Kathy L. Portnoy

Kathy Portnoy totally botched her involvement with my divorce. Not only did she not file the appropriate documents right off, which gave my spouse time to move money and assets, but she went out of town and her fill in attorney did nothing except talk to each other. Even after I contacted them both... that a pertinent piece of news had occurred and asked if I had to worry, no one contacted me back! After 2 months of waiting, I contacted the two again and said, are we filing anything yet?I got back a snarky reply, without a salutation or explanation "guess it's time to file." I fired them immediately! Run, somebody said, wish I had read the review beforehand!

I've held off since 2008 in reviewing this lawyer believing that she might choose to do better for others after being confronted and sued. I regret waiting this long. She has led many good parents into danger, causing them to lose children and the ability to fight for their children. She is not alone... in this as we now know. Her failures are protected by connected lawyers who are able to cover up lies in court, causing the Appellate & Supreme Court to rule on incomplete & inaccurate records. It's a shame, but that's just how it is. Avvo is not as reliable as it could be, because damaged parties are intimidated into not challenging professional misconduct or billing fraud. Pay attention to pending & past news media reports; what Kathy did on my case is very common, but most cases do not involve 2M in damages from being put in a position to have to buy back your own children. How did this happen? She would not let me see the child custody evaluator's report, for starters. Had I seen that report, given the available, visible evidence in hand, the outcome would have been much better for me and for my children. Additionally, she and her associate were running a "dating service" of sorts, introducing vulnerable clients to each other, while withholding funds for support, running them into debt, withholding needed & available protections and more. Avoiding temporary hearings for months, lying to the court to further destabilize the client, all to create a situation where they and their friends could makes tens of thousands managing an unnecessary child custody fight. These types of cases are the norm for them, and there is no consideration for the trauma caused to confused but trusting clients, let alone for the stress caused to children...when it could all be avoided. Please choose more wisely than I did.

Kathy had good reviews 5 years ago. In the past 2 years, I've read other clients' reviews with similar experiences to mine. I hired her 2 years ago and she took me, like others for over $25,000.00 and not only achieved nothing for me...but made errors in legal judgment that should have been known fro...m the beginning. She settled with the other side "frivolous lawsuit" and showed zero integrity to repay me my wasted 2 years and huge monetary loss. I domesticated a case from FL and she failed to research the differences in the law and pursued a case that could NOT BE DOMESTICATED . Her mistakes cost me 6 months of alimony, over $36,000. and $25,000. fees plus a difficult emotional toil. Don't just walk away from Kathy L Portnoy....RUN AWAY!!!! She lets young associates do ALL the work and does not review what they do or spends so little time on your case that very damaging results occur.

Having interviewed many attorneys I chose Kathy Portnoy. She is brilliant, compassionate and dedicated to ensure that the best outcome possible could be attained with the least hassle. Her character was most apparent when she advised me not to "win" the case but to settle because it would be in the b...est interest of my children. At the time I couldn't understand but she assured me what would be best... and she was right without any doubt. My current situation is the best it can be for my children (half-time custody) and a relatively amicable settlement with my ex. My children are learning for themselves about both their parents and are growing well. Life is too short to foster bitterness and to cause anguish to children. Kathy's reputation was very apparent among the judges and her colleagues. She's very tough when she has to be but also very considerate and personable. I always felt that I had confidence in her and highly recommend her (and her able staff) to anyone in need of solid and ethical representation.