Joan-Marie Kettell Dean

Joan-Marie came highly recommended from a friend who hired her for their adoption. She is a top notch attorney for Family Law and was an amazing divorce attorney for me. Joan-Marie helped me to understand the divorce process and gave me solid, sound advice throughout my divorce. Her staff is very ...friendly and helpful and returned my calls and emails quickly. I would recommend Joan-Marie to anyone needing a knowledgeable, hard-working Family Law Attorney.

My husband and I were recommended to Joan-Marie by another attorney . He did so because we needed an attorney that has experience with Appeals and he said she was the best. We have been in an adoption case for two years. Long story short, we were handed a 7 week old baby whose birth parents were more... concerned with drugs than him. Both parents have been incarcerated and thru our legal system the birth father was given an appointed attorney to represent him after the adoption was finalized. The birth father wanted to appeal the adoption. We have been thru so much with our case and all we wanted to do is protect our baby. Joan Marie accepted our case and immediately after our initial meeting I felt a huge burden lifted from me. She explained everything to us and what to expect. I left her office knowing our son would be protected because Joan-Marie was fighting for him. She went to court for us once and almost immediately she won that round. We never had to see a court room again. The Alabama Appellate court dismissed the appeal the birth father filed due to her diligence. We have our son who can now have a happy safe life and the adoption is final. We owe much of this to Joan-Marie and the role she played as our attorney.

I hired Joan-Marie to handle my divorce and I could not have been happier with the personal attention that I received, the outcome of the divorce, and follow-up that's taken place in the years to follow. I had been married for over 11 years of my military career, with two small children, when I foun...d myself going thru a divorce. Joan-Marie went out of her way to talk me thru the process, was expert on Alabama divorce law, and understand the implications of military service in a divorce. She places the needs of her clients above those of her self and always makes the time to meet or talk on the telephone. I could not have had a better experience and outcome. Through her understanding of law and negotiation efforts, I was able to retain 100% of my military retirement and a substantial amount of my assets. When my ex-wife asked for additional child support 6 years following our divorce, I again turned to Joan-Marie. Although I was required to pay more child support, since my salary had increased, Joan-Marie provided expert advice and documentation to ensure the modification was reasonable. The qualities that I like best about Joan-Marie is that she's straight forward and honest. She knows the law and will be honest about the pros and cons of any legal action. She is sensitive to the emotional ups and downs of going thru a divorce. Joan-Marie is absolutely the "best of the best" and I highly recommend her to those who are faced with divorce!

I hired Joan-Marie over 10 years ago to represent me in a custody dispute. The suit was filed unexpectedly and I was living out of the area at the time. I hired another male lawyer here in Huntsville first. He totally bungled my case, failing to object to irrelevant testimony, hearsay, etc. As a resu...lt of his ineptitude I ended up losing custody at my pendente lite hearing. Devastated, I began lawyer shopping. Joan-Marie was recommended to me by another attorney in town who did not have time to take my case at that point. I met with her and liked her immediately. She went right to work ordering transcripts and researching to prepare for the court date which was only 4 months away. I was most impressed with the way she put her heart into our case. It was abundantly clear that she had a personal interest in us not just as clients but as people. Her representation of us in court was head and shoulders above our first attorney and I have no complaints whatsoever about the way she handled our case. Unfortunately, the judge did not rule in my favor, leading us to file an appeal first to the civil appeals court and then to the Alabama Supreme Court. Joan-Marie really shines in written appeals. As mentioned by another reviewer, she is the editor of Alabama Law Weekly and is intimately familiar with decisions that are being written by all levels of the judiciary in this state. Her appeals arguments are extremely well written and the facts well documented. I have been in and out of court several times on this custody situation and have been forced to file multiple appeals, but it is in no way a reflection of poor representation on Joan-Marie’s part. I have recommended her to others and will continue to do so. I cannot imagine ever finding a lawyer who will put so much of her personal energy into a case. Her billing has been reasonable as well.

Affiliation I am a current client of Ms. Joan-Marie Sullivan (Dean). I am also a "repeat customer" of Ms. Sullivan having had a successful outcome in a prior legal action (divorce amend). Client Assessment of Ms. Joan-Marie Sullivan (Dean) My rationale for retaining Ms. Sullivan's services ...was driven by a number of considerations, outlined below… a) Expert and Efficient Guidance: I have experienced very efficient and at times even firm guidance on issues that tend to be easily confusing due to intense emotional involvement… it is clear when working with Ms. Sullivan she is sensitive to issues like these with clients and can readily make course corrections and with clear explanation when needed. She knows clearly what goals can be achieved and how and what matters are of lesser importance. b) Efficient Communication: Ms. Sullivan has been efficient in communicating only as required to properly handle matters. This reduces the number of charges required to the client. Typically as an important milestone or deadline for a matter in a case approaches, Ms. Sullivan will respond professionally and capitalize on each communication and/or schedule consultation as needed. c) Exceptional Current Knowledge of the Law: Ms. Sullivan is the editor of the Alabama Law Weekly. This voluntary position requires Ms. Sullivan to review all current Alabama case matters, outcomes and resultant precedents on a weekly basis. This by nature keeps Ms. Sullivan's knowledge of Alabama law continuously updated. d) A Leader in Alabama State Law: Ms. Sullivan has actively engaged in challenging and updating Alabama law. Recent changes regarding forced payment of college for children in divorce settlements is one example of unjust law Ms. Sullivan has successfully challenged. It is clear she has a modern understanding of society and law and strives to bring Alabama code up to date with such. This greater understanding of society and law is a tremendous and highly unique asset she offers to her clients. e) Full Understanding and Expert Application of the Law: Ms. Sullivan not only has knowledge of the current law, she is an expert in its application (a function of not just hard work but in my opinion of exceptional ability). I have witnessed first-hand working with Ms. Sullivan her ability to in minutes capture a vast amount of information, process it with the client through careful questioning and real-time produce a legal product of high quality properly addressing and capturing all concerns of the client. This ability goes far beyond just hard work and knowledge but is an indicator of Ms. Sullivan's exceptional natural abilities and intellect. f) Experience and Motivation: Ms. Sullivan now has roughly 25 years of experience in the practice of law. What is surprising is her intensity, energy level and genuine enthusiasm for not just practicing but improving the law itself in the state of Alabama is very high and evident in her every word and action. This energy coupled with years of experience is one of the most impressive qualities of Ms. Sullivan and offers to her clients a very rare combination of knowledge, skills and abilities indeed! Conclusion I have and continue to be a client of Ms. Joan-Marie Sullivan (Dean). I have and will again recommend Ms. Joan-Marie Sullivan (Dean) to friends and colleagues who have expressed interest in finding expert legal representation. I believe Ms. Sullivan represents each of her clients in an efficient and highly intelligent fashion, making the fullest use of exceptional ability, knowledge, experience and motivation.