Ariel Lauren Baniowski

Honest, organized, caring, advocate, dedicated, and trustworthy. These are just a few of the words I would use to describe Ariel Baniowski. I hired her and the firm of Livsey and Myers to defend me against a ”rule to show cause” and what turned out to be a move for full custody of my children .... My divorce was finalized in 2014 and I had been living with a 50/50 custody arrangement. The ex remarried and decided to try and overturn the original mediation agreement. They alleged breaches of the agreement and used that to justify a change in custody. This initiated a year long battle of litigation and utter chaos. Ariel was a rock for me and my family. When I was emotional and wanted to lash out, she would be the first to question if my decision and steady my hand. She was really great at taking me from the emotional roller coaster to a rational zone. Dhe would be direct with my possibilities when the path (or upcoming rulings) was uncertain -that was my favorite part about her style. The biggest thing I have learned from all of this, is that there is no certainty in this process. Even with and iron glad meditation agreement, everything can be litigated. Having a lawyer that reminds you of that, and shows you what we are doing to prove our point was more helpful to me than one that told me we were gonna win. There will be many wins and losses until the final verdict is in, and its important to stay focused and that is what Ariel did. She is an amazing lawyer and in the end I won on all accounts thanks to her hard work and dedication! The firm of Livsey and Myers was also really amazing. The larger firm kept the costs down and always kept me well informed of how my money was being spent.

I scouted Ariel several months before choosing her. I liked the idea of a young and motivated young lady who looked the part and could handle my chaotic divorce. She paired up with Isabella Baldanza who is a paralegal and a great team mate to Ariel. For over a year, they worked tirelessly for me an...d ALWAYS told me the truth, even if I didn't want o hear it. Ariel doesn't give you false hope and she doesn't let you make mistakes as a client. I was very emotional at times, rightly so, but she always managed to keep me focused and she always had a solid response to what I needed. She is a bright and motivated attorney and I am so glad I chose her. She fought for me and stays professional at all times. I would NEVER want to be her opponent.

Ms. Baniowski is a phenomenal Family Law attorney who helped me resolve many complicated issues concerning my divorce. My ex-wife hired a high-priced, name-recognizable, attorney. Even though I considered doing the same, I ultimately chose Ms. Baniowski because she was more affordable. Her hourly rat...e is insanely low for her knowledge, dedication and work ethic, and her care/empathy for her clients. I have to admit, I kept a close eye on my case in the early stages because of the contrasting experience between Ms. Baniowski and my ex-wife's attorney. But, she was absolutely up for the task and didn't back down -- she was a bulldog when I needed her to be a bulldog, she was a diplomat when I needed an accord, she was an ear when I needed to vent, and she was blunt when giving me the realities of my case. Ms. Baniowski won't sugar-coat things for you and I appreciated that quality in her. Her job is to educate and advise you -- I knew at the end of the day, she's working for me and is on my side, even if she was giving me not-so-great news. Keep in mind, as with any attorney, (and I can't emphasize this enough) you need to advocate for yourself, educate yourself, and be a part of the process. Yes, you will incur more costs for that frequent two-way communication with an attorney, but you'll have a better outcome (and save money) in the long run. That means dig around, keep meticulous records, research Virginia's divorce laws yourself, and know your case better than anyone else. Get involved. Arm yourself with knowledge. Ms. Baniowski will tell you the things that apply to your case. There were times that she told me certain aspects were not relevant, but there were also a few things I discovered and passed on to her that benefitted my case greatly. You need to anticipate your ex's next move and prepare for it in advance; Ms. Baniowski's role in that regard is limited. Again, be an active participant in your Family Law team. I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge her amazing paralegals. Ms. Baniowski switched paralegals three times during the span of my case. Neither Ms. Baniowski nor any of her paralegals (Isabella Baldanza, Anastasia Richter, and Bethny Scheuerman) missed a beat. The transitions were seamless, and it was as if her paralegals had been working my case the whole time. In fact, the whole Livesay & Myers team is incredibly responsive. Ms. Baniowski is awesome and I'd definitely recommend her to anyone who has a Family Law situation that needs resolution. I can attest: the hourly rate has ZERO correlation to results; i.e. a higher-priced attorney isn't necessarily a better attorney. In fact, I believe whole-heartedly that the divorce agreement I struck with my ex-wife heavily favors me. Moreover, my ex-wife's attorney's aggressiveness and propensity for risk-taking ultimately cost her (easily) $10,000 as a result of his missteps. More expensive doesn't buy you better. Now, stop reading this review and contact her! * Disclaimer: I have no personal connection to disclose regarding my relationship with Ms. Baniowski or any of her paralegals other than I retained her for (and she represented me in) my divorce.

Ariel is very inexperienced, gets easily intimidated and will not have your best interests at heart. Her inexperienced was proven as she badly advised me and spent mort of my time and money arguing with her instead of working on my actual case. It was so bad that I had to fire her and her firm gave m...e some credit back for her poor performance. She is also very rude and disrespectful towards me and refuse to perform my cases most difficult tasks. All she cared about was to have it easy and take your money. Please take my advise, stay away from her and her firm, Livesay and Myers.