Merril Sue Chin

This attorney is not only a farce she is also a liar, and a thieve. Don’t take anyone’s recommendation of this poor excuse of an attorney. Save your money and if your case is at all important then run to someone else who will actually defend you. Her associate is just as disgraceful, clearly she’s le...arning from the worst. Not only did her associate refuse to defend any part of my case in court, she repeatedly failed to file documents, follow up on motions etc but on top of it all she showed up to court late…I mean by almost an hour! If you think maybe she was preparing for the case and that’s why she ran late nope she freestyled everything…everything. She would stutter for 10 mins straight. She would stop the proceedings to ask me to elaborate on things that we had already covered multiple times and push me to settle everything and consent to motions in our custody agreement that I told her were crazy and against everything I was trying to protect our child against. When I would reach out to her boss Merril she had the audacity to scream at me and defend their incompetence. That’s all you need to know about that circus. Had 0 interest, 0 cares and 0 empathy for anything that didn’t involve you filling up her pockets. Oh and good luck if you’re looking for communication from these clowns!

During the consultation, she appeared capable. After I signed the retention agreement this ended. Documents were lost, conversation notes forgotten and to reconstruct such, I was billed a 2nd and 3rd time. Court dates were continuously pushed forward because she scheduled frequent vacations but I w...as living with the realities of the unresolved issues. Her desire to represent me seemed to run hot and cold but as the paying client, I needed an attorney to represent me regardless of mood. When she did not understand something, she became hostile and aggressive. Personal insults were the norm and I was expected to pay my monthly bill before seeing the itemization. When I made the decision to seek other cousel, she delayed returning my records, either because they were temporarily lost or in a last attempt to gain a few more dollars. I had to contact the office multiple times to schedule the pickup of these documents.

She helped me through a very very horrible divorce and custody issue. She handled my case each and every time we attended court, which was numerous time with nothing but pure professionalism. She showed her expertise with divorce and family law so was able to ensure that the final court judgment was ...on my side. She was always so helpful with any questions or any aspects that was not very clear to me. She always returned my call or email same day without fail and did not charge me for most of this. She was more than just a Lawyer as she also showed she really cared about what I was going through. I rated her even highly because she offered me the most flexible option of paying, she never once contacted me about a past bill but instead allowed me to make payments when I can. Now, I don't think you will find many Lawyers out there willing to be that flexible. If you are looking for an honest, reliable, knowledgable Lawyer, she is defiently the one. Merril did the job I hired her to do and she did it very well. I had a very good experience working with her and honest cannot imagine what I would have done if I had not had her as my Lawyer.

This woman only cares about money. She would make a phone call and ask for credit card payment even before the itemized bill was received in the mail. She became defensive if you asked her any difficult questions. She creates "more hours" by misplacing important documentation that you have alrea...dy provided. After her recommendation and being guided step by step in filing a contempt, the judge was angry because there was no just cause for the contempt - something she clearly should have known. She dropped the ball on numerous occasions, and the fact that I could settle the problem with the opposing party in 15 minutes when "she chose not to show up to court with me" certainly tells a lot!! I truly feel she is a disappointment and disgrace to attorneys out there trying to do their best for their clients.

Initially I thought that Ms. Chin was professional. I gave my wife's and my financial information to her in the initial meeting and explained it quite thoroughly. My assets before the marriage, my wife's assets before the marriage, and our combined assets. We had no children. Merril called me repe...atedly asking me questions about the assets. I had already explained it once or twice and she'd call again asking very similar questions. It was annoying. She'd charge me for all her calls. At the end of a simple divorce, in which she said it should cost somewhere around $2,000, she had run up the bill to over three times that amount. My family friend, a lawyer, had to call her to ask her about her exorbitant overcharging. She was rude to him. She didn't negotiate well with my wife's attorney, I felt. At the end of the whole deal, I dropped her as my attorney. But she showed up at my final divorce hearing demanding 80% payment of her bill and threatening a lien if I didn't pay. I paid. Working with her was a terrible experience and I really don't recommend it.