Chana Marie Watson

If you have other options besides Watson, I would strongly recommend considering them first. I only chose Watson because there were only two lawyers in all of Dixie County, and honestly, the other option didn’t seem much better. Throughout the entire process, there was always some kind of issue or d...elay. Setting court dates took forever because the two lawyers kept going back and forth without agreeing on dates. I constantly had to call for updates because communication from their office was minimal. The same thing happened with the paperwork—it dragged on endlessly because they argued over the smallest details and kept sending drafts back and forth. Trying to reach anyone by phone was a nightmare. I would end up doing a merry-go-round of calls through every extension, hoping someone would eventually answer—though usually no one did. At one point, I called 23 times in a single day. It didn’t seem to matter what day or time I called; there was never a “good” time to get ahold of anyone. Voicemails were no better, assuming the mailbox wasn’t already full, and emails rarely received responses either. On the rare occasion an assistant answered, Watson was almost always “busy” or “out of the office.” I would be told my message would be passed along and that she would call me back, which usually never happened. One assistant in particular, Jordan, was not very helpful either. Her answers were often vague, and she generally seemed to deflect any concerns or questions I brought up. Some of the email responses I received from her also came across as unprofessional. When the final court date FINALLY arrived, I thought things would finally be wrapping up. Nope. The only thing left was for the judge to sign the final paperwork, and somehow that alone took THREE MONTHS. I was repeatedly told the paperwork was sitting on the judge’s desk and just hadn’t been signed yet. During those three months, I called and emailed constantly trying to get updates or understand what the holdup was. Every time, I got the same response: “He hasn’t signed it yet.” Eventually, I ended up tracking down the judge’s office myself, getting the number for the judge’s assistant, and calling them directly for updates in addition to calling Watson’s office. At least the judge’s assistant was more helpful and communicative. After the final judgment was finally signed, I thought we were at the finish line. Wrong again. There were still financial matters that needed to be handled, and I had been told over the phone and through email that they would take care of it. I did not “assume” this, despite what Watson later claimed in her final email to me. Instead, I was suddenly told it would require separate representation and essentially another full legal fee. I simply could not afford to pay another large attorney fee just for paperwork related to funds that were already included in the final judgment and supposed to be distributed for me. Overall, this was an exhausting, frustrating, and highly unprofessional experience. Going through this process was already stressful enough, and dealing with this office only made it significantly harder. I genuinely hope future clients are able to find better representation elsewhere.