Sheila G. Passenant

I would highly recommend Sheila and Ali in Divorce and Custody suits. Both always had my best interest as the focus of the case and were most professional and ethical throughout the entire process. They were extremely organized and up to date on current laws and never once did I hesitate on their rec...ommendations for me and my children. Having Sheila and Ali representing me was the best decision I made during this difficult time in my life.

I engaged Ms Passenant for a divorce and child custody matter and had to change counsel approx. six (6) weeks later because she was woefully inadequate compared to opposing counsel. She encouraged, read practically forced, me to sign a Consent Order that was not in my interest. I know this because th...ree other highly respected attorneys have since reviewed Ms Passenant's work on my case and said as much. Nine (9) months later I am still living with the negative impact of Ms Passenant's extremely bad advice. As some others have also stated, at times Ms Passenant was very difficult to contact and failed to return phone calls or emails. Unless you are on very good terms with your ex and there are absolutely no issues under dispute, I would not recommend engaging Ms Passenant to represent you in a family law matter. In fact, given my experience, I cannot recommend the services of Ms Passenant at all. Full stop.

I used Sheila for a divorce agreement mediation. She was a good advocate for the welfare of the children, but that was not the heart of the issues. Easy to work with and very likeable person. I felt that she was an honest and open. She was poor at keeping appointments and returning emails and cal...ls. Unfortunately she as a poor negotiator, gave into the opposing council too often. She talked me into agreeing to a few things than I now regret. She did not do a very good job of explaining to me the long term detrimental consequences of some the items in the final agreement. In summary I feel that she not adequately organized, was too nice, and out negotiated by the opposing council.

In a recent child custody action I had to assist my step daughter in hiring an attorney because the Father of their two children mistakenly believed he and his mother could take the children and limit her access to them by alleging mental health and child abuse issues. We hired the Law Offices of P...assenant and Shearin Law after several consultations with at least three other firms . Ali Miller and Sheila Passenant listened carefully to the case status and quickly developed a plan of action within the scope we requested. Both attorneys attended the TPA hearing we had scheduled on short notice, as much of our pre hearing time and funding was taken up by other firms who wanted to expand the scope of our case beyond our means. The fact that both attorneys attended the hearing was a plus as opposing counsel was clearly flustered by the well prepared and well planned action of Ali and Shelia, who clearly demonstrated a superior knowledge of the Mecklenburg County Court system and their experience and knowledge of local Judges and recent rulings. Opposing counsel, although an experienced attorney, was handing the Judge pictures and other documents that almost looked like scrap paper compared to the binders and well organized documentation supplied by Passenant and Shearin Law. The end result was a Court Order that caused the Defendant / Father to turn the children over to my daughter the following Sunday on a week on and week off basis as she had requested from the Court. I have no reservation recommending this law firm and cannot thank Ali and Sheila enough for their excellent case work and support during this stressful period. “ I can also say that The McDowell Family Law Center also highly recommended Shelia Passenant during our search for counsel, which is how we found the firm. Exact words ” There is no better attorney in Mecklenburg County for your custody situation than Shelia Passenant. “ Curtis H., Charlotte North Carolina

Shiela and her entire team, especially her brilliant partner Kristen, did a fabulous job representing me during my legal proceedings. Excellent communication, very professional, billing was very fair and accurate. I had what I considered a fair and equitable outcome. Clients would be wise to rid them...selves of emotion and listen to their wise counsel.