Michael Kevin Rathel

After choosing my exwife as my partner choosing him as my lawyer was the worst mistake of my life. I hired Michael Rathel. Flat rate for filing, flat rate for my exwife to respond. Total $7500. This was a long distance divorce and a case of parenting alienation. After I filed for divorce it took me ...more than 9 months to see my child. And more than a year to have him visiting me in my home town. He sent an associate to my deposition, another to my mediation and after he made me travel to Florida one day before the trial to meet with him to explain my case he cancelled the meeting. So he went to the court during the trial date unprepared and probably without even knowing my name. The opposing attorney aware of my attorney’s incompetence and disregard for the case took advantage of me. They were able to frame the alienation as abandonment. I am still paying the other lawyer attorney fees because he was not able to defend even that. (So I am paying more than I paid Mr. Rathel) My exwife violated the parenting plan claiming my child when it was not her turn in the taxes and his answer was go and see what you can do with the IRS. The child support was completely miscalculated. Multiple times I asked for the explanation on how it was computed. He never provide me with that information. He gave me all the other documents late too. I would know for example that my exwife had won the case because she was bragging about making me pay her attorney fees before my attorney had sent me the judge resolution. I received my final judgement roughly 3 weeks after it was given to him and it took me a week to get contact with him. It was too late to file an appeal. I went with another lawyer and computed the child support. He is impressed by the result of my case. My child support calculations include day care for a child that goes to school, my exwife’s but not my retirement mandatory fees are included, zero overnights for me (though he spends more than 80 nights a year with me). My exwife was able to modify the parenting plan as she wished because Mr Rathel would not contact me for the hearings. So he would probably just concede. I lost days with my son because she went to court ans ask for those days and he probably just conceded. Additionally, despite me providing him with all the checks of the money I had given to my exwife, the judge did not consider them because. I assume, Mr. Rathel, did not show them. So I have to pay inflated retroactive child support twice. He never answer calls. Now I need to hire another lawyer to solve whatever can be solved from the mess MR Rathel created in my life for his lack of professionalism. I am suspicious that he may have received money from the opposing side in order to screw me.

Hired him for my divorce. he did the least amount he could and then when the final judgement came dropped me. I have spent the last 5 years living on ramen noodles and bologna sandwiches because he did not fight! I am also losing my house that I bought prior to marriage because he is not knowledgeabl...e about the law. Stay away from him!

I would NOT recommend this attorney. He accused me of divorcing my ex because he was unemployed in our first meeting. (That should have been my first clue.) His office did not return calls. They failed to require my ex to disclose all financials and did not fact check leaving me vunerable. Misfiled p...aperwork and allowed the other party's attorney to run roughshod all over me. Did not prepare me for our court hearing and was not prepared. I was forced to get advice from another attorney.Failed to get due dates for the other side to comply with court orders and did not even provide me with a court-stamped certified copy of my divorce decree. He's a kiss-up and a bad one at that. A waste of 5k.