Humane Legal Warriors Veronica came billed by her referrals as "a real bulldog" though occasionally hard to reach due to high demand. In consultation she quickly grasped my situation with a few pointed questions. In court, where opposing counsel showboated or exaggerated, Veronica was calm, matter-of-fact, almost conversational. This was unnerving at first, but after our first couple rulings (favorable), I saw the other attorneys' performances as aimed at clients, not the judges. Veronica doesn't perform or exaggerate; She deals in facts that matter to the court, and delivers. When opposing counsel misrepresented events or twisted my statements, Veronica was quick to object sharply. I did not find her hard to reach: She seems to monitor e-mail at all hours, replying on weekends and holidays when necessary. Amy, her Chief Managing Paralegal, is fantastic - Sharp, tough, efficient, quick to recognize strategic value of details, and empathetic when needed (I needed a lot of reassurance). Divorce is awful enough, but the opacity and pace of the legal system is terrifying when family and financial matters seem to hinge on every ruling. Amy did a great job of keeping events in context of the law and our strategy, advising me on what to expect, and preparing me for each next step. She was responsive even when clearly managing a heavy case load. Working closely with her, I found myself fascinated by the process, and as another reviewer relates, at times even enjoying it. Both of them can be abrupt, perhaps an occupational hazard which I found intimidating, but came to recognize as ultimately in my best interest by not wasting time on what wasn't material or legally advantageous. Both could also quickly switch tone when I made clear my nerves were frayed. Their small adjustments and spontaneous offerings of compassionate perspective helped me trust they were honoring their fiduciary role, and actually cared about the outcome for me and my family, not just for their scorecard. As my case unfolded, that trust was rewarded with results. Despite the opposing party hiring a big firm and spending over twice what I paid in legal fees, the court ruled decidedly in my favor at nearly every hearing, and we settled with a very reasonable financial division. Most importantly, what Veronica, Amy, and their team secured for me is beyond valuation: A fair custody arrangement, and the legal protection throughout a very contentious divorce to enable me to live my life and enjoy some of the best family moments I've had in years. I feel unbelievably fortunate to have had Veronica, Amy, and their team represent and guide me through an otherwise very trying ordeal. read more

I hired Ms. Freitas for a complicated divorce case from a 30-year marriage after seeing positive Google reviews. Unfortunately, my experience was disappointing. I later read that she review gates, and from my experience, it appears this may be true. Based on my experience, I would not recommend Ms. Freitas for complex divorce cases. She doesn't listen, is unprepared and sticks to her agenda, not what is best for her client. Her communication was inconsistent. Important emails were not read before calls, and I often received multiple, confusing responses from different team members. I spoke with Veronica twice; the initial consultation 1.5 years before and a useless phone call 2 days prior to mediation where she berated and lectured me instead of discussing my concerns. Veronica's preparation for mediation was lacking. I had to review materials myself with the mediator, as Ms. Freitas had not read the opposing counsel's documents. Billing was unclear and included charges from unidentified staff. When I raised concerns, Veronica became defensive, stating she was cheaper than most attorneys and I should be grateful. read more

Issues You've Raised: Missed Court Appearances: An attorney's failure to appear in court is a serious breach of their professional duty. This can significantly harm your case. Lack of Communication: Effective communication is crucial for a successful attorney-client relationship. Your attorney should be willing to discuss your case with you before hearings and address your concerns. Failure to File Motions: In dependency cases, timely motions are often essential to protect your rights and advocate for your child's best interests. Delays can lead to prolonged separation and other negative consequences. Withdrawal of Motions: A motion to turnover that was later withdrawn without proper explanation or your consent is a huge red flag. Prolonged Case Duration: A dependency case lasting since May of the previous year without significant progress, especially with a runaway child, is concerning. Runaway Child: A runaway child adds extra urgency to a case, and requires immediate and efficient action. Recommendations: Formal Complaint: File a formal complaint with your state's bar association. This will initiate an investigation into your attorney's conduct. Request a New Attorney: As you mentioned, requesting a new attorney is crucial. In dependency cases, you often have the right to effective legal counsel. If your current attorney is failing to provide that, you should request a replacement from the court. Document Everything: Keep detailed records of all interactions with your attorney, including dates, times, and the content of conversations. Retain copies of all court documents and correspondence. Contact the Court Directly: If you're unable to get a response from your attorney or the court-appointed system that gave you the attorney, contact the court clerk's office directly. Explain your situation and request assistance. Seek Legal Aid or Pro Bono Services: If you're facing financial difficulties, explore legal aid organizations or pro bono services in your area. These organizations often provide free or low-cost legal assistance to those who qualify. Consult with Another Attorney: Even if you're unable to immediately change attorneys, consider consulting with another attorney for a second opinion. This can provide you with valuable insights and guidance. Child Protective Services (CPS) Oversight: Contact the supervisor of the case worker assigned to your case. Voice your concerns about the case and the delay. Key Considerations: Dependency cases are time-sensitive. Delays can have lasting consequences for your child. Your child's safety and well-being should be the top priority. You have the right to effective legal representation. It is very important to document all of your interactions, and to be persistent in your pursuit of proper legal representation. read more

If you have a difficult divorce, go with Veronica Freitas. She is no nonsense, straight to the point, and knows her stuff. Her office will not nickel and dime you too. I was dumb and tried another lawyer when my ex was being difficult about my move out of state and boy did I regret it. The other lawyer ended up firing me because I didn't have $40k ( and this was after I gave her $20k). Freitas took me back and quickly wrapped up my case without us going to trial. read more

I highly recommend V. Frietas Law. Veronica and team (Amy, Chris, and Hannah) handled my case to modify Child Support Order with competence and expertise, from start to finish. Veronica listened intently, was empathetic, real, and to the point/no-nonsense. She and her team were professional and responsive to my concerns and achieved a fair outcome at a reasonable cost. Having this team handling my case kept me on track and gave me an immediate sense of peace and confidence throughout the process, despite the typically high-conflict opposing party. I am so satisfied and grateful. Thank you! read more

Veronica was my attorney during my divorce. My spouse was the child of a retired attorney from a previous long-established law firm (Bogle and Gates) and therefore was already connected with an expensive downtown attorney. I asked around and Veronica was recommended to me by two independent sources as a 'bulldog' (both used that word). The reality is that the vast majority of legal cases never make it to the courtroom. I have worked with many attorneys and it seems to me that most attorneys do everything they can to avoid having to show up in the courtroom (while maximizing billing along the way). Those final weeks of preparation are the hardest and it takes a lot of self-confidence to plea your client's case to a judge while an opposing attorney does their best to undermine your logic. From the moment of meeting Veronica, I got a different feeling. I sensed that this was where Veronica felt most comfortable - in the courtroom! As a result, she is someone who pays attention and asks important questions during meetings because she's the one who will be defending you in front of the judge - not some attorney fresh out of law school. I found the meetings to be short on fluff and often addressed concepts and strategy rather than just focusing how to fill in forms. She's a paradox as underneath her tough exterior, there's a committed attorney who cares about her clients. As a caveat, she is a solo attorney and there was once where she went into 'lock-down' to go to trial and stopped seeing other clients. On the other side, when it was all said and done, my ex-partner spent 3x as much as i did on legal fees so in retrospect I am fine having to have been flexible working around Veronica's schedule. read more

My experience with Veronica and team was nothing short of outstanding! They handled my case with the utmost professionalism and care. During a difficult time, they listened and help me understand. I highly recommend to anyone seeking legal services. read more

Veronica is an amazing trial attorney. I highly recommend her for high conflict cases heading to trial. I had retained another well known firm in Seattle for the first half of my case which drained me financially and did not help my case. Veronica became my attorney 3 months before my trial she got up to speed quickly and cost me a fraction of what the other firm had charged. She was the best thing that ever happen to me. We identified 3 goals I wanted to achieve from trial and she got them all for me. We had over week and half trial with many witnesses. I had an expert witness not in my favor and her questioning was so well prepared and so detailed it could have only been done by someone who had truly dug into all the evidence. I also felt well prepared as I spent most of the time on the witness stand. She is busy, so you may feel worried and nervous, but be patient and trust her most of her work is done right around trial and during trial. She is tough, strategic, trustworthy, she thinks fast on her feet. She is a natural in the court room. I realize now how lucky I am to have her represent me. read more

I have a very long, tumultuous family law mater. "You can't fight crazy and you can't fix stupid" BUT Veronica and her amazing team have represented my family since 2014. They are a God sent. She and her team are honest, straight forward and have your best interests at heart. I have been thru a two week long trial with her, continuing legal filings, my son hugs her and thanks her for making sure he always comes home. She cares about her clients! read more

We were fortunate enough to be directed to Veronica and her team to represent us in a legal challenge. Although it was not her specialty of law she walked us through the process and represented us in court. She's forward and no nonsense which we appreciated. I hope to never have to use any legal services in the future but if I do, I will return to her for legal advice or representation. read more

Over three years ago, I was blessed to retain Veronica as my family law attorney. She and her amazing staff have been invaluable walking alongside me during a challenging situation. I was blind sided by ex-husband's decision to leave our marriage of 17+ years. He forced me to sign an agreement that demanded my kids and I to move across the county, limited my cusody and provided no financial support. From the moment of my consultaion with Veronica, she had an accurate read on my situation and advised me on what to expect from the court system and my ex-husband. Her recommendations were not what I wanted to hear at the time, but her presentation was compassionate and professional. Veronica helped me to take control of my situation. My case was complicated by my ex-husband's unusual behavior, abusive use of conflict and consistent disregard to follow court orders. In the past 36 months, Veronica has appeared in family court more than 30 times on my behalf. She is articulate, prepared and effective. I am always grateful for her calm and professional manner as well as her ability to advoacte on behalf on my children and me. She has walked me through the steps of getting bench warrants issued, court orders copied, protection orders issued and many other legal processes that are foreign to me. On numerous occasions, other parties in the courtroom have asked me for my attorny's contact information as they are impressed with her abilities and interested in hiring such a well spoken, calm and effective attorney. Veronica and her staff respond quickly and thouroughly to emails. I had several frightening situations where my children were not able to be located while in their dad's custody or domestic violence situtiaons. Veronica repsonded to me after hours, on weekends and even while away on vacation so that she could advise me on how to handle the situation. This practice is small but it is an advantage as Veronica is intimately involved in my case and her lead paralegal, Amy, is the one person working wtih me for all motions and paperwork. Amy often remembers important details that I have forgotten during such a stressful time. Both Veronica and Amy write well. After reading so many declarations from my ex-husband's multiple councils, I appreciate the consise, professional, truthful and well written declarations that are produced on my behalf. Veronica and Amy are always senstive to my children. When calling they make sure I am able to speak freely without little ears hearing uncomfortable conversations. I was able to observe Veronica work well and cooperate with a variety of opposing councils as my ex husband had over 19 attorneys (family law and criminal) represent him during the past 3 years. Veronica worked with my ex husband during many of his pro se stints, as well. She was patient and despite his challenging behaviors, kept my kids and me as her priority. Billing is well documented and fair. I have consistently felt that she has under billed me for emails/ conversations. Veronica is a very stong advocate who is well respected, knowledgable, hard working, compassionalte and committed to her clients. Her support staff is personable, kind, professional and eager to help. Sadly, I have endured a long divorce process, however; Veroncia has done a wonderful job advocating for my kids and me. I recommend her with my whole heart. read more

Veronica Freitas and her team went above and beyond to fight for me in a custody case to insure my son resided with me, his Mom. She is an excellent listener, articulate, thoughtful, and compassionate. Her paralegal, Amy, touched base with me daily and helped me navigate through an extremely emotional & stressful case. She made sure I had all of the valuable & necessary information needed to win my case. When the opposing lawyer attempted to bend the laws in their favor, she was quick to point out the inadequacies in their argument and poked many holes in their case. As a result, the case was dismissed. Veronica and her team continue to check on me and my son and our safety even though the case has ended. What a blessing to have this thoughtful, astute, and powerful force on my side. I am eternally grateful to have found her during one of the most difficult, stressful, & gut wrenching times in my life. I highly recommend VFreitas law if you want to feel properly guided & protected! read more

Veronica represented me in a divorce case and my experience has left me with a distrust and disrespect for the profession. Although she handled my case 4 years ago, the negligence of her representation has left me traumatized and non-responsive until now. She failed to do the research in my case that would have gained the facts to reach a fair agreement. If I did not follow up with the retirement plan, I would have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. When Veronica is questioned she becomes angry, belittling, yells and swears. She is unethical and retaining her would be a mistake. read more

I must have done something good to have been blessed with Veronica and her team. They are a wonderful team and, against tough odds, we won. Veronica is brilliant, compassionate, professional, efficient, and direct. And a sight to see in the courtroom. If you have the unfortunate experience of going to trial, you'll be extremely happy that Veronica is on your side and not the opposing counsel. If you can avoid going to court, Veronica will not allow you to get a raw deal. In addition to Veronica, her whole team is kind, thoughtful, engaged, and knows me. They are responsive, calm, warm, and tough. It has been a joy for me to have their support through this most difficult experience of my life. I learned so much from both Veronica and Amy and I've come out a better person for the experience. read more

I originally found Veronica by the great reviews that she had on this site, what sealed the deal to hire her for drawing up a simple will and post-nup was that she was straight forward and straight up about costs. I soon learned she was more than that, she was an attorney that was attentive and had no concept of the time of day, she was on the ball regardless of it being after 9 pm, yes 9 pm, only a few hours after I emailed her thru AVVO is when she first emailed me back. It's unfortunate that my story did not stop there. 2 years later I contacted her when I was blindsided by my now ex, who had conjured up a plan to try and steal my boys and try and get me sent back to Canada. Remember the Post-nup agreement I mentioned, that was what my ex was afraid of. How better to rid yourself of a financial burden of a stay at home mother, make her disappear but try keep the blood off your hands. My case ended up lasting over 14 months. We were in and out of court continually. We probably saw over 15 judges. Veronica was on top of it the whole way. My ex hired an extremely expensive law firm, benefits to this is they will do whatever you tell them to regardless of what they believe the outcome will be. My ex is DISTURBED, so you name it he was going to say it or try it, his attorneys had no problem following along. I never really understood the joke when people talked about how slimy lawyers are. Well I get it now. His female attorney, was perfect for him, she would lie and twist everything, just to try and win. In the end my ex basically got what I would have agreed to without attorneys, actually to tell you the truth he would have fared better if he wouldn't have thought he was so clever. He basically got what we had offered before the year long fight, the difference is that he spent onwards and upwards of $300,000+ with his attorney, destroyed his reputation, lied to his family and friends, manipulated many innocent, unsuspecting people and most importantly, hurt and emotionally scarred the kids. I had a GREAT attorney who was there for me the whole way. She was always available. She did all her own trial preparation. It was an extremely difficult case to say the least. I ended up paying probably ¼ of what my ex paid his attorneys, if not less. And Veronica destroyed his lawyer in court. You could tell that his attorney relied on her paralegal staff to create her case. Veronica has this uncandid ability to recall information...well I'm sure her ability has a lot to do with her hard work & attentive nature. Veronica is a pit bull in court, she doesn't let go till she draws blood, this is an attorney that you want on your side of the table. It's obvious that she has a background in criminal law, now you may think that isn't needed in family law, but hell yes it is. The criminal background gives her a different perspective than other family law case lawyers, this is a benefit no matter how easy or hard the case is turning out to be. Veronica's staff are also very attentive and actually just awesome! The paralegal's at V. Freitas law are reliable and fast to respond to questions or concerns. Veronica's staff were not only there for me legally, but emotionally. Sometimes a person outside of the situation can give better clarity to an issue, I relied on Veronica and her great paralegals and office staff for this, they never disappointed me. This great group of people were there for me every step of the way, I will always consider them special friends. Just know that Veronica will never tell you what you want to hear, she will tell you what you need to hear and she will work her ass off for you. ***UPDATE: I'm back in court with the "Disturbed" once again...I have Veronica representing me this time too! *****UPDATE to the update - 07/2016 :) LOVE Veronica and her staff...now who says that about an attorney? I DO! We finished a second trial and Veronica did her usual "On-Point" job! She is so quick and appropriately reactive it is entertaining & productive. Veronica hears things in trial and knows how to get the right reaction from witnesses. She was great at letting my ex hang himself...you know what they say give a certain person enough rope and...:) *****UPDATE to the update - 06/2017 :) Still extremely helpful ... still consider friends and not a hired attorney! I recommend Veronica and her awesome legal team all the time... everyone that sees her has nothing but great things to say!!! read more

Veronica is, hands down, one of the best attorneys in Seattle. A good friend of mine referred me to Veronicas practice half a decade ago after I had gone through a divorce with children and was struggling to get my ex to pay his ordered support. She handled my initial law needs smoothly like the true pro she is. She knows the laws well and is brilliant in the courtroom if you ever need to be there. Since then I have had to call upon V Freitas Law practice many times due to the fact I have an ex that won't quit and wants nothing but to cause trouble for me. All bad things considered for my situation, I could not be luckier to have this team on my side, representing. I literally sleep better at night knowing Veronica and her team is so capable and awesome! She is fair and does NOT waste time! Her staff is polite, organized and always on point. I have a feeling that anyone on here with negative things to say, just regrets losing a case to her. I have worked with 3 other family law attorneys and I can say with confidence and through experience, if Veronica and her practice can make time for your case and you can retain her, you have won the amazing-attorney lottery! read more