Lori A. Zocolo

Atty. Zocolo was assigned as the attorney for my child in what another attorney had previously described as "the worst custody case they heard of in all their years of practice". She was dedicated, through, courageous and ethical, and I feel she represented my daughter's best interests well given t...he parameters. I only wish that all the attorneys I hired for myself had been as good.... it took me three different attorneys until I found one who was both competent and honest and I could trust (and that included one who ended up being disbarred for embezzling funds from clients, including me). Having dealt with numerous attorneys, I would recommend Atty Zocolo as I believe she would show the same dedication and assertiveness on behalf of a client as she did in protecting a child she was assigned by the court to represent. Just as a piece of advice in general to those reading the review, if you feel your attorney is NOT representing you well, find another attorney. I was afraid of being labeled a problem or nutjob for switching attorneys too frequently (as typically those who are nutjobs refuse to accept advice and bounce from attorney to attorney) and stayed with an attorney who was an absolute nightmare to deal with, refusing to meet with me, dismissing me, not following up on issues and he did not even bother to begin discovery or send out interrogatories until I found out he had not done so when I delivered 4 legal totes full of the records requested by the other side to his office. There are lawyers of all abilities, and although the first two I hired (the disbarred one had a regional reputation and was with a blue chip firm, the other was very well known in the area, neither one served me well and my worst memories of this so-called "worst custody case" was trying to deal with the second attorney and his behaviors and arrogance. And that is really saying something given the case. If you do not feel comfortable with your attorney, FIND ANOTHER. Don't second guess yourself like I did and stick with them in hopes they will come through. Once rulings are made, they are not reversed. Those initial rulings are the foundation you will have to live with over the remaining time, and like the foundation of a house, repairs are problematic after the house is completed.... I am still going to court, and things are slowly getting corrected, but it has been 6 years and numerous actions to get closer to where it should have started off at initially. Unfortunately for me, one attorney would ask for more money to do discovery and never did it and the 2nd one was more interested in mocking me and insisting I read a book called "Tuesdays with Morrie" than in helping me protect my child. I was in a vulnerable place and was almost pushed over the edge by that jerk. Fortunately, once Atty Zocolo was assigned by the court, she began actions to protect my child, and since that was what I had been begging the "Morrie" fan to do without success, I began to become less panicked. But again, my advice to anyone who has a difficult case, be prepared to find another attorney if you are not being served well by your current one AND get yourself a good psychologist. You will need one, and generally a psychologist is cheaper by the hour than an attorney and may be covered by insurance. The system will push you to the edge of a breakdown, and if you are escaping a nightmare (and many people are to that point when they file divorce and custody) you are already psychically injured. If you are the perp in the whole family dysfunction (and most perpetrators THINK they are the victim) getting help from a psychologist will also help you, your case and most importantly your children. Either way, a good psychologist will help you focus on appropriate and proportionate responses and THAT will help your attorney help you. Otherwise you will be venting about your hurt feelings to the attorney at $200 per hour and the real issues may get lost.