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5.0 /5.0

140 Client Reviews

Avvo

5.0

(110)

Lawyers.com

5.0

(30 )

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Showing 11 - 15 of 56 reviews | Divorce & Separation

Posted by A thankful physician | April 24, 2020 | Hired Attorney

The Right Pilot for your Hurricane (Divorce)

After having four prior attorneys, I finally found Carlos who successfully navigated me through a difficult divorce. In thinking about the divorce experience, hiring a lawyer was a lot like hiring a pilot. I did not want someone who had just flown pleasure craft in smooth skies. After all, I figur...ed there was going to be turbulence and lots of bumps along the way. I wanted a top gun with lots of experience handling tough cases and a record of great results; and a good communicator. What I got in Carlos was an attorney who piloted my case through a hurricane, and at times it was tough, shaky and scary enough to make me cry. Carlos was steady, fearless and had nerves of steel helping me through the turmoil. Like a great pilot, he routinely reassured me as we were traversing my hurricane of a divorce that we would land safely on the other side. Thank you, Carlos, for flying me through the storm, looks like clear sunny skies from here on out…

Posted by anonymous | November 25, 2019 | Hired Attorney

An excellent strategist and tactician

Carlos was exceptionally helpful in my complex custody case. His thorough knowledge and anticipation of all of the issues that we would face made the entire process far less stressful than it could have been. He always walked me through the complicated legal aspects of the issues we were dealing wi...th, and his arguments were thoroughly logical, supported by case law, and very compelling. He always provided me with enough information/education to make informed decissions and to make me comfortable with the entire process. He handled issues of great immediacy tactfully and with an eye to our long term goals. No one wants to need a lawyer, but I can attest that if you do need a lawyer for complicated divorce/custody issues you will want to have Carlos working with you.

Posted by David | October 01, 2019 | Hired Attorney

Subpoena & Discovery in a Nasty Divorce Battle

Bottom Line, Carlos found a way to avoid the bulk of an excessive discovery demand and guided us successfully through a deposition meant to harass and damage our daughter's custody chances in her divorce. In his office, Carlos was direct, honest, and efficient in telling my wife and I what to expe...ct and how to prepare for our deposition. He attended the depositions and successfully fended off potentially damaging (to our daughter) questions. He successfully argued in a court hearing to end the attempt to have a judge order a second day of deposition. In the courtroom at a hearing to protect us from further discovery and depositions, he was masterful. It took him seconds to lay out his reference papers (8 or more) on the attorney table in front of him. Then he proceeded to talk through them methodically... rule after law after precedent after Latin phrase. The opposing council (and I) couldn't keep up. The judge finally latched on to the rule she liked best and pointedly demanded an explanation from the opposing council. The authoritative ticking off of rules and precedents was complemented, importantly, with catchy phrases and colorful words to drive his points home... harassment, exploit, financial burden, second byte at the apple. The protective order hearing was relatively short and completely successful. Someone once gave me the advice to stay away, at all costs, from situations where you might need to hire a lawyer. But if you need to hire a lawyer, get the best you can. My wife and I would hire Carlos Lastra again... but we hope we don't have to.

Posted by Andrea | May 13, 2019 | Hired Attorney

Excellent divorce attorney

I hired Carlos after an unsuccessful attempt to finalize my divorce in a different jurisdiction. After consulting with Carlos, I was confident he would get the job done. I was impressed by his professionalism and knowledge. Unlike other ‘experienced’ attorneys with whom I consulted, Carlos was abl...e to recite the law, to my difficult questions, without referring to law books. To say my divorce was challenging, would be an understatement. Carlos worked tirelessly and left no stones unturned. For each court appearance, he was prepared for any and all possible issues and outcomes. Carlos simply leaves nothing to chance. My divorce went to trial and this is where Carlos really shines. His performance was impressive, and he left the opposing side speechless. In a grueling three-day trial Carlos effectively demonstrated that my assets should be preserved. Carlos presentation and ability resulted in the judge ruling in my favor. I could not have been more pleased with the outcome and Carlos' performance and ability. After the trial, Carlos learned about a program that would benefit my business and he immediately called me to share the details. He genuinely cares about his clients. I now consider Carlos a friend and I highly recommend Carlos, especially for the difficult divorces.

Posted by anonymous | January 13, 2019

Excellent Attorney

Mr. Lastra’s firm was recommended to me by my sister’s boss. What was strange about the recommendation was that his ex wife had used the firm for their divorce and he stated that they got him good. I started receiving confusing correspondence and mixed messages from my ex husband who had just ...returned state side to Arizona after being stationed in Korea for over a year. I decided to call the firm and was seen the very day I called by Mr. Lastra who had a cancelation. Mr. Lastra advised me during our initial consultation that I will need to file within the next 90 days in the state of MD because he had a feeling that my ex would claim residency in AZ and have jurisdiction there. Although my ex and I were going through a divorce I never thought he would try to be devious, how wrong I was. I decided to appoint Mr. Lastra as my attorney as my ex husband wanted to do a self divorce and started to undermine me. We were working on doing a simple, non contested divorce...so I thought. After consulting with Mr. Lastra and to my surprise he was always two steps ahead of my ex-husband and somehow knew what course of actions my ex was scheming to take, even though I thought I knew my ex as we had been together over 20 years. I was impressed with his expertise on how well Mr. Lastra knew what the reaction of the other party was going to be, not only did he forewarn me, he was ready to retaliate. I found out shortly after I hired Mr Lastra that he is bilingual in Spanish. He and I were able to both use our bilingual skills when speaking to one another while my ex-husband and or his attorney were present, that was a plus because we didn’t have to leave the area we were in. I highly recommend Mr. Lastra as he was very informative, professional, understanding and respondent during one of the most life changing experience one would have to go through.

Carlos Lastra

Replied last January 13, 2019

I appreciate your review and your recognition of the value of being able to anticipate the opposing party's strategy and maneuvers before they occur and being able to implement tactics to be able to successfully address them. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

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