Katherine Ryan

Katherine was my divorce attorney and I don't feel she represented my best interests with any sincerity and her focus was on billing until I was wrung dry, at which point, she dumped me as a client against my wishes. In the long run, she did me a favor but at the time it was very stressful and I was ...left unrespresented because I couldn't afford to lay out another retainer, as she was aware. She was not successful in securing a good deal with the other side, repeatedly brushed off my concerns and didn't bother to inform me of any strategy or what to expect. Her "bedside manner" was pitiful. When I had a status conference coming up again, she threatened that if I did not come up with the balance several days in advance that she would not go on my behalf. I scraped up most of it but could not come up with the entire amount. She accepted that and seemed ok with the small balance left. She went in to the conference and announced to the lawyer, court clerk and judge that she would not be represnting me further, without having informed me. Afterwards, she explained to me what had transpired, urged me to take the paltry offer from the other side and only then let me know that she wanted off my case because I had lost faith in her. I told her that we did not need to like each other in order to continue, should be keep things professional and that I had no recourse to replace her as my funds were dry. If perhaps she had secured spoousal support from my ex who earned far more than I did, I could have afforded to pay her but she was not interested in pursuing that. She did not seem to care about the dire financial situation I was in and had ignored my suggestions that she try to get court ordered compensation from the other side as well. I knew this was possible from other separated people I knew in simiar situations on both counts. It had been approximately 6 months since forward progress had been made in our case. I kept paying for status conferences and to only keep hearing how the other attorney does not return calls. The offer she was suggesting I consider was ridiculously low and I truly believe she wanted to move on to someone with deeper pockets and had lost interest in my case. I asked her not to take herself off my case because I needed representation and she said if I did not sign to allow it, she would go to court and would get the judge to let her off anyway. She agreed to waive her fee for the last court appearance because if I had known she was quitting, I would not have wanted her speaking on my behalf. I felt coerced into letting her resign. I am now being pursued for the balance on my account at a larger amount than agreed. I offered her a settlement but instead she hired a lawyer to pursue it in court. That feels like bullying again from someone who knows the law against someone who cannot afford professional representation. I was referred to her because my prior attorney made a large financial mistake that, luckily, I caught when discussing it with someone who was more experienced than I am. The person who referred her said she would fight for me and be a pit bull. Unfortnately, rather than feel like she was representing me, I felt that she was fighting me rather than fighting for me. In the end, she did me a favor because I represented myself and got a far more favorable deal than she had pushed me to take. It involves retirement funds which I can't touch yet so that doesn't help me with affording her current bill, which is higher than she last agreed to accept. I was stressed about going in on my trial date without a lawyer for almost 6 months. Divorce is stressful enough already but she left me to feel defenseless for months, literally.