Audrey A. Jefferis

During the worst time of my life, I spoke to 10 attorneys before Audrey and they all made my stomach sick because all they cared about was playing dirty pool in trying to "win". Audrey was the only one who spoke to me and asked how my kids are (didn't know where they were at the time for weeks) and ...she vowed to help me. I hired her because of her integrity. She was amazing for me and my family.

My case had sensitive circumstances involving custody of my son and his safety. Audrey was able to put in a place a temporary agreement that protected him, and was extremely helpful at mediation for getting the results I needed. She was patient with me while I let my ex-husband procrastinate our ca...se until my son was older and his safety was not at risk (the temporary agreement continued to protect him for years). She kept in touch with me, but never pressured me. She is a very compassionate and understanding person. When the time came to finalize the divorce, Audrey was thorough and helped me sort out every detail. In my long and drawn out divorce, I could not have asked for a better lawyer to represent my son and I. I am forever grateful for her help with getting me through a very difficult time in my life.

I hired Audrey for a year to deal with a custody modification. In that year, she was prompt to collect her fees, and the discovery requests my ex was pelting me with. Yet, after she fired me for using a crowd funding site to be able to pay her additional trial retainer fees (because she was unable t...o settle the case through mediation), I hired another attorney, who immediately got to work sending my ex her own discovery requests, interrogatories, and mandatory disclosure. Audrey didn't make even one discovery request, and when I asked her why she wasn't doing to my ex what his attorney was doing to me, she said, "We're not going to play that game." BUT THAT'S THE GAME OF COURT, and had I continued with her representation, I'd have likely walked into court unprepared, with weakly argued points, and lost majority custody of my daughter. We'd have walked into court relying on only the depositions she conducted, which were worthless based on her questioning. I was upset when she fired me, but I resolved the case with my new attorney in mediation, for 1/5th what she was charging for trial retainer. Under new representation, I also saw all the opportunities the law had for me to avoid trial, that Audrey failed to tell me about. Her staff turned over 3 times in the year I paid her! I lucked out that she fired me, but I'd have been luckier if I'd trusted the few negative reviews, instead of my gut, which liked Audrey's personality.

My ex-wife kicked off the divorce with a false domestic violence injunction. A hearing was held and the case was dismissed. Due to my job requirements I relocated to the east coast of Florida, further complicating the issues in my divorce. Due to continued significant allegations, we completed a p...sychological timeshare evaluation (ordered by the Court) to help the Court address my minor daughter’s best interests and custody. This was a very costly evaluation and also added another component of complexity to the case. Despite that the final evaluation report heavily favored my situation to obtain custody and relocate my daughter; I found that my previous attorneys did not have much experience, if any, with psychological timeshare evaluations and minor children custody issues (despite their claims to the contrary). My prenuptial agreement also added another layer of complexity because my ex-wife wanted to have the agreement vacated, as she stood much to gain. I had gone through three and a half years of litigation and had gone through three attorneys which had not made any significant progress in my case. I had spent a significant amount on attorney fees as I had been ordered to pay my ex-wife’s attorney fees. Both attorneys just kept milking me. My attorney was generally not returning my calls and when I did make contact with her she would tell me that the opposing counsel was not returning her calls and stated that was the reason there was little progress in my case. She continuously communicated that there was a very low probability that I would obtain custody of my daughter and confused my case with her other cases. Overall she was very rude and unprofessional. There did not appear to be any end in sight, i.e., I was truly in almost a helpless situation. I obtained a referral from the Florida Bar and hired attorney Audrey Jefferis. Attorney Jefferis immediately submitted her notice of appearance to the Court, contacted the opposing counsel to resolve longstanding issues that were preventing a pre-trial hearing, prioritized and aggressively worked the issues in my case, and coordinated with the Court to schedule a final divorce hearing. This was the beginning of the end of my divorce case, as attorney Jefferis took the lead to resolve the issues. Thus, my case was no longer in a “wait and see what opposing counsel does next” strategy. Within a very short time there was significant progress in my case. At all times attorney Jefferis was very professional and personable, as was her entire office staff. My calls were returned in a timely manner and her attorney fees were very reasonable. When any recommendation or major decision in my case was made, there was always a legal basis and or strategy thoroughly explained to me, i.e., I was always well informed on my case status. At trial, attorney Jefferis was very well prepared and organized, and her trial experience was even more evident as we progressed through the two and a half day final trial hearing. In summary attorney Jefferis is a seasoned, personable and very professional Family Law trial attorney which I strongly recommend to anyone needing a divorce attorney. Attorney Jefferis took my case to completion in a very short time with significantly favorable results. At the conclusion of my divorce my prenuptial agreement was honored by the Court and my ex-wife was ordered to return my property. My final divorce Order was thorough and well written. Additionally, attorney Jefferis wrote a separate Deny Order that was signed by the Judge to stop further payment of my ex-wife’s attorney fees. But most importantly, my motion to obtain custody and relocate my seven year old daughter was granted by the Judge and I immediately took custody and relocated my daughter. Attorney Audrey Jefferis is the #1 Family Law attorney in the tri-County area. This is the attorney that you want sitting next to you in Court.

I tried to handle a child custody modification on my own. I consulted w/her and she and her staff made me feel comfortable. She was very upfront with me and told me not what I wanted to hear but what I needed to hear. Not only did she take my case, she was able to negotiate a settlement and my son... and I couldn't be more happy. I would use her firm again and I have and will continue to recommend her to everyone I know that needs an attorney.