William Powell Burgess Jr.

I retained Bill Burgess after a friend recommended him. I was repeatedly disappointed. He was cordial upon meeting him, spoke a good game, made some reassurances and took his retainer. The entire year was the most disappointing and frustrating year I have ever had dealing with him and his assistant. ... Besides over charging me for extraneous expenses, I am 2 years since post divorce and I am still in the legal system fighting my ex spouse because of the loop holes he allowed to pass in the final divorce decree. He and his assistant allowed me to be stuck in a joint loan with my ex-spouse who now has defaulted on his part of the loan payment which affects both of our credit even if I pay my half. I had no idea the law would not protect me nor that someone could not follow the divorce decree. When I would meet with Bill he would not remember my case, our first 30' me getting him up to speed, then he would write a letter to the opposing attorney just to be negated. My 3 friends who used him just before I did said the same thing. Never having been divorced before I wasn't sure what to expect. I am business owner myself and having done my profession > 20 years I could tell you in my sleep the normal process of start to finish. Being a divorce attorney for as long as Bill has, he should have been able to cut through the red tape, make it precise with clear cut decisions, take the emotion out of it, see the red flags and cut through the BS. No other business could run this poorly, and make the money he charged for his services. A >30 year experienced attorney should be able to help you decide what to give up and what to fight for and help you get the heck out of the legal system versus just tying you and your money up in a goat rope of letter writing with no win for anyone but his pocket book.

Bill was my attorney through a difficult divorce. He provided expert legal advice and counsel during a very difficult time. He always got back to me within a reasonable amount of time; answered my numerous questions and his professionalism is unsurpassed. When the divorce was completed I received the... balance of my retainer in a timely manner. I highly recommend him.

Mr. Burgess represented me in 2014 during a very long custody battle. Hiring him was by far, the best decision I could have made! First of all, you get what you pay for. My initial attorney’s retainer fee was half the cost of Mr. Burgess and I feel I received a fraction of the skill, organization, an...d commitment. At times, I was emotional and worried about my case but his experience/confidence kept me at ease. He knows Alabama law and knows how to try a case! It is absolutely impossible for anyone to remember facts (no matter how basic they seem to us) for every client’s specific case. Mr. Burgess being arguably one of the best family lawyers in Madison County works on numerous cases. Were there times I had to “refresh” him about incidences concerning my case? Yes. One must do this at times with their doctors, veterinarians, plumbers, etc. He is a professional who interacts with several individuals and cases on a daily basis. Let’s all have realistic expectations. He and his office staff were professional and his legal assistant was extremely helpful and talented. If your case goes to trial the lawyer you want sitting beside you is Mr. Burgess! Within minutes of being in the courtroom with Mr. Burgess and Mrs. Gaye I knew why the retainer fee was set where it was. I felt he represented my case beautifully and genuinely cared about the outcome. I never felt like my voice or comments were not expressed or heard while in the courtroom. During negotiations, if I had an unrealistic request, he told me. If it was a time to stand firm with requests, he was in my corner. He did a great job guiding me through the process. Let’s face it; a divorce/custody battle is an extremely stressful and emotional situation. The court system moves slowly and while I would have loved for my case to be resolved overnight, that’s not the way it works. I have recommended Mr. Burgess to anyone that asks me about a family lawyer and I will continue to do so!

I hired Mr. Burgess in the spring of 2015. For my $10,000 retainer all I received was 3 months of incredible stress. No meaningful progress was made on my divorce. Specific complaints on Mr. Burgess's performance include: 1) his inability to remember basic facts of my case from day to day, 2) numero...us inappropriate comments by him 3) epic disorganization in his office (lack of effective communication between staff, wrong versions of documents under edit being repeatedly circulated or filed, work left undone or just ignored) and 4) accounting support provided for only $3,000 of the $10,000 retainer with no refund being made of the remainder.