Carmen Rita Restivo

I was assigned this lawyer in manhattan family court . This lawyer would not contact me prior to court cases , she would yell in court or be completely silent and not provide any defense or facts. It is extremely hard to get in touch with this lawyer . When you do speak to her , her kids are in the b...ack ground or it’s loud so you are not granted any privacy. She suggest things with no follow up or explanation and most importantly does not offer actual legal advice . She’s very cold and does not seem to care about the situation or what is in the best interest of the child / best outcome . Once she randomly stopped to ask me if I was recording her call which seemed extremely sketchy . I do not recommend this lawyer and if she is assigned please follow up / stay on top of things or you’ll get lost in the system and with a bad outcome . Remember this is a case to her but your life! So make sure you handle it correctly . I was not happy with this lawyer and not sure if she will correctly represent anyone assigned to her .

Ms. Restivo was a horrible attorney. She didn't prepare for my case at all, and even when she did some paperwork, they were off the point. Not knowledgeable what she is doing. In front of judge, all she did was to yell and accuse the other party- it was very unprofessional. Further worse, It appea...red she only cared about protecting herself not the client's interest. Look for somewhere else if you want to win your case.

I am the mom of 3 young, impressionable, intelligent, vunerable yet opinionated girls. We had to navigate very tenuous situations within the legal system to facilitate getting the 3 girls a legal "voice" who would represent THEIR wishes in regard to multiple domestic issues with their father. This ...person had to be educated/strong/confident/an amazing listener (she had to deal with my 3 girls that ranged 10 years from youngest to eldest and a 4/6 age gap for the middle child) as well as a champion for what the CHILDREN WANTED....fast forward to Carmen Restivo. Carmen's most challening obstacle was to filter all the background information and use the legal system to facilitate getting the children their strong armed approach to bringing their father to the table and use her legal expertise to navigage the system so that they would be heard and the court would take their words (thru Carmen) to heart. It was an emotional exhausting process but Carmen was steadfast! She represented the children in a flawless classy fashion. This enpowered my 3 girls on so many levels, the girls were in the middle of a domestic black hole Carmen was the ladder they needed to put their feet on the tera firma and move foreward as children not adults in this situation. It mad such a great impression that our eldest wants to be an attorney . My eldenst had an amazing introduction to a crushing system but because of Carmen's honesty/drive/commitment and listening she will be studying and sitting the LSATs. Now the girls have a much better relationship with their father....had we been in the midst of this situation with another attorney I do not think that the outcome would have been as stellar. My 3 girls know that if things get out of controll again they have a champion for their cause, Carmen Restivo. Her taking the brunt of horrific situation and molding it into a win win for everyone empowered me not to have any impact on the case/it took me out of the pointing finger position/and has enabled me to have a better co-parenting relationship with my ex which makes for a more unified front for our children and keeps everyone on point! It makes everyone a better person/him a better dad/me a better mom and Carmen was the conduit for this amazing outcome! The world needs more Carmen Restivos! I recommend her yesterday/today and every tomorrow!

Carmen Restivo was hired as an attorney for my child. She has met with my child twice in three years. She does not read any of the paperwork filed, does not listen to third party concerns regarding my child's well being and my child has communicated to me that Restivo encourages my child to say negat...ive things about both of her parents. I do not think this attorney has experience with dealing with children.