Ayo M. Stevens

I retained Atty. Stevens in March to handle my divorce from a marriage of 28 years. At the time I knew absolutely nothing of the legal process and options before me. During our initial meeting, he listened intently to my explanation of the situation, which was a little discombobulated since I was ...nervous and a bit emotional. He restated the gist of my issues to ensure his understanding, and proceeded to provide me with high level options. His legal knowledge and experience of family law, the processes, procedures and inner workings of the Upper Marlboro courthouse, made my total experience less stressful and gave me great confidence. During the sequence of events of my case, there were wrinkles in my negotiations with my ex-husband. While Mr. Stevens had the legal knowledge, he always included me in the problem-solving and resolution process…He made it very clear that I, as the client, had to understand my options and be satisfied with the solutions so that there were no surprises. He made no decisions or actions without discussing them with me first. Additionally, I was particularly struck by his calm manner, personable but very professional attitude, and caring but tough demeanor. He always took time to explain legalese, patiently listened to my questions and always seemed to hone into the actual issue through my emotional rants. I especially appreciated his attentiveness and prompt response to my queries as new issues arose. I did a bit of research on lawyers for my case before hiring and Mr. Stevens came highly recommended. His prices are reasonable and I never felt like he provided unwarranted services to increase his costs. I admit that I’ve not always had a good impression of lawyers, but I found Mr. Stevens to be honest and ethical in his dealings with me in providing legal services. I highly recommend him and give him the highest rating!

Hhe does not do any work on your case. he does not do preparation, motions for discovery, interrogatories, or anything at all. A waste of my money. He was also referred by a friend of a friend. A complete waste of money. almost lost my case until I found another attorney. Don't waste you time, ...energy, and most of all your money retaining him.

My husband and I hired Mr. Stevens to handle his child support and custody case on several occasions. If only avvo existed at that time we would have known better. We provided him with TONS of documentation to use in our defense.. emails, phone transcripts, even had folks subpeoned to speak on ou...r behalf. He did NOT use ANY of the evidence we provided him, it was evidence that would have changed the entire outcome of our case. BOTH TIMES (years apart) we provided him with more than enough evidence to win this case but he did not utilize any of it.. it was if he was totally unprepared for our case in court. His paralegal, Linda, is amazing and courteous but she obviously has no idea how terrible he is in court because she will lead you to believe that he knows his stuff.. but he just, doesn't. We actually hired him twice thinking the first time was a fluke, if avvo had existed back then we would have known better than to use him again. But we did, because we thought he knew our case from before. Now we know, he NEVER studied any of the information we provided him. In additon, he'll charge you the hourly rate for each phone call, email that is made to his office or that he speaks with you. This man dresses very well, he has the looks of a "bull dog, top tier attorney".. but he lost our cases on both occasions when he did not have to. If he had used the evidence we provided him and actually fought our case in court, then I would at least be able to say he tried. He did not. He took payment.. makes you feel all warm and fuzzy as if he's got it handled and then he will FAIL you in court. DO NOT, HIRE THIS LAWYER. YOU WILL LOOSE. The high end vehicle, suits and personality make you think he's successful at what he does.. He's one hell of an actor, worthy of an Academy Award for playing the role of a real life lawyer. To add insult to injury, rather than change his working practices and actually use the critique I've given him as a means to grow and better himself, he attempts to have my review removed. Thankfully Avvo is a legitimate site and I have PROOF that Mr. Stevens indeed was our attorney. You can't get court paperwork with an attorneys name on it; unless that attorney was in fact representing you. Mr. Stevens is not a "bad guy". I don't intend for my review to judge him on a personal level. In fact, he is a very nice person. Personally I can say he is very likable. If he were someone we met in casual setting I can see that he might fit very well in our circle. He is a family man, so I expect that he understands the sensitivity of all that he's dealing with. There is nothing bad about Mr. Stevens personally. But this is business. When dealing with nasty matters, you don't need a lawyer that you like because s/he is nice -- you need a lawyer that is proficient.. a lawyer that is prepared. PREPARED: it means ready, capable and up to your job. Point blank, we gave Mr. Stevens everything he needed to BE prepared. He was not, on both occasions; and I suspect, by his attempt to remove my review, still is not in the least bit willing to do anything to be prepared in the future to avoid another unsatisfied client.