David Samuel Kerpel’s Reviews

David Kerpel is an extraordinary lawyer. Smart, professional with pitch perfect timing , tactically, in a highly contentious, difficult divorce, (that went to trial). David is responsive despite his case load, dedicated & detailed.
David sets the tone and controls the tackle with an extremely contentious opposing party.

I am glad that David took me on as a client. He got me through a brutal, gut wrenching divorce. I began this journey panicked, unknowledgeable and completely overwhelmed. I am impressed by David's calm, levelheadedness .

He is worth every penny.

David was very professional and empathetic to me during my divorce. He handled the situation with class.

David is honest, knowledgeable and charges reasonable fees. He works hard to achieve what is right and fair for his clients.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with David on numerous divorce related cases, from very amicable ones, to very high conflicts ones. No matter what kind of case we have worked on together, David's professionalism, legal advise, honestly, response to emails and phone calls, etc. is second to none. As a divorce mediator, I have worked with hundreds of divorce attorneys and David is one of a few that I refer to on a regular basis. What I appreciate most is David's honesty with his clients. He doesn't string them along in thinking that are going to "hit it rich" with their divorce. Unfortunately, there are many divorce lawyers who do just that, but David is not one of them.

I would highly recommend David Kerpel for any divorce related legal assistance.

Divorce can be a scary time when you can't think straight, you've lost trust in others and you have so much to lose. It's important to call in someone who is in expert. David always remained calm and gave me my options. He always called me back or sent an email when he said he would. He sincerely cared about me and my children. I felt that I could trust him. In the end I believe I came out with a settlement that protected me and my family. To this day I still feel I can contact him with questions from a tax issue, to a referral regarding something else. I have and would recommend him to others.

I found David through the Lilac Tree, I am grateful that I did. Not only was he knowledgeable and determined, he helped me through a very difficult divorce with humor and patience. When it was obvious that my ex and I would never agree, he fought and won full custody for me. During the divorce, he also represented me for an order of protection.

Although my divorce is now final, he still represents me in my fights for unpaid child support. I would highly recommend him to anyone.

David was my second attorney. My first attorney was so arrogant, always talking down to me. I always felt like I was bothering them with my questions and like they never had time for me. He seemed equally comfortable talking and listening.

If you want a real person, who you can actually talk to, David is the attorney for you. He seemed to actually care about what I was going through, I never felt like I was a burden. Deelling with my ex, he seemed to balance taking a tough poistion and still maintain approachability. He knows the law and he knows "the system". But I never felt like he was trying to prove how smart he is.

Bottom line, he gets it done. No one can take the stress out of divorce, but David comes close. I would highly recommend him!!

I have been referring cases to David for years, and have always received great feedback from the people I referred to him. David is very knowledgeable and has earned a great reputation among lawyers and judges. He is very attentive to his clients' needs and will always make himself available to them. I highly recommend David.

In the time that I have known David he has always been extremely knowledgable, comforting during any court appearances we had and extremly confident and very successful in our proceedings. I could not have asked for or expected anything better than the service that David provided for me. He 100% believes in fighting for both mine and my childrens rights as well.
I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND him for any family issues to anyone who needs help !!!!!!

I hired a female attorney in Waukegan who would not even ask for child support until I begged. She also said she did not want to fight for what I wanted if she did not think she would win. She liked to stay in good standing in the court. Then I hired a male attorney from an famous Chicago firm who cancelled three meetings. When he did finally attend a meeting he began negotiating away one of my important issues until I called him out of the room. A good attorney does fight for you, stays in good standing with the court and keeps promises and deadlines.
Finally, a friend recommended David Kerpel because he moves things along and communicates well about what is going on.
David listens when you ask him to, he asks you to limit your input when he feels we are off target. Only asking you to bring it up later. David remembers details of importance from 7 months ago when he wasn't even on the case to present to the judge at just the right moment. This has been the most productive 2 months of a divorce that began 3 years ago and was filed 16 months ago. Not only does he have a broad knowledge base, he is willing to take on new issues and is still referring me to watch out for my own financial stability by referring me to other advocates before making further decisions.
David Kerpel at Kerpel Law is intelligent, polite, caring and efficient. David Kerpel uses facts instead of ego while paving the way for the next step.
As a woman with an abusive husband David remains calm and yet protective. He prioritizes motions in complicated situations, to get things done in steps. When you are opposing someone who enjoys a fight and runs up expenses you need someone who draws the line on the here and now. Step by step we are getting results. When you have children in the middle of a contentious divorce they become your most important concern. Yet you cannot give up retirement, child support or future decision rights. When you have a lawyer who communicates with you about everything that is going to happen you can walk into court and be quiet and hopeful. Even though I still literally shake at the awfulness of it all as I stand before the judge, I have complete confidence (for the first time) in David Kerpel and can act with dignity before the judge. The craziness of a divorce that is complicated and has a mean spirited foe can bring everything down to that dysfunctional level. And if you are inexperienced in court proceedings and do not enjoy it, you can feel helpless and muzzled. David Kerpel respects me and my issues, he is my true voice (only smarter).
I understand David Kerpel worked for a large Chicago firm before but felt he could have more time and control working on his own to affect the kind of changes he wanted to see in divorce and family law cases he represented.
David Kerpel is humane, intelligent, calculating, kind, assertive, efficient, and instills confidence and hope in one of the most important and difficult events of my life. This will impact the life of me and my children for another ten years if not our entire lives and David Kerpel works to make that count. He returns to enforcing court orders and increasing safety measures and future security.
I am a professional, temporarily disabled and with a new partner (after years of being alone) who is a corporate lawyer and we both cannot believe how hard it is to find someone good to help in difficult divorce cases. I wish I had known about this site when I began but hope this helps others.

I have been a client of David Kerpel's for approximately 8 years and highly recommend him as a family law attorney. I began working with him post-divorce for issues related to child support and visitation, which have continued throughout the years. Mr. Kerpel is not only ultra-knowlegeable about family law, he is also solution oriented with his advice, timely in his response, clear and precise with direction/next steps, an extremely organized record keeper and always prepared for your next court date. When you are involved in an emotionally charged and challenging case with a difficult party on the other side, you really appreciate having legal counsel who is both exceptionally confident and competent. Additionally, Mr. Kerpel has an impressive calmness about him with the ability to be tough when it's warranted; and by my observation, has a nice rapport with the judges who likely appreciate his approach as well. He has surpassed my expectations for results over the years and has been so helpful to me and my family through some very stressful times. Over the years, David has continually demonstrated that he a passion for his profession and genuinely cares for his clients' well being.

I had been around the block with divorce lawyers trying to find one who would be sincere about my case and not just a paycheck when I was introduced to David Kerpel. I needed someone who would have my best interests in mind. David fulfilled this need and went far beyond. David is: honest, insightful, thorough, sincere, hardworking and much more. He won an outstanding settlement for me and I am now able to live without the worries that had been haunting me. Thank you, David.

Throughout the time David handled my divorce, I felt protected and well represented. David is compassionate, approachable and responsive. He cares about children and worked out the best possible child custody agreement for me. He encouraged me to work out small issues with my husband, but intervened if necessary. He was conscious of costs and weighed the outcome of his actions.
David was well prepared for court appearances and always very professional. He provided advice and support before my deposition and eased the stress with humor. I would definitely recommend David to anyone needing a good lawyer!

I had no where or no one to turn to in order to get a divorce. Attorneys kept rejecting me because I had a limited amount of funds but David did accept me. I wanted a divorce from an abusive husband and father who had thrown me and my daughters literally to the curb. A sheriff arrived at our home around 7am and legally evicted us because our home went into foreclosure. In the state of Illinois, a husband can also legally keep such financial information to himself even though both spouses have signed the mortgage, since only one spouse is required to know. David gave me the support and knowledge to prepare for legal procedures and documentation. A payment plan was created so that I could afford his fees. None of my continuous questions and concerns were ever trivialized nor unanswered by him. He gave me a sense of calmness and support when I was going through a most tumultuous time in my life.

David was my 3rd divorce lawyer. I wish I had found him earlier. Not only is he extremely well versed in the law, he posseses a trait very few lawyers have. He genuinely cares. That to me was apparent from day one! The first thing he said to me was are you happy with your current visitation schedule with your children! Long story short. From that minute in his office I knew everything was going to be fair and equitable moving forward. Did I get more visitation? Yes! Did it cost me a arm and a leg? No. In addition to this, I was foolish enough to cash out my 401k to address loans from a business that had fallen victim of the recession. I did this before I met David. My prior lawyer didn't see a problem with it. Well, a 401k that is cashed out becomes earned income in the eyes of the law. My ex wife's lawyer was foaming at the mouth with great excitement over my horrific 30k mistake. Long story short.... David dug deep and asked me to contact my accountant to clarify how he coded the loss from my business. He argued in court that I had cashed out my 401k to pay off all the loans and that it should only be what was left over after the loans were paid off. Sorry, long story, but this is good, really good! Case law does not care! My ex wife should of recieved the 30k. David was able to paint a picture for the judge that conveyed such hardship, pain and suffering that I had already gone through, that the judge sided with him! I couldn't believe it!!! Instead of 30k, it was now down to 9k. Again and I stress, this wasn't because a legal win, but a result of a lawyer who was able to communicate as a person! The judge was touched and made a fair and equitable decision. It is with great pleasure to not only reccomend David as a lawyer, but a human being who truly cares!

In the middle of my divorce, my original attorney had to withdraw from my case for personal reasons. She had recommended David Kerpel to me. I was short on time and had to rely on her recommendation. After a brief meetintg with Mr. Kerpel, I felt very confident that he could streamline this process which was already in progress. He did just that. He's a good guy and knows his stuff. I would recommend him to represent someone in a heartbeat!!

Although I would never wish Divorce on anyone, David with skill, knowledge, empathy and outstanding professionalism (both with me as his client and with my husband at the time) maneuvered us through the most difficult season of our lives.

David is a horrible lawyer. I gave him my case and had him read over it. He claimed it was a clear cut contempt case against my ex. He took my money and I didn't hear from him for a month. Then he botch the pre-trial conference as he was not prepared although I gave him tons of information to use to win.

Then he asked for more info which I e-mailed him. Then he billed me. I called him and asked him to discuss what he billed me for. He couldn't do it as he never actually read anything I sent him...but he billed me for it anyway!

He is NOT detail oriented and does not do his homework.

STAY AWAY!!!!

In addition, David tried to get me to settle for a very small portion of what I was owed because he really did not understand the case and did not review the materials. I refused, and therefore, he dropped me as a client and refused to represent my wishes. I hired another attorney who actually got my entire amount owed and then some extra! The difference was over $30,000!