Mary J. Murray

Mary exceeded my expectations in every way. I loved that we were able to meet first and talk about things to see if our personalities were going to work together. Going through the stressful, somewhat heart-breaking process of divorce, it is critical to hire someone who will stand behind you regardl...ess of what the other party may bring up during the entire process. I had interviewed two other attorneys before finding Mary. It became apparent within our first conversation that I had come to the right practice. She was straight forward from our first meeting, honest, and clearly not interested in having me as a client just to make money. She was completely thorough and explained every possibility to me as we walked through this very challenging chapter of my life. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her, either as an attorney or a mediator. Charleston is a very small town littered with unethical attorneys. Using someone who had experience in other areas of the country was paramount to me. Back stabbing among professionals is a common, and sadly accepted, practice in this area. Ms. Murray clearly was not interested in the small town politics as most of the local lawyers, and politicians are.

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.

We were involved in a custody case over a grandson. We spent almost a year with a different lawyer. After mediation failed and we were not getting responses from our lawyer, with only three weeks to go before trial, we got some advice to talk with other lawyers. We sat down with Mary and within minu...tes she became enthusiastic and wanted to take on our case. With only a few days before trial and we talked and communicated with Mary almost every day. Discoveries that should have been done much earlier were handled first and then we started on the information we had to retain custody. She gave us realistic advice on the outcome we should expect, but she said our case was good enough to go for everything and she was confident we would get what was best for our grandson. We sat down face to face 3 or 4 times. She was specific about what she needed from us and if we had questions they were answered by her or her paralegal (who is also outstanding) within a day if not hours. She met with us on a Saturday. I cannot over emphasize how enthusiastic Mary was about our case and how involved she became in such a short period of time. Mary coached us on what kind of questions we could expect at trial and even came up with a list of questions that we answered so she could review them. If anyone asks us for a good family attorney, Mary Murray will be the one we recommend.

I felt comfortable working with Mary from day one. In additional to legal expertise, she did everything in her power to emotionally guide me through a particular horrible custody case. While she was very compassionate, Mary took charge and always kept me focused in the right direction. I wisely foll...owed her expert advise. If someone were to find themselves in a similar situation, they could not ask for a better attorney than Mary Murray.