Heather Leigh Youngman

I hired Ms. Youngman @ Tully Rinckey to handle a breach of Separation Agreement/ Divorce. After repeatedly telling me my case was cut & dry (which it was) she managed to turn it into a $185,000 DISASTER! After months of getting no where, a trial was finally scheduled so the Judge could resolv...e the 1 outstanding issue in my Separation Agreement (disputed/delinquent alimony payments) and grant the Divorce. Two hours before our long-awaited trial, Ms. Youngman called and said my husband wanted to settle. She rattled off his offer, I requested a few changes & she called back within minutes saying my husband & his attorney agreed on the changes. This was a $185,000 CASH settlement so I told her I would meet everyone at the courthouse within the hour to sign the settlement papers, She abruptly said no need since my husband & his attorney wouldn't be coming to the courthouse now that we agreed on a settlement.. I told her I wanted something concrete in writing and & there was no reason we couldn't all meet at the courthouse since everyone had already cleared their schedule to be there for the trial that morning. She insisted it was not necessary and that everyone had already committed to other plans for the morning but not to worry that she would have the Judge's law clerk "put the settlement terms on The Record so my husband couldn't wiggle out later.." Weeks went by and I had not received anything back from Ms. Youngman or the court so after several unreturned phone calls I called her supervisor at TR and finally received a call back. She told me to stop stressing out- that everything was fine-and that she was just waiting on my husband's attorney to finalize some language in the settlement. I think she called it "housekeeping issues". When I asked what the hold up was getting these "housekeeping issues" done, she said my husband's attorney was tied up in a difficult and lengthy trial and would not be able to meet with her until his trial was over.... Another month went by with nothing, so I started calling her office again and this is when she informed me that my husband refused to honor the settlement! I was very upset but said OK lets use our insurance policy and get the Judge involved so he can enforce the settlement-since it was already on The Record. She told me that too much time had gone by so the Judge won't hear it!!! She then tried to soften her huge $185,000 mistake by saying "these things happen" and "it's too bad but there is nothing we could do." This was totally unacceptable so I contacted the Judge's law clerk myself and found out that Ms. Youngman never put anything on the so-called Record nor did she advise the law clerk of the details of our Settlement-as she told me she had done! Ms. Youngman allowed an $185,000 cash settlement for her client (and firm) to slip away because she was arrogant and incompetent. She did not listen to her client thus refusing to properly secure her client's $185,000 settlement in writing, with all parties signing off that morning, even though she clearly had the authority & opportunity to do so before moving to cancel her client's long awaited trial. Instead, she just walked away with nothing more than a verbal promise from a sketchy attorney! I normally don't leave negative reviews but after some friends heard my story they said I had a PUBLIC OBLIGATION to let others know because: A lawyer is an officer of the legal system held to a higher ethical standard in society as we trust them with our lives and our livelihood. Attorneys are obligated to act in their client's best interests (always) and must be competent with the Rule of Law. So when an attorney is not honest and up front with their client or is lax with the rule of law, is this someone you want representing your interests??

Heather Youngman did the bare minimum for my custody case. She did more negotiating for the other side than she did for her client. I gave her evidence to support my claims and she did nothing. I doubt she even read any of it. She discouraged me from proceeding to stick up for my rights as a father. ...She only said she was there to give advice. If I wanted “advice”, I’d talk to a therapist. A lawyer is supposed to fight for their client not the opposite side. If you’re looking for a good lawyer, keep looking. Not sure how she passed the bar.