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Established in 2000, the Law Offices of David Bliven assists individuals and families in Westchester County and Bronx County with divorce, child custody, and other family law matters. Attorney David Bliven leverages his nearly 30 years of experience, including prosecutor work, to provide comprehensive and strategic legal counsel. He is ranked in the top 5% of Family Law attorneys in the NYC metro area, maintains a 10.0 (Superb) Avvo rating and has the highest possible rating for Legal Ability & Ethical Standards. He has been published in numerous periodicals and has authored several books, including "Navigating Your New York Divorce Case" and "Navigating Your New York Family Court Case" and "Navigating Your New York Contested Divorce Case."
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Practice Areas
29 years | 400 cases
29 years | 275 cases
29 years | 225 cases
29 years | 850 cases
We have not found any cost information for this lawyer
State: New York
Acquired: 1998
No misconduct found
Other places you can find David online.
Showing 166 - 170 of 175 reviews
Posted by anonymous | December 31, 2023 | Hired Attorney | Family
Disappointed
I hired David Bliven largely on the strength of these reviews, and because his office is accessible to me. First his staff repeatedly screwed up appointments with him, including my first and last meetings with David. He didn't show up to scheduled online meetings and then, when I called the office,...
Preliminarily, one should note this review is "anonymous," and thus is may not be a legitimate review. It also deprives me of responding with specifics based on a review of this particular person's file. That said, I'll respond as best I can as follows: (1) I can only state that nearly all of my clients are quite happy with my services & the actions of my staff. If this 1 person is not it may be more a function of this person's disgruntlement with his life situation than anything else. (2) If we couldn't find aa payment he made, it was more likely that he sent in a payment (via Zelle, etc.) without letting us know. Zelle doesn't automatically notify us of payments - which is why we ask in our payments due e-mail for clients to confirm the payments with us. Apparently this person didn't - thus the frustration. (3) Regarding my note-taking - I do NOT post notes from clients online (same would be unethical) so I have no idea what this person is talking about. As for taking note "for myself" - I submit the primary purpose is so myself & my clients are "on the same page." Nearly all my clients are grateful to receiving my notes of appointments & court proceedings. Indeed, many who've had prior counsel have stated they really like this service in particular as their prior attorneys often kept them in the dark about what was discussed with opposing counsel or the Judge outside of their presence. (4) This person has the gall to criticize me for being on-time. With this person, it's apparent I can't win - if I'm on-time, I'm faulted. But I'm also quite sure if I showed up 15-20 minutes early -and billed him for sitting there & staring at the wall - he'd resent that as well. More importantly, the reason I don't usually show up to court substantially early is because I pride myself on preparing the case beforehand - meeting with my clients, striving to communicate with opposing counsel & reviewing my file. If my guest is right as to who this person is, then his frustration was because he often failed to abide by specific recommendations of mine to scheduled appointments to meet with me prior to each court hearing. (7) Again, if I have this person right, I had advised him he was committing massive tax fraud & would likely lose at trial. I was his 3d attorney - and he hired me after many other attorneys (according to him) rejected his case because he sunk himself by representing himself for several months & then sought to retain counsel on the eve of 2 depositions. Not only did I take on his case, but got him a quite favorable result. Among other things, he ended up paying child support based on HIS representation of his income - as opposed to his actual gross income of between $200-300k. Additionally, his executed settlement states: "he is fully satisfied with the representation of his attorney, and represents that he does not have any dispute or claim against his attorney, including but not limited to performance and/or fees." I further disagree I'm "not a good speaker in court" - even my other negative reviews on this site don't say that. As such, this may be seen as more the lens thru which an angry person sees the rest of the world. Finally, if I have this person right, he received a far more favorable settlement than one he would've received had he represented himself. I recall a prior client who had 5 PhD's who chose to represent himself at trial as he believed he was smarter than most attorneys. His result: alimony & support of $18,000 per month and attorneys fees owed to his ex-wife if $300,000. "Those who represent themselves have a fool for a client." From the sound of things, from a Karma perspective, here's hoping he chooses to represent himself next time - no offense.
Posted by Mohamed | September 09, 2020 | Divorce & Separation
Repeatedly asking for money without providing any service in return
I contacted Mr. Bliven's office regrading a post-divorce case. They asked me to schedule a 20-minute consultation. I paid for it but Mr. Bliven called and told me that he went through the documents but there is no enough time to speak with me about it and I should pay gain for 50-minutes call for him...
First, Mr Omar was never a client of mine - and thus his "review" should be judged accordingly. Second, we never "asked him to schedule a 20-minute consultation." Instead, we provided him our consultation options, and he picked from them. Third, our standard intake form - which Mr Omar signed off upon - CLEARLY states that if a potential client requests that I review documents as part of the consultation, then my time in reviewing those documents are counted against their consultation time. Mr Omar provided my office with no less than 23 documents to review as part of his consult - some of them quite lengthy. Quite frankly, taking only 30 minutes to review them was relatively speedy. Fourth, it is grossly inaccurate to say that I "refused to answer a single question about his case." Since Mr Omar himself acknowledges that we spoke for at least 20 minutes, what in his mind did we talk about then? Quite obviously, it was answering questions about his case. As such, anyone looking at his review of me should very much question his credibility. Finally, there is a good reason why Mr Omar was unhappy - I did not tell him what he wanted to hear. Instead, I was honest with him & told him the odds were very much against him winning his case. His case involved him failing to show up in court and the Court declined to find he stated a "reasonable excuse for his default." It is submitted that Mr Omar has sunk himself in his own case - and then is looking to blame everyone but himself for his predicament.
Posted by anonymous | December 13, 2018 | Child Custody
Not good, but I only did a consult
The advice he gave me wasn’t good. And I think he yells you what he thinks you want to hear, so you’ll hire him. I spoke to him about a custody matter and he wasn’t helpful.
As this "review" is anonymous, it should be noted that this may or may not even be a real review. There are absolutely no specifics, so it would be hard to intelligently respond. I can say in general that I'm a straight-shooter - I don't tell people what I think they want to hear just to get their business. Some people nevertheless want that kind of attorney - they have a fixation on their position & no one can tell them they're wrong. And they want to hire the attorney who will tell them they're right & the other side is evil. I'm just not that kind of attorney - nor that kind of person.
Posted by Minx Amun | April 30, 2017 | Hired Attorney | Child Abuse
Horrible!!!!!!!!
My family and I retained him, spent thousands of dollars on my defense for a malicious and illegal CPS case where my 3 children were abused in foster care. Being African American did not help being that Mr. Bliven thought my family was paying for a "comply and conform"'defense when we do not come fro...
No one by the name of Minx Amun ever retained me for any case. Moreover, the facts related in this narrative do not sound familiar as relating to any case I was EVER hired on. As such, this appears to be spam and should be given zero weight by any potential client. It should be noted that I have represented many people of color and they are almost all satisfied - or very satisfied - with my representation. I have NEVER had a single complaint filed against me alleging racial discrimination in 20+ years of practice. Additionally, and on a personal note, I am married inter-racially and nearly all of my staff in my 17+ years of running my business has been people of color. Finally, I consider myself a dedicated anti-racist and work in my community on numerous social justice causes, many of which impact communities of color (including an organization I helped co-found, Justice 4 the Wrongfully Incarcerated). One most recent example is my efforts to help organize the "May Day" demonstration in NYC to protest on behalf of immigrant & refugee rights. Therefore, not only are this "person's" charges fictitious and slanderous, this may be an internet "troll," a person with some form of mental illness or this was done by a competitor to increase their ratings at the expense of mine. Do NOT give this review a second thought.
Posted by anonymous | March 31, 2017
Gave really horrible consult
I went for a consult and thought his inter personal skills were poor and he gave really bad legal advise.
Preliminarily, be wary of anyone who posts as "anonymous" as this may be a fictitious review, or else the person simply isn't willing to stand by their own review. This therefore leaves me with limited ability to respond, as I cannot definitively identify the poster. However, I strongly suspect who it is, simply because almost everyone who comes into my office is pleased with my advise & services - and the people who aren't stick out like a sore thumb. As such, If I had to guess, this poster was "Carol" who came into my office on a potential police misconduct case. Here are the notes I took of that consult: - "pot clt showed up several min late, then left the office w/o saying where she was going for about 15 min., then re-appeared at close to 5:30 for her 5pm appt.; then took about 15 min to fill out her 3-page intake form, which she largely left blank; then she said she didn't have the money to pay the consult fee [despite being told by the Bar Assoc. of the $40 fee, and receiving 2 phone calls from my office reminding her of the fee); Asst offered that she could utilize the ATM machine in the lobby, as she was previously advised it was cash-only for the consult; as an accomodation to her, we accepted her debit card for payment; she admitted she wasn't even the potential client, it was actually her son who had the case; when I asked why her son wasn't here, she said it was b/c he had a mental illness; she then had no idea what the charges were, nor had an of the docs pertinent to the case; she started shuffling thru her bag; I offered that she find the police report, crim comp. or Cert's of Dispo & if she doesn't have same, to schedule another appt.; by that time it was approx. 6:05 & had had another person waiting for 20 min.; I offered that she wait in the conf. room while she looks for the docs I needed & if she finds them, then I could continue w/ the consult; after I was done w/ my next consult; Asst came back & stated she was raising her voice at her, demanding that I come back; I instruucted Asst to ask if she was able to find the docs needed to properly assess the case & or else she would need to come back when she had those docs; I had given her the list of docs I needed when I was meeting w/ her; Asst came back & stated she was cont'ing to raise her voice & refused to leave; I then went out & ask her to please leave as she was becoming belligerent with my staff for no reason & further that she didn't have the docs I needed to properly assess the case; she then left." A few things are hopefully obvious from these notes: both myself and my staff were professional throughout, it seems likely this person was dealing with some "issues" we could obviously not handle, and much more importantly - this person wasn't even the "potential client" seeking to hire us. This person then ended up attempting to cancel the credit card transaction - thus committing a crime in the process called "theft of services" - after I was nice & bent my rules to accomodate her because she didn't have the cash to pay for the consult. This review is some way to pay me back for being nice, professional & accomodating. Other potential clients should see that nearly all of my reviews on Avvo are positive, 5-star reviews. Moreover, approximately 40 people consult with me every month (hundreds per year over the course of 20+ years) - yet the number of people who express they are dissatisfied is a small fraction of 1% of such consultations (meaning 99%+ of people who consult with me are satisfied - if not very satisfied - with the advice & services I provide).
"Mr. Bliven is an excellent advocate for his clients. I would not hesitate to recommend him to a client in need. He is also an asset to the Avvo Community, providing invaluable resources to those seeking help."
"I endorse this attorney, who gives so generously to the AVVO community."
"Exceptional attorney, dedicated to client success. Highly recommended."
"I endorse this lawyer. David Bliven provides his clients with a comprehensive approach. I have had many cases with him and have found him to be well-prepared and professional in all aspects of the case."
"I endorse this lawyer."
"Mr. Bliven consistently provides accurate legal analysis to the online avvo community. I endorse this lawyer."
"I highly endorse Mr. Bliven. Truly exceptional and caring attorney who achieves great results in representing clients! I want all people to contact him for help."
"I endorse this lawyer. Such a wonderful spirit and is truly dedicated to clients."
"I endorse this lawyer. It should be readily apparent to anyone dealing with Attorney David Bliven that he is both highly skilled and very knowledgeable in the Matrimonial and Family Law areas. He's clearly a zealous advocate for his clients and a formidable adversary for opposing counsel."
"I wholeheartedly endorse this lawyer. A brilliant, trustworthy and highly respected attorney in the legal community."
"I enthusiastically endorse this lawyer. He is a credit to the family law community."
"Mr. Bliven and I worked on a custody/relocation matter that required extensive pre-trial negotiation and attempts at settlement which ultimately failed despite the attorneys' best efforts. He was a thoroughly professional, courteous, and impressive adversary, without whose efforts would have had no chance of settling. I look forward to our next matter together."
"This attorney has an excellent reputation for providing the highest quality representation to clients. Experience and proven results!"
"I endorse this lawyer."
"Extremely knowledgeable attorney!"
"I endorse this lawyer. I found his answers on AVVO to be thoughtful and informative."
"I endorse this lawyer."
"I endorse this lawyer. Great Custody Attorney. Very prepared and willing to take on any Attorney, Any Judge. Would highly recommend."
"I endorse this lawyer."
"I endorse this lawyer."
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2025
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2024
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2023
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2022
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2021
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2020
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2019
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2019
Top Attorney - NY Metro & Westchester Area, Westchester Magazine
2018
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2018
Certified Financial Litigator, AACFL
2018
Super Lawyers, Thompson Reuters
2018
AV Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
2017
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2014
A+ Rating, Better Business Bureau
2014
Superb Rating, Avvo
2014
Top Contributor, Avvo
2013
Superb Rating, Avvo
2013
Clients' Choice, AVVO
2013
Top Contributor, AVVO
2012
Top Contributor, AVVO
2011
Attorneys for Children - Private-Pay Assignments, Appellate Division, Second Department
2007
Assigned Counsel Panel member, Westchester County Bar Association
2005
Lawyer Referral Panel, New York County Lawyers' Association
1998
SDNY & EDNY Admittance, Federal Bar Association
1997
Cum Laude, New York Law School
1997
Top 15% Class Rank, New York Law School
1993
Cum Laude, Syracuse University
2000 - Present
Attorney, Law Offices of David Bliven
1999 - 2000
Prosecuting Attorney, Nyc Administration For Children's Services
1998 - 1999
Prosecuting Attorney, New York City Corporation Counsel
1997 - 1997
Legal Intern, Lansner & Kubitscheck
1997 - 1998
Associate, Wolfson & Carroll
1996 - 1997
Tutor, New York Law School
1994 - 1994
Legal Intern, Supreme Court Of The State Of New York
1993 - 1994
Legal Intern, New York State Unified Court System
2011 - Present
Attorneys for Children Panel - WestchesterAttorney Member
2010 - Present
Bronx Bar AssociationAttorney Member
2006 - Present
New York State Bar Association, Family Law SectionAttorney Member
2006 - Present
Westchester County Bar Association, Family Law SectionAttorney Member
2005 - Present
Westchester County Bar AssociationMember
2005 - Present
National Lawyers Guild, National Police Accountability ProjectAttorney Member
Member
Member
Attorney Member
2000 - 2005
Attorneys for Children Panel - QueensAttorney Member
Won Appeal!
Adoption Appeal confirmed!
Trial Court reversed
Precedent established
Won appeal
Appeal won
Appeal won.
Appeal won
Appeal won
Custody restored!
1997
JD - Juris Doctor
1993
BA - Bachelor of Arts
2014
2014
2014
2013
Child Abuse
2005
Shaken Baby Syndrome
2022
2021
2020
2018
2018
2018
2017
English
Legal Answers
Legal Guides
Top Contributor
David earned significant contribution points in 2020.
What should I do in a child support case where the respondent refuses to provide financial disclosu
21 Feb 2026
How to retain a UCCJEA lawyer to deal with a custody case split between NY and FL?
23 Feb 2026
Custodial parent enlisting in military. Do I risk permanently losing custody?
26 Jan 2026
WHAT ARE THE FACTORS IN DEVIATING FROM GUIDELINES CHILD SUPPORT?
12 Mar 2017
I lost my job - how do I modify child support?
14 Mar 2015
What are the immigration consequences for a Divorce?
26 Feb 2015