Based on 13 reviews
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Posted by a Divorce client, Flag
Five months ago I retained David Perry Davis to file my simple case. During our initial consultation, he estimated that my divorce should be finalized within 6-8 weeks if my spouse immediately signed the paperwork (it could take up to two months longer if not). He advised me that I would receive the full packet to review and sign within one week. I didn't. After several calls to the office, I finally received my packet four weeks later. Unfortunately, it was full of mistakes (crucial ones such as grounds for divorce, my residency and employment information, my spouse's address, custody details, etc). It took another week for the secretary to revise the 23 errors and email me the corrected paperwork.
It's now been about 3 months since I signed and returned the corrected paperwork, and my divorce petition has yet to even be filed! That means my spouse won't even be served any paperwork to sign or not sign in the very near future. I've contacted the office weekly and am given excuse after excuse, but no one is willing to accept responsibility. I am shocked at the lack of professionalism.
Posted by a Divorce client, Flag
David was the best lawyer possible for my divorce. He got me way more than I could have ever dreamed of. I would highly recommend him to anyone in the nj area.
Posted by michelle, a Divorce client, Flag
WOW, where do I begin? Mr. Davis in my opinion is without a doubt , the best attorney you will find. He REVERSED (amended) my absolute divorce to a limited divorce (Divorce of Bed and Board)!!! He was the ONLY ONE that said it is possible! HE PROVED IT AND PRODUCED!!! My PREVIOUS attorney(at MESP) told me divorce from bed and board no longer existed in the state of NJ. I needed health insurance through my husbands employer because I could not afford cobra.($500.00 to $600.00/month) She would not even negotiate it for me. I left the courthouse devastated and with an absolute divorce in hand. My husband told me after court, if he had known he would have agreed to a limited divorce. I immediately phoned attorneys. MANY (20 at least ) stated no way it's a done deal, or I will check and get back to you.( one returned my call and he was very iffy). I finally went onto AVVO's website and asked "can an absolute divorce be changed to divorce of bed and board if both parties agree and it is less than 72 hours?" One attorney (Mr. Lieberman) replied, "No absolutely not an absolute divorce is absolute." David Perry Davis replied, (in detail) " it is possible, but you must jump on it quickly". He also stated with foresight, "I hope your attorney offered Divorce of bed and Board... " I e-mailed his website and left my details and phone # and he returned my call that evening! I was relieved and hopeful. I met with him once in his office and all other correspondence was done promptly by phone, fax or e-mail. He was genuinely concerned about my situation. Mr. Davis absolutely works diligently for his clients, responds very quickly, and gets the job done! He is honest, EXTREMELY knowledgeable, experienced, well respected in the court system, patient, an out of the box thinker, down to earth, empathetic, and his fee is affordable.(trust me he does not pad the bill with ridiculous drafts, reviews, and copies like so many attorneys do). He had incredible patience with my husband's attorney, whom I would NOT consider a class "A" attorney.
Emotions run very high during divorce/custody proceedings. Mr. Davis keeps you grounded. He does not pour gasoline onto the fire nor does he go to a gun fight with a knife!!! He has incredible knowledge and experience. If you need and attorney to fight for YOU and not play games and just get the issues resolved, I strongly recommend Mr.Davis.You will not regret your decision. More than half of the battle is finding the right attorney with knowledge of the laws. So retain David Perry Davis and the most difficult part of the divorce will be completed. I do not have one regret hiring him. The only regret I do have is not finding him first. I am truly grateful to AVVO and most of all to Mr. Davis. I am comfortable that if anything arises in my future about this matter I can just make a phone call and feel secure knowing the matter will get resolved.
What I have learned as I put this behind me is that the NJ court system can be very difficult and trying. You MUST find a truly knowledgeable attorney or you will be filled with anxiety AND BROKE. I have used 2 other attorneys prior to Mr. Davis and lost a lot of sleep.
Do not be afraid to fire an attorney if you are not satisfied with them. If you feel as if both attorneys are battling each other and racking up your bill while you are on the sidelines, move on. I hope my experience can help someone. Believe me, everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong before I found Mr. Davis. The NJ State Bar Assoc. should be proud to have Mr. Davis among them.
So ONE attorney of many took the time and possessed the knowledge to help me. I was a complete stranger to him, and he reversed what I was told " impossible". The one with the most knowledge wins! He represents what an attorney should be. I will be grateful and thankful to Mr. Davis forever. He's the best!
Posted by a Divorce client, Flag
I am so glad I found Atty David Perry Davis and used his services. Everything went well today in court and got my divorce finalized. I find him to be reliable, fair, knowledgeable, and the fees are definitely very reasonable.
Posted by Lisa W., a Family client, Flag
Mr. Davis impressive website was misleading as to the type of representation he would come to provide me. Mr. Davis is, indeed, very knowledgeable in his field, but he was consistently unresponsive to me as a client. As one of many examples of his irresponsibility, he left the State for a vacation without notifying me or the court, at a time when an important motion filing was due. It was only after I telephoned his office to schedule a conference, that his assistant advised he was at the airport, heading off for vacation, causing us to miss the filing deadline. This caused me serious stress and evoked the ire of the Judge presiding over my case. More than once, he came to court unprepared or insufficiently prepared to argue my motion or cross-motion. In my case he was so overly concerned with getting paid that he disregarded my repeated statements (clearly set forth in prior motion papers) that I did not want to sell my home, and proceeded to take it upon himself to tell the court that I wanted to sell my home, which was extremely upsetting, particularly when the Court agreed. If you want a lawyer to advocate selflessly and tirelessly in your best interest, it is my opinion that you do not want to hire Mr.Davis. Although unfortunately Mr. Davis became ill during his representation of me, he completely abandoned me at an extremely precarious time in my case, forcing me to actually have to file a response to a frivolous Order to Show Cause on my own. (which the court would not even accept at first, telling me that i could not file pro se and that any filings had to come from Mr. davis, who was ignoring the court and myself. Mr. Davis will say there was nothing he could do since he was ill, however, his abandonment of my case and his non-responsiveness continued after he returned to the office whereupon he was selectively choosing which cases he was ignoring and which he would work on. Perhaps most egregious, was his misfiling of an interlocutory apeal on my behalf, causing the appellate court to throw out the appeal. Mr. Davis never even advised me that the appeal was not heard on the merits and led me to believe that the the appeal was pending, a fiction that continued for weeks and weeks. It was only after I hired a new lawyer, that we even discovered that the interlocutory appeal was dismissed because Mr. Davis did not file the papers properly.
Lawyer’s Comment:
(Continued)
The court was made aware of the heart attack and adjourned the one case that required an adjournment. On my own time, I helped W and the three other clients to find replacement attorneys and made sure they were in good hands. W chose to answer one of the frivolous applications her (pro se) ex filed by herself rather than through the attorney I referred her to - W doesn't mention that (1) she has a law degree herself (!), (2) the ex's application was denied, and (3) it was a stupid, obviously harassing motion by W's ex filed to drive up her fees. She also doesn't mention that I voluntarily credited her with the cost of the new attorney "getting up to speed" on the file (because it was the right thing to do) and offered to sit down with them and review the file on my own time and without charge.
Finally, there is "the most egregious, misfiling of an interlocutory apeal (sic) on my behalf, causing the appellate court to throw out the appeal. Mr. Davis never even advised me that the appeal was not heard on the merits and led me to believe that the the (sic) appeal was pending, a fiction that continued for weeks and weeks. It was only after I hired a new lawyer, that we even discovered that the interlocutory appeal was dismissed because Mr. Davis did not file the papers properly."
Facts. After W reconsidered her decision to sell her home and insisted that I try to get her out from under on her stated agreement in open court to sell it, I filed an interlocutory appeal seeking a stay and a reversal of the court's refusal to let W out of her decision. http://www.dpdlaw.com/w4.pdf It is obviously difficult to get a court to let a party out of an agreement they make on the record in open court. HOWEVER, AS A RESULT OF THE APPEAL BEING FILED, THE TRIAL COURT STAYED THE ORDER REQUIRING THE HOUSE BE PLACED ON THE MARKET. This is what's called a "win" not an "egregious misfiling."
The Appellate Division then indicated that they wanted some technical changes (which are not in the court rules - having to do with how the Notice of Appeal was filed). Obviously, with a stay in place while the appeal was pending (thus giving W a win at least until it was ruled on in that she wasn't required to list the house), it was to W's benefit for me to seek as much time as possible to get the corrections to the appellate paperwork done. I requested and got an extension. Because it benefited W to do so.
Moreover, I was notified of this issue by the Court AFTER W had retained a new attorney - and I immediately advised her new attorney of this http://www.dpdlaw.com/w5.pdf . It was not pending for "weeks and weeks" while I was W's attorney and W's new attorney did not correct the error, either, since W was "winning" via the stay being in place (meaning she didn't have to list the house for sale while the interlocutory appeal was pending). EMAIL
Eventually, the trial court judge decided to extinguish the order requiring the house be listed as trial was on the horizon. So, the end result of the interlocutory appeal was that W got what she wanted - she got out from under on her statement in open that she wanted the house sold and she didn't have to list it. In fact, she hasn't had to do so through to this day ... all thanks to what W now calls "egregious misfiling of an interlocutory appeal."
I thank the reader for taking the time to review this review, comment, and response. The true lesson to be learned from W v. W is that one should strive to resolve their matter with the minimum of acrimony and cost possible. No one benefits from drawn out expensive battles - including the attorneys. We make just as much from ten $2,500 cases as we do from one $25,000 case, and no one is happy about spending large sums for a divorce. And, as the obvious vitriol of the case (being spewed out between the parties and now, via this review, at me) shows, the end result will never justify the acrimony in a hotly contested case.
Posted almost 2 years ago. Flag
Posted by Tim, a Child Support client, Flag
David has been my lawyer since 2000. I didn't have a lawyer when I got divorced as I couldn't afford one. I soon found out that I couldn't afford not to have one. He has handled everything from child support, parenting time and enforcing litigants' rights issues. He's a top-notch lawyer who is knowledgeable, reasonable, fair, reliable and has always answered my questions and concerns honestly and in a timely manner.
Posted by a Divorce client, Flag
I only met with him once - drafted the property settlement agreement and signed all the required paperwork...after a few emails...everything was done. I got the final decree in weeks...
I would've given a 4 on responsiveness and kept me informed if it weren't for rating Dave...since most of the communication is done via his office and the lady there makes mistakes and can be non-responsive...however after I sent Dave emails he jumped right in and made sure everything was done right...the best lawyer ever...very down to earth and takes as much time to answer questions via email or when I was in his office.
Posted by John S., a Family client, Flag
““David Perry Davis, Attorney, is by far a legendary attorney in my State of New Jersey! Always accessible, thinks "way out-of-box", creative and never hesitates to always provide worst-case outcome. Fees are simply fluff. I will never be able to provide any type of appropriate "pay-back". jfs
Posted by a Child Support client, Flag
He never returns phone calls, emails and takes your money and does nothing with it. He is being reported to NJ Bar Assn. as I write this review.
Lawyer’s Comment:
Sorry it was posted anonymously or I'd contact the author and try to see what the problem was / is.
The problem with doing Family Law is that occasionally you end up with lunatic clients; you can't please everyone.
Posted over 3 years ago. Flag
Posted by a Family client, Flag
Finding a good lawyer I could really trust was an exhaustive (and sometimes expensive) process, but now I rely on David Davis either to handle the situation himself or to recommend someone if my problem is in an area where he believes someone else's knowledge and experience would make them a better choice. But when he does accept a case, he's excellent, way above most of the others I've met. Also he's exceptional in a courtroom and charges nothing for the initial consultation nor are his fees absurdly high.
Posted by a Divorce client, Flag
David is a people person who takes his cases almost personally - his repoire with me was above and beyond. He is always willing to listen - and give tghe best advice. He is a warm and considerate person - and given this type of law is a welcome trait when going through the divorce process and even after. I would highly recommend him to anyone going through a difficult time during divorce.
Posted by a Child Custody client, Flag
We have been using Mr. Davis as needed over the last 8 years. Initially, he won increased parenting time for us, and ultimately, he was successful in helping us to gain custody of my step-son. I can not imagine another lawyer being as knowledgeable about family law, and honest and affordable. We have yet to lose anything when going in front of a judge with Mr. Davis representing us.
Posted by a Divorce client, Flag
Though priced well below many of his competitors in the area, Mr. Davis consistently outpaces his colleagues in knowledge of the law and commitment to excellence. Don't hesitate to check out his website and give him a call. He is fair minded, works hard for his clients, and is 100% honest about your options.
Lawyer’s Comment:
I hope that anyone reading this surprising review will take a few minutes to read the below response and view the documents that rebut the review's claims.
Since the author chose to retain her anonymity, I'll do likewise and have redacted the relevant documents in the links below to refer to her only as "W", even though all the documents linked to are in the public record.
First, W states that "I disregarded repeated statements (clearly set forth in prior motion papers) that I did not want to sell my home, and proceeded to take it upon himself to tell the court that I wanted to sell my home, which was extremely upsetting."
Facts - W's husband quit his job and was refusing to pay support. There was a danger, according to W, that the home was going into foreclosure and that ALL the equity would be lost. H had absconded (at one point) to Central America and indicated he wasn't returning. During this period, W explicitly authorized the sale of the house, even when I specifically checked with her in court to be sure this was what she wanted.
Here is the certified transcript of the court appearance wherein W states, on the record, that she wanted the home sold: http://www.dpdlaw.com/w1.pdf . The claim in the review that I "disregarded repeated statements that W did not want to sell her home" is obviously less than truthful when one reads W's own words.
Here's the email she sent me the next day saying that she was "reconsidering" her decision to list the home: http://www.dpdlaw.com/w2.pdf ("I am having second thoughts.") Obviously, if SHE hadn't decided to list the home, she wouldn't be sending an email saying she was "having second thoughts" as to that decision. Additionally, she later affirmed under oath in a written certification that she had consented to the sale http://www.dpdlaw.com/w6.pdf .
The claim that I "took it upon myself to tell the court she wanted the home listed" is not true, as per W's own words in court and email. I even checked with her in open court on the record to be sure this is what she had decided http://www.dpdlaw.com/w1.pdf My goal as an attorney is to attain the client's goals. It makes no difference to me whether a home is sold or not; I explain the options, the law, the court rules and the trial process - the ultimate decision on something like this is left to the client. Instead of kicking herself for having made the decision to sell the home, she decided to kick me via this review.
It is offensive that W is claiming I wanted her to sell the home as a result of her bill. Here's her email affirming that she had just made a substantial payment toward her balance, in stark contrast to her claim that I authorized the sale of her home over a payment issue (as show above, SHE authorized the sale, then changed her mind). W made regular payments and this was never an issue: http://www.dpdlaw.com/w3.pdf
Note also that the vast majority of cases I handle never reach the $5,000 mark at all. W's case was the second most expensive, extensive, drawn out nightmare I've ever handled. Ever. I understand that, as of this writing, the case is still being tried. W's ex is in jail again for nonpayment of support and, well, they're still fighting it out.
Although, unlike the above, it would be impossible to prove this without uploading the 2,500+ page file, no filing deadlines were missed and (not that I plan to do anything about it beyond writing this response), it is defamation for W to claim otherwise. A motion was adjourned once when I had a brief vacation (I take one week a YEAR).
It's true that I had a heart attack in June 2010. I had a stent put in and am 100% recovered. However, at the time, I needed to drop high-stress cases and no case was more stressful than W's. I had to ask four clients to get other attorneys. Although I was only working part time during the remainder of June 2010, I most certainly did not "abandon" her case nor anything other case. The court was made
Posted almost 2 years ago. Flag