The 5 star reviews on here are fake! It seems Samera paid for a company to post 5 star reviews for her firm. Click on the names of the 5 star reviews. The fake reviewers only have 1 review and in some cases 2. The majority of these "reviewers" that have 2 reviews, have a second review from out of state. Notice other more senior attorneys you find, have 1/10th the number of reviews and have been practicing for 5x as long. Dadvocates is a couple year old firm Samera started. This is all indication of how fake these reviews are. Companies like Samera's pay other companies to up their ratings on Google Reviews, just like she pays for her radio ads.
Notice that this firm is not registered on Better Business Bureau under Dadvocates. Notice Samera nor any attorneys at her firm, are reviewed or present on avvo. This is all by design to hide Samera and her firms pitiful, awful reputation with clients, the courts, and other attorneys. Ask around about her, to any respected attorney or judge in the Denver area, she is notorious for over charging clients and has an awful reputation with judges and other attorneys.
I hired Samera and it was the worst mistake I made in my entire divorce. A very very costly mistake. Her firm's billing practices are beyond unethical. Expect to pay $2,000+ every week and be double charged by a para legal and an attorney for doing the exact same task. You will be charged for the attorney to correspond with the paralegal. You will pay for hours worth of labor to both the attorney and the paralegal for tasks that other attorneys accomplish in literally 1/4th the amount of time, and on top of paying for 4x as many hours at $150 an hour for a paralegal and $350 an hour for an attorney, you are paying those hours to both of them. When I finally terminated Samera and this firm, I found out she is notorious with the courts and other attorneys for over billing clients and has a very poor rapport with the courts and other attorneys. She will attempt to drag out your divorce and make it as costly as possible. Remember, you want an attorney who is amicable and agreeable with opposing counsel, in the interest of settling your case regarding finances and if applicable, custody. If your case drags out, the only person winning are the attorneys. A good, ethical lawyer is amicable, but is able to respond in kind to aggression. Samera is rude to opposing counsel from the start. As soon as you retain her, her attitudes changes and she is rude to you, the client. She'll seem great in your initial supposed "free" consultation. But don't be fooled by that, you'll see a charge for that consultation on your first invoice for $350 consultation! If you write her a two sentence email, she will add another attorney and the paralegal and you will be charged $over $100 for sending one email! Don't respond to the email or you'll be charged another $125. The minimum her firm bills is 0.2 hours. She will add back another attorney and paralegal if you just email one and then you will see a 0.2 hour charge from each of them on your invoice.
If they read an email, draft a document, then submit, expect to be billed 0.2 hours by the para legal for your email, 0.2 hours for the attorney for your email, then 2 hours to work on a one page document by the paralegal, 1 hour by the attorney to "draft and review" the same document, then another 0.2 hours for the paralegal to click submit and "e-file" your document, then 0.2 hours for the paralegal to type you an email that your document has been submitted, and finally 0.2 hours for the attorney to read the paralegals email that your document has been submitted. If they have a task that should take 1 hour total, they will steal your retainer in the above manner. There's no consolidation of tasks and each action, no matter how small, you will be charged 0.2 hours, then a massive amount of hours for a simple document.
Samera and her firm contribute to the reason attorneys in general have a bad rep. There are good attorneys out there. I advise you to speak with the the Colorado Bar Association. I know how hard it is when you don't know how to locate a good attorney and are about to settle on Samera because she has a cool firm name and impressive looking website and bio. She tries to cater to a niche, being fathers, but she's actually preying on them. You're willing to do whatever it takes to keep your kids and you think you're hiring the best, but the opposite couldn't be more true. Don't be fooled like I was. Definitely don't go for the an attorney that is advertising on the radio. She's able to advertise like that because she steals clients money. Whatever you do, do not retain Dadvocates or Samera. I was in your same shoes and it was an extremely costly mistake that got me no where. Again, contact the Colorado Bar Association for attorneys that have a good respected rapport with other attorneys and the courts. read more