge asked me on the stand if this trust was registered and when I responded we have a notarized copy the opposing attorney demanded to see it, so we looked to Ms. Anderson to tell us where it was in the court binder. As Ms. Anderson scrambled to find it she basically had the deer in the headlight look on her face being unable to locate it (this document had been emailed to her before our first court date in November and was discussed in our phone conversations ). There was volumes of financial and character information I spent hours researching at Ms Andersons request and during trial when on multiple occasions I prompted her to bring it up, she would respond that the judge doesn't care about this even though the opposing attorney spent several hours on similar issues about me. I'm not sure what happed with Ms. Anderson from November 2021 to March 2022 ( the period of our three court appearances) but I felt like she lost focus on my case resulting in a financially catastrophic outcome for me. The judge ending up ruling that I have No change in alimony, that I pay my ex wife's $30,000 in attorney fees, all the arrears alimony I couldn't afford to pay.This on top of the $30,000 I paid Ms Anderson and $10,000 to her recommended forensic accountant. All these expenses were paid through what little I have left in my retirement account. Needless to say, stay away.

The team and Goforth Family Law was absolutely amazing. I was so lost the first time I walked…read morethrough the doors. They made me feel at easy and assured me everything would work out. Very attentive and responsive when ever I felt like a crisis was happening during the divorce process. Because of that they reduced the amount of stress I had since I felt like everything was being taken care of. They made sure we reached a resolution that was fair and looked out for my future. They were also able to keep us out of the court system and stream lined the process Truly appreciate the hard work Shelly and Paula put in on my case.

**Paula Goforth - Family Law Attorney in Carlsbad, CA - Highly Recommended**…read more I cannot recommend Paula Goforth highly enough for anyone needing a family law attorney in Carlsbad. I recently worked with her on my divorce agreement after having consulted with four other attorneys in the past, and the difference in the results she achieved compared to the others was truly amazing. I honestly never expected to receive even half of what she was able to secure for me in my divorce settlement. Paula went above and beyond in every aspect of my case. As a full-time working parent with very little spare time to navigate the complexities of a divorce, I was incredibly grateful for her ability to take care of everything that needed to be done. She handled the details with professionalism and efficiency, alleviating a tremendous amount of stress for me. Looking back at the years I spent raising my five children largely on my own, often working multiple jobs and receiving very little support, I truly believe that my experience would have been significantly different, and far less difficult, if I had consulted with Paula Goforth years ago. It was a hard lesson learned, but I am profoundly grateful and feel truly blessed to have found her when I did. What Paula has done for me and my children is nothing short of a true blessing. Her dedication, expertise, and commitment to achieving the best possible outcome for her clients are evident in her work. If I or any of my friends and family ever need a family law attorney in the future, I will not hesitate to insist that they go to see Paula Goforth first. She is exceptional, and I wholeheartedly recommend her services.