Linda Shay Gardner

Linda told me that she was an aggressive attorney and would dedicate herself to my case to ensure I get nothing less than primary custody of my children. She seemed very energetic during my first consultation with her, but as my case continued, that enthusiasm waned significantly. She purposely delay...ed trial dates for my case to drain money out of me, and didn't provide any suggestions to make my case stronger. On my first date in court, she wasn't prepared at all. She asked a question to my ex that backfired completely on me. She also told me there was no need for any witnesses as my case was very straight-forward. But after my ex bought in witnesses, she hurriedly forced me to arrange my own witnesses on the spot who ended up adding no value and were just attacked by opposing counsel, making my case weaker. Linda was aggressive though, but not in a smart way - I initially thought her aggressiveness would be an asset, but it was a devastating liability. The courtroom did not like it - even I could see that, but Linda could not read this. Also she didn't base her argument on any legal fact. She just thought attacking in a loud voice and insulting opposing counsel would make people listen, but it drained our argument out because there were so many objections. And she was always on the back foot - we were always playing catch-up from what opposing counsel argued. Linda didn't prepare me at all for the trial or my testimony. She had the nerve to tell me and show me pictures all about her pet dog but never did she give me valuable points on how to win... I think her dog would have had more bite in the court room than her. To make matters worse, she placed the blame on me after informing me in a matter-of-fact way that I had lost (which a few months earlier she said was a very 'straight-forward' case to win). I hugely regret ever meeting Linda - after consulting with some other attorneys on an appeal, I found out so much more about the law and what is considered important to win - Linda NEVER told me this. She also has a bad rapport in the court room by not knowing what is legal argument and schoolyard bullying... which as I cruelly found out is detrimental.