I worked with Laura Alvarez for almost 3 years on a family court case and I highly recommend her partnership! She fought hard on my behalf and I am very satisfied with the outcome of my case. read more

I had a very positive experience working with this law firm. From the beginning, the entire team was attentive, professional, and extremely responsive. Communication was consistent and clear, and I never felt out of the loop at any point in the process. Lisa, in particular, stood out for her approach. She is thoughtful, direct, and genuinely cares about her clients. She took the time to explain options clearly, provided honest and realistic feedback, and helped develop strategies that felt well thought out and aligned with my goals. I appreciated that nothing was sugar-coated - the guidance was practical, grounded, and transparent. The office overall runs efficiently and with care. The team works seamlessly together and makes you feel supported throughout what can be a very stressful time. It's clear they prioritize their clients and take pride in their work. I would highly recommend this firm to anyone looking for a family law team that is professional, communicative, and truly invested in their clients outcomes. read more

The promises made before signing the contract did not match the service I received afterward. Once the fees were paid, I felt like my case was no longer a priority. The lack of professionalism, integrity, and genuine care for clients was deeply disappointing. I would not recommend this firm to anyone looking for honest and professional legal representation. read more

I would give this firm zero stars if I could. The other one star reviews are absolutely spot on. They are running a racketeering firm here. Thousands of dollars with minimal effort on their part. I paid them about 7,000 to have them represent me in a restraining order case against an ex. We appeared in court via Zoom, two separate occasions, for a total of 45 minutes for that 7k. These were nothing more than two continuances. If I wanted them to appear with me at the following court date, they wanted another 7500. Two continuances for 7 THOUSAND dollars??!!!! Highway robbery. Then when I could no longer have them represent me, I signed a document, they checked their box and filed it.....for $220. Shocking that they couldn't take that fee out of the $7k they received for absolutely nothing. They sent me the invoice for the $220 with a due date of the SAME DATE and then followed it up with a letter saying I didn't respond and they will have to send me to collections if unpaid. The date on the threatening letter?? Well the same day as the actual invoice and due date of course! Then when I emailed about their lack of professionalism they said that it's standard practice to do this. WHO TF does business like this?? THAT'S standard practice?? My family owns businesses also and if this is how customers were treated, I doubt they'd still be in business. I also see Ms. Mendes in these reviews accusing people of being an opposing party, thus giving negative reviews. I can assure you I WAS a client of theirs and I wholeheartedly believe these other clients and their experiences with this scam artist. I wanted to support a female firm and I seriously regret it. She doesn't care about helping clients. She cares about how much money she can squeeze out of the needy in some of the lowest points in their lives. She SHOULD be ashamed of herself, but her behavior proves otherwise. Unfortunately for her, nobody gets to evade Karma. As the previous client stated, "sleezy and unethical" just about sums this place up. read more

Charged me $4,500 while pretending to be able to assist, when in reality, she couldn't. I regret not contacting the State Bar right away. Sleazy and unethical behavior. Family court matters are already stressful enough, and dealing with someone who looks for every opportunity to overcharge you makes it worse. Do yourself a favor and steer clear. read more

She is more focused on the fees than the outcome of the case, as dragging it out increases her earnings.

Today I had a consultation appointment, that cost me $400, which I left the office with practically the same information that I walked in with, very disappointing. It was a simple request, my main focus was to modify the method of my spousal support payment, in which I filled out a questionnaire form a couple days earlier for them to review my case. The first red flag went up when the person asked about my child support, I immediately said to myself " she did not review my case before entering for consultation," UHG. How did I find them, through the San Ramon News Patch (If anyone reading this was wondering.) I decided to call them, right away after making the call for a consultation they needed payment, sure, I paid. After a few words of communication, I was scheduled for an appointment, at no point was I asked to bring in my original court documents. That being said- my legal consultant was during her research about my case during the hour I paid, the research should have been covered before I walked into their firm. She was not able to provide clear help, because I did not have my original court documents that was submitted to the courts regarding method of payment for spousal support. Again, I say to myself mentally through my inner thoughts "OMG, the receptionist never at any point mentioned to me to bring my court documents, is this for real." I left the office with some printouts that she found on-line, that I could fill out and submit to the court. The bottom line, the legal advice that I received for spousal support payment by default is paying through checks or the process can be modified to direct payment, but the payment would go through a third party before I receive it as a direct deposit. My inner thoughts " what a fool I was to come here, I should have confirmed with You-Tube or go on craigslist for advice under their chat forums." Why am I writing this review, because people work extremely hard for their money and save it for an emergency or a situation that puts them in a pickle, we cannot afford to come out empty handed. I am a certified nursing assistant, and now I feel that I have to become my own legal consultant. If hiring to get legal advice, I recommend to go by word of mouth and ask for concrete good strong references and reviews, not the San Ramon News Patch. Thank you for reading my temporary despair, but tomorrow will bring a brighter day. Angelica read more

I contacted them to schedule a consultation appointment. They told me the rate per hour and all other details. As soon as I told them that I will be using my legal insurance, I could feel the disappointment in the voice. They still collected my legal insurance information and told me that someone will call me next day to schedule an appointment which obviously didn't happen. I called them after 2 days and I was told that the person who does the scheduling, is not in the office and I will get a call in one hour. Again, nobody called. I waited for another 2 days before I started contacting other lawyers. I am ok if you don't want to accept the legal insurance because you are paid less but tell the potential clients clearly. Also remove your name from the insurance list if you are not interested in providing your services using the insurance. read more

I cannot begin to describe how grateful and pleased we are with the service and knowledge of the law they achieved in my case! The amount of professionalism that Lisa and her staff showed prior to court and especially in court was amazing and actually exciting to watch her work! Her concern for me and ALL involved, was calming and reassuring without getting my hopes up with false promises and wishful thinking. There are no guarantee's and no games played, but it sure felt great winning this case! I have decided to keep her and her staff on as my personal lawyer going forward! She is so sharp! Speaks on point, and keeps it as clean as possible without slinging mud! She comes highly recommended! I can say she IS THE BEST!! She has proven it to us! Thank You Lisa Mendez!!! PS- I hope I never have to do that again! But if I do, I know who to call!! Sincerely, David Perez Jr & Kimberly Ferrell Perez read more

I hired Lisa Mendez (which at that point was Mendes Weed) when I was trying to get through my divorce to have her help me through the process. I can't even explain how bad of a decision that was. In one year Lisa passed me and my case along to 4 different attorneys in her company, which required me to reexplain my situation to each one of them and then I was charged for their time to get them caught up. Not once did I get a choice in having my case changed to another attorney nor did I get a warning. The attorney that Lisa passed me off to that I had the majority of the year was Hadeel, who made countless mistakes, even to the judge during hearings. On one occasion Hadeel made a serious mistake so I corrected her to the judge. Immediately following that hearing Lisa called me and started yelling at me and threatening me that if I ever went over Hadeel to that judge she would "fu**ing fire me as a client!" I felt completely alone, scared and vulnerable. It really shook me. If I stood up for myself and corrected their error I would potentially be without an attorney all-together and at that point I would have waisted $20,000.00 (my initial payment which I thought would cover the entire cost, ohhh was I wrong). I'd also like to mention that I was never prepped before going into the hearings, I had no idea what to expect. On the billing/ invoicing side, I'd receive invoices for thousands of dollars but I had absolutely no idea what they were for because they just listed a dollar amount but had no explanation of how my money was being used or what progress they were making. On another instance, Hadeel sent me confidential information about another client and their case via email. I responded and told her that she sent it to the wrong client. On another situation, when Hadeel was no longer employed by Lisa, she emailed my mother (we both have no idea how she had her email address) to tell their clients that she was no longer employed by Lisa Mendes and she CCed ALL of the clients in one bulk email, she did NOT BCC, which is another violation of confidentiality. I also need to point out that I wasn't on that list and never received the email about her departure, only my mother did and she has never been a client. Another thing that was completely unacceptable was that I had asked Lisa to move forward with my case repeatedly. For many months she put my case to the side and didn't to anything. I emailed her, called the office, left messages, and after getting legal advice from another attorney on how to proceed, I was instructed to send her a certified letter and show proof of delivery to make sure she received the letter telling her to move forward with my case. Following her receiving it I got an email back but she still made no attempt to move forward with my case. Over the course of one year (almost to the day) Lisa Mendes requested and received almost $42,000.00. And the worst part of that is that I am no farther along in my divorce process than I was almost a year ago. Even after I fired her she sent me another invoice for an additional $1,800. For the past 5 months I have been representing myself and have had to pay another attorneys to consult. I was awarded by the judge thousands of dollars out of a trust fund that Lisa Mendes has possession of (which were community property assets that my ex husband had originally stolen) but now Lisa is literally ignoring my calls and emails. And she's refusing to give me my court ordered money even though she's received the court stamped documents stating that she must do so. I've tried repeatedly to get her to release the court ordered funds to me but she won't return my calls, messages or emails. There is so many more horrible things I could mention but I think my point is made. Going through a divorce is stressful, and difficult enough, I didn't need to be fighting a battle with my attorney (who should have been my advocate). I don't understand how I had to spend $42,000. And I'm still basically at square one, actually worse off then when I started, I'm now negative $42,000.thanks to Lisa Mendes. My next step is going to the Bar Association. read more

I worked with Lisa through a particularly difficult period in my divorce, she is an amazing advocate, litigator and subject matter expert. Lisa quickly understood the complexities of my situation, proposed the best solution and helped me make significant progress with my case and ultimately resolve it at a lower cost than I expected to. Divorce is not fun! But if you have the right Counselor it can be a lot less painful and much simpler. I came to Lisa Mendes having had one bad experience and she restored my faith in lawyers, I still reserve the right to make lawyer jokes but do so much less frequently. I would highly recommend Lisa to anyone at any stage of any proceeding in Family Law cases and I seldom write these things, it takes a really amazing experience to get me to do so. Thanks Lisa and I appreciate what you did for me. read more

I hired this firm in June, and by July 24th, they had already charged me 22,500 in lawyers fees. My divorce case was NOT complicated. I started out with the main attorney Lisa, then she passed it to Monica, who then passed it to the paralegal that had just been hired on a month in to my case. I looked at the invoices, which were at least 6 pages long, sometimes as long as 14 pages, and saw phone calls double charged, emails charged over and over again for the same things, phone calls charged that did not occur, and charges that were so ridiculous such as "prep fax cover" for over $30 ! a sheet of paper ??? I feel very taken advantage of and they never knew what was going on when I did get someone on the phone. They gave me horrible advice, urging me to "take the deal" with my soon to be ex-husband without even looking at all his financial documents. I would have been screwed if I listened to these people. SO I let them go after they requested another $3000 to replenish trust, which I have them. I decided the next day to reverse the payment as I let them go the same day, and I figured because it was not an actual bill that it was fair. I got the last invoice in August which added in that trust account money. That seems crooked to me when someone lets you go you should stop work immediately on the case. I also have not gotten any of the retainer back as of yet, it i has been over a month. Though it is not much because they made sure to charge me for so many more "services" on the last invoice which was pages upon pages of a bunch of BS. The lead attorney also had the nerve to tell me she had to convince the judge of my credibility because I requested drug testing for the kids' dad. With a history that is well documented on court documents, I am not sure how my credibility is being questioned. I should look for that conversation on one of the invoices Im am sure it is charged on there somewhere if it happened. Last, I requested my file, and they sent me this 200 plus page document that simply had a few documents printed three times, and the rest was my tax documents !!!Worst lawyers EVER. I am so beyond words right now, they took major advantage financially. DONT hire these people read more

We used Mendes Weed and watched them fail in the courtroom, fail in their tax documents for an estate, then continue to bill us after we said no more. Find someone (anyone) else to handle your case. read more

The staff at Mendes Weed are simply the most direct, caring, and passionate people that you will ever want representing & backing you up. They give you fortitude even when you are thrown into an unfair situation/case. The support, knowledge, intelligence, organization, and the forward-thinking actions that they bring in and out of the court room helped me feel at ease/peace knowing that everything was as fully prepared as possible. I am exceedingly grateful to Lisa Mendes and Diana Tarnopolskaya for their legal and emotional support through this difficult stage in my life. Lisa and Diana's integrity and passion to help others through their legal expertise is truly inspiring. I highly recommend those needing legal services to go see Mendes Weed, LLP! read more

Great experience with Lisa, she was very prompt with responding to questions and got my speeding ticket reduced. Highly recommend her! read more

Incredible attorney she took care of my tax issues very quickly and diligently. My tax problems were very sensitive and complicate but she joust got to work and gave me the best outcome that absolutely anyone could ask. I highly recommend Christina you pay for what you get and with her you'll get the best. read more

Christina, quite simply....SAVED MY LIFE! She is brilliant and has a heart of gold! After losing my husband and house I owed the IRS thousands and thousands. She walked me through the process. Negotiated with them like a ROCK STAR! And saved me from bankruptcy. She handled my next huge problem with the IRS the next year just as well. She is worth her weight in solid gold. REALLY knows her stuff and is fearless in fighting for her clients. This widow is financially solid now because of Christina's guidance. I HIGHLY recommend you seek her out. read more

Hello, My name is Ramin. My divorce case is still with this office and I am extremely glad I picked this office, Specially LISA Mendes and her assistant Monica. Very hard working and Very professional. They have handled my case exactly the way I expected and we are winning! I recommend this firm to whome seeking legal help. Thank you LISA and MONICA! read more

We retained Ms. Weed of Mendes Weed, LLP, to represent us with the IRS. She and her assistants were the best. Incident resolved within 3 months, minimal cost and a fabulous outcome. I am so relieved! Couldn't have done this without their assistance... read more

Called about Divorce information. Person that answer said let me ask some questions. I started to explain the situation, then phones started ringing. I could tell she stop listening and eventually said just to hold. Not a very Professional answering system. In there office. read more

As a young female dealing with a harassment case, it was such a relief to find a group of passionate young professional women who really knew their stuff. I especially appreciated their quick response time and willingness to be available on short notice, and to travel extra distance for my case. All-around positive experience and I'm so glad I sought their help. Shoutout to Rebecca (Becky) Harris who served as my attorney in a pinch and met me on a Saturday morning to accomodate a crazy schedule. read more

My husband and I found ourselves in a situation that we determined required legal assistance. From the first conversation I had with Lisa, I knew that she would be the strong support that we needed. She was direct and honest while being understanding at the same time. Our case was originally classified incorrectly and having legal representation is the only way we were able to get the matter settled fairly. I strongly recommend her! Her counsel was well worth the investment. read more

I highly recommended Mrs. Mendes for everyone who has any family Law Case. She is extremely smart, understanding, study all the details, remember everything very well and follow up day by day till you win the case. From the first day I met her she took my case seriously and explained clearly all the steps that we may go through with it. Thank you Mrs. Lisa I really appreciate all your Assisting and help. View all Lisa's reviews read more

So glad to have had Lisa's help with my son's legal issue. It was certainly something I'd never dealt with before and her expertise was so calming and helpful! I would recommend her to anyone looking for counsel that's well rounded and speaks plain english to those of us who don't understand Legaleez! read more

Over the past 6 months i've been lucky enough to have had Lisa as my lawyer for a DUI case. She was always prompt, prepared, and comforting in a time of uncertainty. Not only would I recommend her, but she would also be my first call if I ever needed a lawyer to represent me again (although hopefully that never happens). read more

Lisa is a real pro. Thorough, insightful and a great strategist/tactician. Her methods were successful and case was dismissed. I would recommend her to anyone in need of expert and caring legal work. read more

Lisa is a great lawyer and I would hire her again in a second. I hired her to help me with an important case of mine that was time sensitive and she was amazing! Worked very hard to get everything done and made sure the paperwork had everything and more to portray my character on paper and ensure success. Lisa always kept me informed, offered words of wisdom and comfort in stressful times and was very understanding of my personal situation. I would recommend Lisa to anyone. It is hard to come by honest people now-a-days...to find a lawyer that is not only trustworthy, but caring of their clients is priceless. read more

I was referred to Lisa by a friend. I met with her to review my child custody situation. After talking with her she advised that I didn't need her help, simply because my case was pretty straight forward. I was shocked. An honest attorney who wasn't trying to get thousands of unnecessary dollars?! Upon her advice I did not retain her as my attorney but rather on a consultation basis. As events would come up in my case, she and I would meet. She would review and advise of my next steps. She reviewed all my correspondence with my sons father, the counselor and all of my court paperwork. She gave me every tool I needed and guided me through my entire case. Needless to say, the case she helped me build and supported me through resulted in my sons dad not even showing up for court! The case was dropped! Lisa was always prompt in returning my calls and emails, despite her demanding schedule. I am forever grateful for her honesty with me as well as her guidance through a rough part of my custody battle. I have recommended her to my friends and if I ever get into a heated battle again I know exactly who I will call. I promise you won't be disappointed with the knowledge Lisa retains, her professionalism and her support and guidance. Many thanks to you Lisa from Nicholas and I!! read more

Lisa is helping me through my divorce. In the Tri-Valley area, where it is hard to find an affordable attorney, she comes at a great rate! She is fair, down-to-earth, no nonsense and responsive. I highly recommend her! read more

Lisa was amazingly helpful in a time of need...in all the times of need. She handled a demanding, stressful situation "working" with someone who was not reasonable nor pleasant to be around. She was able to get our needs met in a timely manner & her fees were fair. She was always available to us and always got back to us quickly. We felt like her only client! read more

I highly recommend Christina. She helped me obtain a 100% IRS Innocent Spouse Relief determination when so many attorneys didn't think it was possible to get. She is very professional and efficient with great communication skills. read more

A friend trying to help me with my child custody case chose Lisa after talking with her over the phone. When I met with her, I liked her immediately and she truly cared about the well being of my children. Not having any experience in this, she made suggestions to save me money, she was straight forward, hard working and aggressive in the court room. She and her office were quick to respond to questions and I was made to feel as if I was her only client. Lisa's associate Rebecca (Becky) Harris was just as diligent and hard working in my case. If you need the help of an attorney, talk to Lisa. read more