Overall Rating
This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.

5.0 /5.0

127 Client Reviews

Avvo

4.9

(125)

Lawyers.com

5.0

(2 )

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What Clients Mention
Advocacy (77) Case Results (67) Professionalism (57) Recommendation (55) General Knowledge (39) Character & Conduct (38) Practice Area Knowledge (33) Cost of Services (30) Communication Style (28) Staff & Support (27) Compassion (26) Responsiveness (24) Trustworthiness (22)

Showing 26 - 28 of 28 reviews | Communication Style

Posted by Zayne | November 24, 2021 | Hired Attorney

STAY AWAY!!!!

This was the most unprofessional encounter I have had with an attorney/attorney office I have ever had. I made a total of over 9k in payments that was wasted on emails with their PARALEGAL Kelly. They claim these emails were not just with me but opposing counsel as well. However I find it in any situ...ation ridiculous to request multiple additional funds and never have my attorney available to speak with. I was informed about 3-4 weeks after retaining them that Attorney Fennell had started a lengthy leave. The first time I got a chance to speak to my attorney (Fennell) was more then 7 weeks after retaining counsel and she only had 15-30 minutes for me as she was catching up on more pertinent cases. Me and my wife were able to settle differences (currently married) and never had mediation or a single court appearance or anything outside of her initially filing and our counter. Yet this office used up over 9k in money and when ASKED TO DISMISS they then requested me to pay an additional $450+ in order to dismiss. After I disputed these charges and stated more then 7k of my 9k-10k has been spent on emailing KELLY, they withdrew themselves without my knowledge. To be quite frank I felt they took my money and ran with it.... THANKFULLY I was able to go down to the courthouse and dismiss thiss free of charge with the help of the very friendly/helpful staff we have in our COBB COUNTY COURTHOUSE SYSTEM!!!!

Posted by Brent | June 08, 2020 | Hired Attorney

Bad Communication. Worst Interpersonal Skills. Run Away.

I am a physician ex-pat who has spent well north of $30k (I did not add it up - too depressing) on Caryn Fennel and her staff for litigation extending over greater than two years. Overall, I found her services lacking in many respects, most notably with the fact that she filed things with the court p...rior to running them by me like every other lawyer I have had. This resulted in multiple missteps and problems that she blamed on me even though I requested to see the documents prior to her filing them. In my opinion, verbal communication has faults with understanding and so sharing written documents prior to filing them with a judge seems pretty simple and straightforward. Obviously not. The communication was terrible. I would send emails that were not returned for weeks. When I reminded her about questions, I would receive hostile replies. The last 6 months she was my lawyer, I was scared to email her. In reading another review on Google, this is obviously a pattern. We had a disagreement over how to proceed at the end of my case so she decided not to be my lawyer anymore and filed a motion to remove herself and then charged me for her decision to do this. Every time I interacted with Caryn Fennel, I felt belittled and humiliated. Working with her was one of the worst experiences in my life. When I confronted her with my billing concerns, Caryn Fennel's reply was "this is not how this works." She refused to even consider not charging me for her own actions and decisions that went against my specific instructions. Despite paying every bill on time except for less than 1% of overall fees she assessed me, her unprofessionalism was striking, persistent and worrisome. I would run as far away from this law firm as is possible. In retrospect, I obviously should not have stuck with her, but after awhile, it seemed like paying a different lawyer several thousand dollars just to get up to speed made no sense. I wish I had never hired Caryn Fennel and I hope that you don't have the same regret. My wife likes her significantly less than me which is why I am writing this review.

Caryn Fennell

Replied last June 08, 2020

Brent, I am beholden by rule 1.6 to not respond to this in detail. However, I think the remaining 108, 5-star reviews highlighting our company and services over the recent years speak for themselves. Often one bad review, in comparison to the hundreds of positive reviews, speaks to the motivations and issues of the author and further commentary is unnecessary. I wish you the best!

Posted by James | November 05, 2018 | Hired Attorney

DO NOT USE THIS LAW FIRM!!!

This review is based on my personal experience with Caryn Fennell and her law firm. Caryn Fennell comes across as an aggressive litigator in the initial stage right after consultation. I should have known that an attorney that relies heavily on getting referrals from an outfit like LegalShield, that ...her practice was not as solid as it was portrayed. Most experienced attorneys who are successful and can meet their budget requirements do not need referrals from a larger law firm like the Demming Law Group. But after my experience, first hand, now I know why Caryn Fennell is associated with LegalShield. Caryn charged excessive fees and never really understood all of the facts surrounding my criminal case. When I attempted to enlighten her, she became argumentative and refused to consider any recommendations I suggested as the client. Caryn became very arrogant and acted as if she hired me; not that I had hired her. Caryn had very little experience in Cobb County; infact no attorneys that I spoke with had ever even heard of Caryn Fennell. Caryn threatened to withdraw from my case after she refused to ask for a second plea offer. Caryn waited until a week before my trial, told me that in addition to the $4,000 I had already paid the firm, that in order for her to proceed to trial, the following week, I needed to have $10,000 in her office or she would withdraw from my case. One week before my trial date, Caryn Fennell threatened to just drop my case! Then she sends a request into the DA’s office requesting discovery; one week before my trial date. This conduct is highly unprofessional to say the least. Because of Caryn Fennell’s actions, I had to retain another, more experienced, attorney to contact the court and at the last minute negotiate a plea deal with the DA to avoid going to trial unprepared. Thank God I knew better than to accept the final plea Caryn said the prosecutor was only going to offer. My new attorney was able to negotiate a much better plea deal that will expunge my criminal record completely in a year. If we had gone to trial, my case stood a good chance of being dismissed. However due to Caryn Fennell’s negligence, we were not able to properly prepare for trial in less than a week. Caryn Fennell cared more about being a community activist, passing out bottled water to hurricane victims in another state or her personal family matters than her clients fate in the court system. Again, this review is based on my personal experience and I can not recommend Caryn S. Fennell or her law firm to anyone seeking to obtain a favorable decision in the judicial system. Please exercise caution with this firm and consult your local listings for attorneys not associated with agencies that claim to offer professional legal services at a discount rate.

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