Mary J. Murray

The day Mary took my case she and Kami, her paralegal, spent all day (from 9am-5pm) working on my case. She accomplished the extraordinary feat of getting the child whom we had cared for the past 8 years back to us in 27 hours with a court order. She was honest and forthright with me at all times. Ma...ry doesn't coddle or sweet talk so be prepared for someone who is blunt and to the point. For me, this is how I am also and appreciate someone who treats me this way. My husband and I will forever be in Mary and Kami's debt for all they did to get custody for us.

Mary is handling our custody case with professional expertise and expedience. She has made this frightening and stressful experience endurable. From the first meeting to date, she has been accessible by phone, text and email. She and her staff have been hardworking and thorough. Mary is compassiona...te, knowledgeable and straightforward. She develops a strategy and sets her plan in motion. She is encouraging throughout the process and explains clearly what to expect in each phase. Mary is a confident and committed lawyer and maintains a professional yet formidable presence in court. She is supportive and encouraging no matter how dirty and aggressive the opposing side becomes. As we move through this custody process, we are confident that Mary will see us through to a happy ending. She is a strong advocate for children and families. We would highly recommend her.

Mary was recommended to me by a friend who is a lawyer in a different field and I am so glad that I listened to her. Mary has truly taken a load off my shoulders. She is knowledgeable, professional, courteous and, even in the toughest situations, manages to put things into perspective and has a plan ...to deal with these. I've never seen her lose composure. Mary is tough but she doesn't waste time feeding bad feelings. She will not try to make you feel better by telling you what a victim you are, and to me that has made a huge difference because when you're talking about separating a family and there are children involved, there is already plenty of acrimony to begin with. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't end up with a lawyer who would fill me with hate. Having said that, Mary listened to everything I had to say, she has been more than understanding and empathetic, and I know that she believes me and is putting her energy in helping me get out of this tough position. I know she's got my back. Mary is brutally honest about what she sees and what she thinks, so be prepared for that. However, think about the alternative: would you rather hear it from your spouse's lawyer or, even worse... from a Judge? Anyway, she is usually a step ahead of the game, plays her cards wisely and - more importantly - she has good timing. About composure: Mary has her feet well planted and her head stays where it belongs. This was very important to me because I would not have been able to trust, and thus work with, somebody who would even remotely look to be at risk of losing control of herself. She has a tough skin, and that is contagious. For me, that's a big plus. Another big plus is that she is very down to earth and there is no fluff about her. She is comfortable in her own skin. A very confident woman. Mary's paralegal, Kami, is very professional, efficient, always available (unless she is in court or something like that but even then she will return your calls in a timely fashion), and she is very sweet. She will also give you a reality bath when needed but she is really a wonderful person to work with. I am so sorry to hear about the client who had a bad experience with Mary and Kami. Given my experience with them (and believe me, I've known them for two and a half years) I can't help but wonder what kind of a client she might have been. Cost: I think Mary's fees are very reasonable and she is open to help you structure your payments according to your situation.Note that she doesn't take American Express

I came to Mary presenting a difficult child custody challenge and detailed to her specifically what I was hoping to accomplish. She was forthright about where I should set my expectations (as they were initially both too high and too low) and we began developing a sensible legal strategy. What I quic...kly discovered is that Mary is a hard-working (and sometimes overworked), thoughtful, honest family law attorney. There is no attitude or pretense. I always felt like I was getting straightforward counsel and not once did I feel as though I was a bother to her as she was incredibly responsive. Two particular areas of her practice deserve praise. She shines in her research, writing and preparation. I always had access to every document related to my case. She has honed her courtroom presence, never seeming flustered by grumpy judges or overzealous opposing counsel. I couldn't be more pleased with the partnership we created and the positive results of our efforts. Family law is a hard business, especially when there are children involved. My ex used an aggressive as well as manipulative move that left me numb. My first reaction was to get nasty back. And that is not a good place to be in with the parent of your child, and Mary was able to remind me of that. She pushed for collaboration, mediation, encouraged us to settle and not go to court, and continued to remind me to think about the big picture for our children. We did end up successfully mediating, but sadly ended up going to court numerous times after I thought everything had been resolved. I could not have had better representation. Mary remained utterly committed to me even after mediation. Due to numerous Rules to Show Cause, Mary kept my ex accountable. She was by my side at all times and I am absolutely confident she will be if I need her in the future. Mary is a smart, thoughtful, effective attorney who approaches law the way you would want your advocate to represent you. Above all, she is a person of integrity, who approaches things calmly, strategically and with a solid understanding of the law. She will counsel you, help you, empower you to make good decisions for yourself. Mary is the attorney for people who have a life and want to get on with it, rather than spending every last bit of energy fighting it out in the courts. Despite the tremendous task I presented her with, Mary orchestrated a victorious outcome. Through wisdom, good intuition, perseverance, and unparalleled dedication, she served as a smart counsel, a mentor, a coach, and a trustworthy ally. I am so grateful to her for representing me and advocating for my family so we could rebuild our lives and start a new life. Mary is a caring, trustworthy, knowledgeable, highly dedicated, approachable and yet an assertive attorney. She possesses qualities other attorneys do not; qualities that can make a tremendous and meaningful difference when going through difficult times.

She started out by agreeing to handle my divorce and custody and accepted my money. A month goes by she had yet to contact my ex's attorney to give notice that she was representing me. So she does this and contacts ex's attorney. Ex's attorney responds to her letter ASAP (within 2 days) and she ne...ver shares this with me. Not only that but another 4 months pass without any communication with me. I then called her office to see if I owed any money (never received an invoice!) or what the deal was. Paralegal, Kami, says she will ask Marry and call me back. Another 4 days pass and I send Mary an email asking what the problem is and why she hasn't responded? No response. I call again and get the voice mail so I left a message that if she doesn't respond I will file a complaint with the SC Bar Association. Still nothing. I call the office again and Kami tells me she needs to check with Mary and will call me back. The next day I received an email from Kami stating, "I have spoken with Mary, and unfortunately due to her not finishing a week long trial the week of the bad winter weather, she is now rescheduled for this trial to continue in March. Therefore due to her schedule, she is not going to be able to take your case at this time. Attached is an invoice which includes the charges to date. Being that you have paid $XXXX to date, we owe you a refund of $XXXX. Please let me know to what address we should mail this refund check. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and we look forward to hearing back from you regarding the address for the refund check."