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.

David is an excellent attorney. He was always available when I needed to talk and was an excellent communicator. He was easy to speak to and discuss all related details which is necessary during this difficult process. He is very experienced and obviously well liked and respected by others in the ...field. Even the judge commented that he was a good choice. His combination as a mediator is evident in his style and care. He was fair and honest and seemed to always remain calm. My case was fairly complicated and he was on top of the details and able to analyze all aspects and come up with various options. Overall I was very pleased and would highly recommend him.

I had a challenging situation and David knew exactly how to navigate the waters with objectivity, full understanding of the law, and advised me with my best interests in mind. I came to depend on David as an adviser as his depth of experience has contributed to my success and peace of mind throughou...t the process of my divorce and afterwards, no regrets, just an understanding that I did the right thing through his advisement.