Morghan L Richardson

Like many NYC couples, my spouse and I had to divide our assets, problem was that some are priceless… I was most drawn to Morghan due to her familiarity with *pet* custody. Although this case law is still evolving, without her knowledge, we wouldn’t have reached a compromise regarding our dog and... cats without going to trial. I had purchased my apartment prior to our marriage and completed renovations using separate property. Nonetheless, my spouse wanted 50% of all the appreciation in the apartment’s value. Morghan was the first attorney who asked whether it was a cooperative or a condominium, then used my building’s governing documents to my advantage. I quickly gained exclusive use and occupancy of the apartment and was able to limit any claim my spouse had to the appreciation. I was so focused on the pets and my apartment that I nearly lost sight of the actual money we had. Morghan articulated the nuances between our traditional and Roth 401(k)/IRAs and factored in the unrealized gains in our stock accounts. Fortunately, we agreed to divide things in a mutually beneficial way that accounted for the tax impact. If you’re getting divorced with pets and pre-marital property, Morghan could be an excellent fit for you. Better yet, hire her for a prenup or petnup – I wish I had.

Do not be fooled like I was by these positive reviews. This attorney took on my very sensitive child custody case which involved domestic violence and multiple arrests of the other party (father) and by not paying attention to detail almost caused a very negative outcome. Here is a breakdown of ev...ents that occurred: On May 15th 2020 during Covid quarantine ACS reported to the judge and the other party’s attorney that the father (other party) will not be showing up for a drug screening as he is away in quarantine for next month at a minimum. May 20th there was a Skype call with the judge. As I learned later my request for Soberlink wasn’t communicated which led to a misunderstanding with the other parties attorney later who claimed I was unreasonable and changing my mind on previously approved supervised visits when in fact I was open to “unsupervised” so long as soberlink is present (which I offered to pay for) since previously approved supervised visits at Safe Horizon couldn’t happen due to quarantine. After the call on 5/20 I noticed many argumentative emails from the other attorney and asked Mrs. Richardson to pause communicating with the other party for a few days and I notified her I will be looking for a new representation shortly. My next 3 days were booked with zoom interviews for a new position and I simply did not have time available to attend to this matter. At that moment Mrs Richardson was unprofessional and distracted when we spoke and even had a few emotional outbursts and yelled at me when I caught her forgetting important facts (use of soberlink which was actually mentioned and included on my bill breakdown). I simply asked her to pause communication with the other party and to give me a few days to respond with how to proceed. Within the next few days, as I thought Mrs. Richardson followed my orders to pause... she took advantage of the fact that I was pre-occupied with numerous interviews and proceeded communicating with the other party and continued to bill for hours which were not approved by me and were not a part of the original 7,500 retainer. She also waited 2 months to send me an additional bill for $2,900 for 7 hours of case work after my request to pause communication. When I asked for an explanation her defense was that she still had to continue acting as my attorney and was claiming that I was “refusing” to release her from the case (she was referring to my reasonable request to pause communication for a few days). More importantly we did not have any urgency nor a scheduled appearance since the children’s father was away for at least a month. Unfortunately her unprofessionalism and unscrupulousness was surpassed only by her lack of compassion, greed and blatant incompetence. Not only did she claim she spent 7 hours on my case during the next few days, she never communicated to the other party that my goal was for children to spend time with their father unsupervised as long as soberlink was present which I was willing to pay. The next shock came on May 26th, 2020 the other attorney drafted an order to show cause since “her party was eager for visitation” (this is the same party who refused a drug test to ACS on May 15th claiming he was away in quarantine for a minimum of a month). This order was extremely negative towards me and had claims that I didn’t feel safe with children seeing their father because of Covid which has never even came up, claimed I was changing my mind between soberlink and supervised visits which was far from the truth and other similar claims which were caused by lack of communication between Mrs. Richardson and myself or Mrs Richardson and the other party. To end this situation quickly I had to agree to supervised visits with his elderly mother in her home which she claimed has asbestos and release Mrs. Richardson Stay away from this attorney and find someone who’s honest and knows how to communicate with clients without yelling and scolding

I chose Morghan to represent me for several reasons: she came highly recommended, she was very responsive, and I felt that she instantly understood my needs. In my uncontested same-sex divorce, Morghan had a straightforward strategy and ensured that I was in agreement before any decisions were made.... Her support staff were always in communication and helped me understand each moving piece. In Ms. Richardson, I had a diplomat to resolve thorny issues with seeming ease, but I also had a relentless advocate who proved to be uncompromising at just the right times. Finally, I always felt trusted by Morghan and I always trusted her. In my personal divorce experience, trust was what I needed to feel most. In the conclusion of my case, Morghan and her team delivered the best result I could have hoped for. I would recommend her unreservedly.

What started out as a non-contested divorce process unexpectedly became a contested one. My spouse decided she wanted her own representation to be sure she was being treated fairly. After reviewing the facts and speaking to the other attorney, Morghan Richardson took a risk and agreed to continue to... represent me on a clearly defined, fixed-fee basis that was very reasonable. In the end, our case was quickly and amicably resolved to everyone's satisfaction, and I received excellent value for the services rendered. Throughout the process, Ms. Richardson was very clear on what information she needed from me, kept me posted on the status of the case, let me know what I could expect to happen next, and when. If you are in New York City and are in need of family-related legal services, I would definitely recommend Morghan Richardson.

I had a crazy start in my divorce case. Thanks to Morgan who is such an amazing lawyer I got everything solved in a fair way. She made me feel so confident and positive about my case even on those days I had to deal with facing my ex in court. She fought until I got all my rights. I have to say, she ...is the best lawyer around. I recommend her to everyone !!!