Seth David Schraier

I hired Seth for a custody and support. Seth is fairly new in his law practice and offers very attractive and economic price due to his low overhead. Seth works out of his home and also alone. Although its a minor critique, his home office was a bit unprofessional and definitely untidy. If I wor...ked out of my home, I would ensure it was at least clean and professional. Anyhow, I was impressed with Seth's calm and firm demeanor. He was also willing to meet on weekends, which is helpful for those who work. However, as my case progressed there were multiple red flags. He failed to show up for a hearing, which left me in a complete panic. Luckily the judge adjourned it for another date. In addition he often came late and/or unprepared. Bc of his high volume/low cost business model, he often scheduled multiple hearings in one day and I felt he barely knew any case specifics and always arrived rushed/breathless from another hearing. Further his written documents were lacking to say the least, and I found out later often not filed. For example, he failed to request financial discovery for my support proceedings so I was stuck months on end with a low support figure. Moreover, my ex was abusive so I wanted full custody. I felt Seth was unwilling to go to bat for me during the custody proceedings and pressured me to settle for "joint custody with final say" suggesting that there was no difference between that and full custody. When you are dealing with an abusive spouse, the concept of signing up joint custody is signing up for two decades of continued abuse and power struggles, even though its a pseudo-joint custody situation. I insisted on full custody due to history of abuse and Seth argued with me that there is no difference. Seth was not interested in understanding the detrimental mental/emotional impact this would have had on my life or more importantly on my child's well being. I also felt Seth was so wrapped up in not "rocking the boat" with the judges and staying on their good side on a personal level, that he failed advocate on my behalf as my attorney. Moreover, Seth is bias toward father's rights in my opinion-he blew off a lot of my concerns as frivolous and was not willing to hear out my concerns regarding the past abuse. I started to lose sleep over the fear of my future and more importantly my child's future. Finally I bit the bullet and ended up hiring a law firm and legal team. I paid for it-But there was a huge improvement and well worth it. The legal documents filed on my behalf were a complete 180 improvement- I had no clue legal proceedings could be so much more organized and better. My new attorneys went to bat for me -they knew every single story every single concern and detail in ways I had wished Seth would have cared to know. I ended up with full custody and 2.5 times the child support Seth suggested I settle for. I'd say if you are dealing with a straightforward, healthy ex who acts in the best interest of your children, then Seth would be a great attorney for you. But if you have a high conflict ex - particularly with pathological personality disorder, don't waste your time and hire a firm that will advocate for you and your children.