Karen Purcell Reynolds

Karen Purcell Reynolds

4.0
Rating: 8.9

Licensed for 33 years

Family Lawyer at Malvern, PA
Practice Areas: Family, Divorce & Separation, Child Custody, Child Support

101 Lindenwood Drive, Suite 225, Malvern, PA

About Karen

Biography

Practice Areas

4

Practice Areas

Fees and Rates

We have not found any cost information for this lawyer


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Licenses

Licensed in Pennsylvania for 33 years

State: Pennsylvania

Acquired: 1992

Active

No misconduct found

Location

Reynolds Family Law

101 Lindenwood Drive, Suite 225, Malvern, PA, 19355

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Karen Purcell Reynolds's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.0 /5.0

23 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (23) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 5 of 23 reviews

Posted by Ruth | October 28, 2025 | Hired Attorney | Child Custody

White Collar Family Court Thug in Chester County, PA

As part of my advocacy with Parents Against Racketeering Attorneys, I want to warn others about my personal experience with Karen Reynolds. When I retained this white collard thug, I had primary physical custody and shared legal custody of my daughter with no prior CYF involvement, school issues, or ...truancy concerns. Ms. Reynolds frequently bypassed me and communicated with my adoptive mother (the payer, not the client). I learned of a scheduled custody hearing only days before it occurred because she had failed to notify me directly- despite having my contact information. Her courtroom performance was unprofessional and passive. She allowed opposing counsel (Attorney Erin Patton, who had far less experience) to dominate the hearing. When I sought to replace her, I was pressured to reinstate her and subsequently paid $15,000 toward a demand for trial. After that, Ms. Reynolds did little to protect my interests and instead billed me for unnecessary “research” and communication. The most disturbing event occurred in December 2021: immediately after I terminated her representation again, police arrived at my home attempting to detain me for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation (“302”). I remained calm, and later confirmed there was no supporting petition or documentation- not even a note of concern in my file. I have body-cam footage and a complete client file confirming these facts. In my view, Ms. Reynolds acted unethically, failed to protect my parental rights, and engaged in retaliatory conduct that directly harmed my custody case.

Posted by Michelle | September 29, 2021 | Family

Fabulous Firm

If you are in need of a family law attorney, look no further. Karen is kind, compassionate, understanding and a delight to work with, even in the most turbulent of times. She has the experience needed to do an excellent job- spend just a few minutes with her and I am sure she will prove it to you. I ...HIGHLY recommend Reynolds Family Law to everyone!

Posted by Diana | September 03, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Divorce & Separation

Highly Recommend

I can’t say enough about Karen’s professionalism and expertise at guiding me through all of the necessary steps for my divorce. She was thorough and very responsive to every need. I am thrilled I hired her and would not hesitate to use her if the need ever arises in the future.

Posted by Whitney | October 31, 2019 | Hired Attorney | Child Custody

You will not find a better lawyer than karen

After many google searches, and endless phone calls with other lawyers, literally about to give up hope, Karen Reynolds family law popped up on google. Let me preach about Karen and our story for a moment; because I will forever swear by Karen Reynolds. She is the most patient, kindhearted, attentive..., thorough lawyer we have had the pleasure of working with. My fiancé has had an ongoing uphill custody battle with the mother of his child. Not only would the mother not let the child see his father; but she wouldn’t even allow a simple phone call for Father’s Day. Or a call on his birthday. because a “5yr old boy has just such a busy schedule; there was no time or room to fit in dad.”That is what the mother told the father in many messages. From the countless messages of him begging to just speak with his son. Sadly, I hopelessly watched the man who I love and admire for his strength and resilience crumble and break. this woman singlehandedly, who he once loved, vowed to spend the rest of his life with; the same woman who he created a beautiful little boy with destroyed any hope he had of ever seeing his child again. The same man who I 1000 percent trust with my 3 boys, wasn’t allowed to even speak to his child. The mother ripped even his legal rights away. Finally my fiancé listened to me, and went against his “better” judgment. (He’s had really bad luck in the past with previous lawyers.). we saved for the lawyer, and in March met with Karen. We told her his story. She listened and was very very thorough with the history, paperwork, and attentiveness to the matter. There wasn’t a time of day Karen didn’t respond to a call or email. Karen saw my fiancé is not a bad person. He is not an evil man he was made to look like. And he was NOT abusive or controlling in the ways he was portrayed. He was a stay at home daddy that devoted himself to his son. Then was turned into the manipulative angry violent monster. He was not perfect. He had an addiction that stemmed from his time in the marines. But he got clean 3yrs ago; and has been clean ever since. Ultimately, he was not that person he was made out to be;In fact Karen saw his kind heart, his emotionally charged unconditional love for his son; difficulty in swallowing his pride to let Karen take control. Almost a 9mths since my fiancé last saw his child; months of back and forth emails, phone calls, consolidations, court hearings, piles and piles of paperwork. Karen’s motherly frustrations, patience, and instinct with my fiancé was award winning to say the least. With every bump Along the way, she never gave up on my fiancé; she never told him it was impossible. Actually, she told him it was inevitable; he was going to see his son again. At some points my fiancé started to lose hope. But between Karen and myself, we kept him fighting. Now, my fiancé gets every other weekend with his child. He has his legal rights back; which shouldn’t have been taken to begin with. He can show up to his extra curricular activities. He can FaceTime with his son privately. His son finally gets to meet his step brothers that he has been hearing on those calls. He gets holidays. He gets to be apart of his child life again... all thanks to Karen. Karen made the impossible, possible again. We still call on her for the most minuscule things; because the mother makes it absolutely impossible to work with. But again, Karen is still right there, sending email after email. We couldn’t be any more grateful for her. trust me, our battle isn’t over yet. She will also be handling his divorce, too. If you want a welcoming, kindhearted, assertive “shark” lawyer who is has an abundance of knowledge. who is very well educated in family law, and will help with the financial aspect the best she can; Karen Reynolds is without a doubt the best family lawyer Throughout Chester and Montgomery county. i swear she is worth every penny. (Karen, we cant say thank you enough.). The coffee at the office was the cherry on top.

Posted by Travis | August 21, 2019 | Hired Attorney | Divorce & Separation

Good experience drafting PSA/ Divorce Agreement, then sub-par experience afterward

Karen was great at selling her services during the initial face to face appointment. She listened attentively and delivered on exactly what I asked. She answered all my questions well during the process of drafting a proper Property Settlement Agreement / Divorce Agreement. Ultimately her draft was ...accepted by my ex-wife, her lawyer and the court. After I the Divorce Agreement Document was complete, I had trouble getting a hold of her via phone so I began email correspondence. This did not work out well for many reasons. I was trying to keep everything efficient, however I could not help but feel that I was not going to get the service I needed unless I set up face to face appointments and rack up billable hours. Via email, the service level deteriorated and I could not help but feel roped along in the process of filing the documents needed to complete my divorce. Perhaps this is a problem with all divorce lawyers, they ultimately want to help see the entire divorce through but in the process they may seek to own the process in a way that can be a serious drain on people's finances. Ultimately, I had to severe the business relationship during the filing process to protect myself financially from being overcharged for filing paperwork. In the end Karen was very respectful of this. I realize not all divorces are the same, and it sounds like Karen has a very unique skill set to deal with complicated divorces. However, if you have a simple divorce I would be careful with her or any lawyer to make sure you do over-pay for services you can complete yourself. When I tried to take over the filing process, set financial parameters, and create a consultative business relationship, Karen became more vague and the service level deteriorated. I realize I created an environment where I would continually get worse service unless I came in face to face to get and on same page and rack up some billable hours. I was lucky that I ultimately could file all of my paperwork on my own and did not have pay thousands of dollars more than I could afford to complete my divorce. My divorce is now complete. In summary: -Karen delivered on exactly what she said she would. I am ultimately happy with her expertise in drafting a Divorce Agreement/ PSA. -Be careful with all lawyers not to let them own your divorce process and rack up billable hours. Research what you can do on your own if applicable (ex - filing paperwork). -Set the stage with how you would like to correspond and be clear about that with your lawyer (whether it is Karen or someone else.) -I would recommend Karen to help draft a document, but not to file the actual paperwork. -My advice to Karen is to get better at getting business done via email.

Karen Reynolds

Replied last August 21, 2019

Thank you for the recommendation and for the kind words included here. I must respectfully disagree with the comments regarding billing and service. Even a "simple" divorce requires navigation through a complex family court procedural system. I respect your desire to have a hands-on approach. Unfortunately, that led to a "too many cooks" situation this time. I am pleased to hear that the divorce has been finalized and I wish you well.

See All Client Reviews

Karen Purcell Reynolds's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Karen
Carrie A. S. Kennedy headshot
Carrie Kennedy

Family lawyer | Mar 02

Relationship: Worked for lawyer

"I endorse this lawyer."

Timothy Joseph Trott headshot
Timothy Trott

Family lawyer | Jun 17

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Ms. Reynolds is one of the region's leading family law attorneys. I endorse her enthusiastically."

Dmitriy Shakhnevich headshot
Dmitriy Shakhnevich

Child custody lawyer | Sep 28

Relationship: Other

"I endorse this lawyer."

Richard Geller headshot
Richard Geller

Unknown lawyer | Sep 15

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse Karen. Highly respected in the legal community with a strong reputation for client advocacy and dedication."

Sean Cleary headshot
Sean Cleary

Child custody lawyer | May 19

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. A highly skilled and respected lawyer in the legal community."

Patricia Trebay Brennan headshot
Patricia Brennan

Family lawyer | May 06

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

John M O'Brien headshot
John O'Brien

Child custody lawyer | Apr 11

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. A highly skilled and respected lawyer in the legal community."

Victoria Stichler Hollister headshot
Victoria Hollister

Family lawyer | Jan 26

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"Karen Reynolds is an exceptional and accomplished family law attorney. I have known and worked with Karen over many years. She is fair and reasonable while advocating strongly for her clients. I endorse this lawyer."

Laurie Wyche-Abele headshot
Laurie Wyche-Abele

Family lawyer | Jan 15

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Jennifer Anne Brandt headshot
Jennifer Brandt

Family lawyer | Jan 14

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"I endorse this lawyer."

Steve Edward Jarmon Jr. headshot
Steve Jarmon

Family lawyer | Jan 14

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Susan J. Sacchetta headshot
Susan Sacchetta

Family lawyer | Jan 14

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Angela EM Montgomery-Budd headshot
Angela Montgomery-Budd

Divorce and separation lawyer | Jan 10

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"I endorse this lawyer."

Christian K. Lassen II headshot
Christian Lassen

Unknown lawyer | Dec 06

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Nicholas Richard Reynolds headshot
Nicholas Reynolds

Family lawyer | Aug 11

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. Significant experience and expertise in family law. Responsive."

Mary Allan Jones headshot
Mary Jones

Family lawyer | Aug 05

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. I have known Karen Reynolds for years. She is an excellent lawyer with an exceptional knowledge of support law."

View All Endorsements
Timothy Joseph Trott headshot
Timothy Trott

Unknown lawyer

Peter E. Kratsa headshot
Peter Kratsa

Unknown lawyer

Kim Denise Morton headshot
Kim Morton

Family lawyer

Carrie A. S. Kennedy headshot
Carrie Kennedy

Unknown lawyer

Cynthia Lynn Haynes Eshleman headshot
Cynthia Eshleman

Unknown lawyer

Cheryl Ann McCallin headshot
Cheryl McCallin

Family lawyer

Victoria Stichler Hollister headshot
Victoria Hollister

Unknown lawyer

Steve Edward Jarmon Jr. headshot
Steve Jarmon

Unknown lawyer

Jennifer Anne Brandt headshot
Jennifer Brandt

Family lawyer

Deborah Brand headshot
Deborah Brand

Family lawyer

Mark Edward Bleczinski headshot
Mark Bleczinski

Unknown lawyer

Laura R. Baker headshot
Laura Baker

Unknown lawyer

Deirdre A. Agnew headshot
Deirdre Agnew

Unknown lawyer

Donald F. Kohler Jr. headshot
Donald Kohler

Family lawyer

Deborah A. McKenty headshot
Deborah McKenty

Family lawyer

Susan J. Sacchetta headshot
Susan Sacchetta

Family lawyer

Andrea B. Pettine headshot
Andrea Pettine

Family lawyer

Christopher J. Moran headshot
Christopher Moran

Unknown lawyer

Experience

Rating:  8.9 (Excellent)

Honors

2010

Top Lawyer, Main Line Today Magazine

Work Experience

2008 - Present

Owner, Reynolds Family Law

1997 - 2008

Assistant Director, Chester County Domestic Relations

1995 - 1997

Staff Attorney, Chester County Domestic Relations

1992 - 1995

Honorable James P. MacElree II, Chester County Courts

Associations

1992 - Present

Chester County Bar Association, Family Law Section

Sample of Legal Cases

Y. v. Y.

Successfully defended against all of Mother's petitions to ensure that Father's established schedule for custodial time with his children was undisturbed and in fact increased the amount of time the children spent with Father on holidays.

See More Legal Cases

Education

1992

Villanova University School of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

1988

University of Delaware

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2000

Various DRO Offices Statewide

UIFSA for DRO Staff

1999

New Guidelines for DRO Staff

PA Support Guidelines

1998

Chester County Bar Association

Get to Know DRO

1996

Family Law Update

Family Law

Languages

English

Activity

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Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution