Jeffrey DeRoberts

As anyone who has been in a contentious custody dispute, you know that you will be in court more than once over the years. I have wasted a LOT of time and money using other attorneys who can't get the job done, don't remember critical details, or fail under pressure. I hired Jeff to get 50/50 physi...cal and legal custody of my son, and that is exactly what he did. He was efficient, knowledgable, and effective. He never gave me a lot of BS and made sure that I kept my expectations realistic, which I appreciated. I knew what to expect and felt prepared going into court, and I think that is in large part due to the amount of experience he has. Jeff made sure I had all of his contact info and returns calls and emails very quickly. Over the years, he has made himself available to give advice on other issues that pop up. I can't recommend him enough to anyone who needs help from a skilled attorney.

I hired Jeff to handle my custody case and child support proceeding. From the start I realized that Jeff was a poor listener, but the A-hole I needed to get things done. He’s amazingly cocky, but he has the ability to be a pitbull in court—if you provide him with the right tools. He will rarely have ...time to speak to you, which is in your best interest…because speaking to him is billed by 15 minute increments, which can be pretty costly when you’re speaking to someone like Jeff who loves to hear himself talk (the money is subtracted from your retainer. Syracuse is so small, all of the lawyers and judges know each other, so I don’t/didn’t take it personal when I heard them trying to make deals with my ex’s attorney. I spoke mainly to his assistant and strategically set up how I wanted things to go through her. She was amazingly competent and she is billed at a lower rate than Jeff. In all do fairness, I think most lawyers are horrible listeners and ALWAYS think they are right. But one shouldn’t be surprised by that because they take classes on persuasiveness and believing in the impossible. Plus I have several close friends who are lawyers and they validate this perception. In all, I think Jeff is a guy who can get the job done. He was my fourth lawyer and after spending upwards of 15K, I was pretty clear as to what I needed and how to get this accomplished. Is he warm and fuzzy? NO! Does He listen well? Only when it has a benefit for him or something he’s doing. But if you write out your expectations and communicate with his assistant, you will be fine. Good luck!

I hired Jeff Deroberts for a basic divorce with minimal assets and when I first visited him, he seemed very energetic and ready to take care of the divorce and minimize the damage. Literally when I paid him the retainer of $2,500.00 his entire demeanor changed. He then mentioned that there would also... be a $400.00 filing fee not included in the initial retainer (thanks for the heads up). I became a nuisance, if I wanted to speak to him he always seemed like anything else was more important. I had to start doing my own research because he would not give me advisable information. Everything was like pulling teeth. It almost seemed like he was an imposter and didn't know anything about a divorce! I moved out of state and when I asked him, "What consequences will I have with custody of my kids if I move out of state?" He responded with "What do you give a ****, your moving out of state." I am appalled by his behavior. The next day I confronted him about the unprofessional manner he spoke to me the day prior. He then denied even saying it! He immediately changed the subject. I went to Jeff Deroberts office in March of 2011 and by December of 2011, nothing was in motion. We have accomplished absolutely nothing. No court dates, no child custody arrangements…absolutely nothing has been set into action. I finally had enough and called and requested to remove Jeff Deroberts as my lawyer. I was billed $1,615.00 for their services. Now there is a balance of $885.00 that Jeff is working on devouring. He is now charging for the motion to remove as my lawyer and the sheet that informs the opposing attorney of their removal as representing attorney for me. At $250.00 an hour I am pretty sure that the remaining balance will be taken and probably even have a bill.

I hired this attorney to represent me in my Child Support proceeding in which the father whom resides in NY and myself in VA. I was seeking a arrearage of about $5,000 along with some additional modifications. This attorney whom I thought was qualified from speaking to him over the phone did nothing ...for me. I arrive at court to find MY attorney meeting with the other party and trying to work out a lower support payment for him when there was NO discussion of that. Please take in consideration that the other party had submitted a modification to have his support lowered when he made $80,000 a year and only paid $18000 a year for two children leaving him with about $60,000 a year to live off of. Prior to court my attorney told me that his modification was frivoulous and would have it thrown out. So when I conffronted him about the issue of him trying to work out a lower payment he told me to BE Quiet and let him handle it. To make a long story short this attorney didnt even mention the arrears or attempt to obtain a judgement on them as previously discussed nor did he mention anything in court about seeking my court cost. Everytime I would whisper to him about these and other issues he would tell me to shut up and on several occcassions he put his hand up towards my face to hush me to be quiet. I was in complete shock and intimidated by his rudenesss and unprofessionalism. In the end he took my entire retainer for 1 day in court and actually worked with the other party to get him another court date for his modification. This attorney works out of Syracuse,NY and the other party is a Syracuse Firefighter so Im sure there was a conflict of interest somewhere but a ethical attorney would have never taken the case if there was. So if you are in the least bit considering hiring this attorney please be aware that he will NOT represent you how you want but how he wants towards his best interest. This guy is NY TRASH and stay away. I am in the process of filing a letter with the NY Bar Association in regards to this experience with this attorney. Thanks for reading and please stay away from this attorney.