David Torchin

I hired David Torchin (“DT”) of his firm, TMO, to assist me in a post judgement divorce matter from Nov 2023 - Jan 2025. The matter was not complicated, but my adversary was high conflict and caused the enforcement matter to run 5 years and over COVID resulting in multiple delays from the court for a... trial date. I had employed 2 other attorneys over the full 7-year span of the matter, at the initial divorce and the start of the enforcement matter in 2020. I have 25 years’ experience in top-ranked law firms in NY. I am familiar with the best attorneys available in the tri-state area, law firm operations, billing, and how long it takes to complete many tasks. My experience with TMO, specifically David Torchin and Emily Carstensen (“EC”), was horrible. Each pain point was made more difficult by them. Rude, intimidating, threatening, careless, unprepared, and hurried would characterize my TMO experience. On several occasions, DT seemed to have not read emails, and either replied in short (such as “I will not”), or forget what was discussed. It was clear that he did not give my case the attention I paid for ($475/hour) and did not care about my concerns. The long-awaited trial was rescheduled to 2.07.2024 from 9.22.2022. The entire 3-year case was well summarized in a 200-page mediation statement by the prior attorneys. TMO charged 23K over 2 months to review the case file which produced a 6-page draft timeline of events to be their outline of the case at trial, no statements or summation. Preparation for the trial included 1.5 hours office meeting days before the trial where I was asked a handful of timeline questions and told to read all 8 certifications filed over the last 3 years by the prior firm. I spent the weekend preparing, rented a hotel close to the courthouse, and was ready to put it all behind me with a vacation booked a few days later. The evening before trial, EC sent a text, “DT took a turn for the worse” and cancelled trial. An attorney-only call replaced trial and EC later conveyed that the judge ordered mediation. Mediation had failed many times, and TMO knew I was against wasting resources on another one. When asked why we were not given a new trial date, I was told they didn’t know, and the judge is unpredictable. The following months were colored by TMO arguing with me, claiming valid arguments which were to be made by prior counsel would not hold water in court, gaslighting me, and forcing me into private arbitration with a caveat for mediation. DT persuaded me into a mediation before the trial date, I agreed to a less than acceptable amount (so I would not need to deal with TMO anymore) and then it failed. My adversary would not sign the settlement, but now he and the arbitrator had a number I would accept. With no settlement, arbitration was next, but DT said he would be doing me a disservice because now he was not prepared. I asked him to get new dates, fast forward, DT did not want to take me to trial, fired, and I represented myself, obtaining a better result than at mediation. TMO’s bills seemed exaggerated when compared to those of the prior attorneys. When our engagement ended, DT paid himself from my retainer in advance before I received the bill. I had questions on 2 prior bills (they were all questionable). I told him it was theft, and I had not consented to his payment, nor had I received the bill for review. He replied, “You’ll get the bill soon and then you can argue your little head off.” Do you think he would say that to a man? Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to know that you chose a reputable and respectable attorney until you begin working with them, and by then, they have used your retainer (15k) and you are invested. I thought I’d put up with TMO to get to the fish line. I found, hired, and paid for a consultant to join the team and help navigate TMO. He and I prepared the new mediation statement. In hindsight, I would have fired TMO earlier.

I had a challenging experience working with David Torchin in the past, who was our court-appointed Parent Coordinator. Mr. Torchin was assigned to help my ex-wife and I resolve disputes regarding the upbringing of our children. Unfortunately, he canceled our meetings on short notice multiple times an...d even double-booked our initial appointment, leaving us waiting in his in his waiting room for some time before informing us we needed to reschedule, as his other client took priority. During our sessions, I found Mr. Torchin to be unprofessional. He frequently resorted to personal insults and attempted to intimidate me when I disagreed with him. Rather than working towards a compromise, he often tried to impose his opinions and would often resort to bullying tactics. We then attended mediation with a different professional to help resolve some of these very same issues that Mr. Torchin was incapable of effectively addressing. The assigned mediator offered common-sense solutions that were "in the children's best interests." When confronted about his effectiveness in addressing our concerns, Mr. Torchin responded, "I never, in addressing the issue, imparted my opinion as to what was best for the children. Ultimately, when the parties could not agree, I left the decision to the discretion of the parent who had custody on that particular day." He also noted, "There is a difference in the style of mediation used by <Mediator Name>, which I do employ when retained as a mediator, and the style of mediation I use when retained as a Parent Coordinator". His main focus seemed to be on maximizing billing rather than providing the best solutions. I recall one instance where, after being informed that "David is on vacation overseas," I discovered that many of his clients, including myself, were billed for "Telephone/International Calls" line item charge on the next invoice — as if his substantial hourly fee wasn't enough. Given these experiences, it became clear that Mr. Torchin’s services as a Parent Coordinator were ineffective in facilitating resolutions that were truly in the best interests of our children. For those in need of a family law attorney or Parent Coordinator with a calm demeanor, I would advise looking beyond David Torchin. I hope Mr. Torchin will not respond to me with insults, but instead will use my feedback as an opportunity to improve his services for future clients, as it was intended.