Trisha Marie Duff

I do not like to disparage another person, but the management of my case was continually unprofessional. Simple things like failing to bring proof of my income to a temporary orders hearing—the most essential document— requesting multiple times the same document that I had previously sent and blaming... me when the other party expressed frustration for her mishandling papers. She didn’t respond to emailed concerns. She scapegoated me to the other party as I saw in conversation threads and only skimmed my messages regularly as I could see by her response—one time acting very dramatic about the shock of something I mentioned in a previous email she replied casually to when later it was an issue for the other party. At 35 days to the trial, I confronted her on various concerns which I had previous brought up and that second opinions from other lawyers seperately identified where she was failing. She withdrew that day as counsel rather than demonstrating accountability and maturely responding to my concerns and I was left to myself at the trial. The outcome was dismal because of her unethical behavior and my family with many children is permanently harmed.

I hired her for $2500.00, went to a custody hearing, i thought she was good at what she did, but then again there wasn't much to my case. After everything was over i realized that i didnt even an attorney but i was worried. Anyway, when my retainer was gone i was not notified. When i contacted her ...to send me the details of it i recieved a letter stating i had a $700 credit! 2 weeks later with no further contact i was billed for $1500. I was so upset and angry. Just goes to show its alla b i ut the money. She knew my situation and that i didnt have any means to come up with that kind if money at that time. Do your research.

As stated by others below; calls are not returned--but you will be charged for her having to listen to your message. However, all of the financial issues were not my biggest issues. Simply put, Mrs. Duff does not enjoy what she is doing. People who don't love their jobs, don't do a good job. ...After having paid her retainer, I felt trapped with a lawyer who would not fight for my rights, or my children's rights. There were so many loop-holes left in my decree that it has literally become a circus act with me having to hire a new lawyer to jump through all the hoops she left behind. A good lawyer should leave you feeling that you will be okay after a traumatic event (such as a divorce). However, here I am years later still trying to pay someone else to clean up the mess left behind in my divorce decree. My recommendation is "Just DON'T do it!"

Handled my divorce and took two years. After getting my final divorce, she was unable to collect my settlement and told me that I would have to go to court again - and pay her additional fees to get what I was awarded in the divorce. Three years later she is holding money from the sale of my home i...n her trust account but never contacts me.

This is the worst lawyer you could ever hire. She requires a 2500.00 retaining fee and then does nothing except what she has to. I lost my children, and had child support raised twice, when she was hired to lower it. That is not even my complaint of her. Here are the reasons I would not recommend her...: If you call her office, don't expect a call back for at least a week. That's if you are lucky. After you cannot reach her over the phone and decide to write her a letter, she will charge you at least 50.00 for reading it, and then never reply to your questions. I found 4 mistakes she made on the child support order, and had to tell her how to fix them. When it was time to go to court for custody, she told me to forget about custody, because I was the father and lived too far away, and that she was just going to concentrait on child support. After the phone calls and letters, you may decide to email her. She will charge you for reading the email, email you back asking you to meet her 15 minutes before the court appointed time so that you can go over all your concerns with her. I got there 20 minutes early, and she showed up 2 minutes early. When I began to ask questions, she said there wasn't time and to call her office and schedule a phone appointment. After I scheduled a phone appointment with her, (TWO WEEKS from the day I called), I had my list of questions ready. When I asked her the first one, I was told that she had been in practice for 17 years, and instead of asking her all these questions, I just needed to trust her. Here's the kicker- she was friends with my wifes attorney.... she was HIS divorce attorney the year prior!! After you pay the retainer, you do not get a monthly statement. I asked for one multiple times, and was either ignored, or told it was "in the mail." I had no idea how much of a retainer I had left, or if it was running out. I finally did get one after everything was finished saying I owed her 1000.00 more. She does not expain ANYTHING. The only thing she will tell you is that she doesn't have time that day to explain anything, but just trust her and "sign here." Take it from me and DON'T DO IT! She was on vacation for 2 weeks while my children were telling me that their mom's boyfriend was beating them and I ws told I would have to wait until she got back before she could return my call. It was awful. If you are looking for a good attorney, I would recommend Anne Catherine Harvey. She has taken over my case and has done more for me in the past week then Trisha Duff did for me in a year. I also learned more from her website than my lawyer would ever tell me. She is also facing a lawsuit from another person for conpiring with the oposing party. You can check it out on the public records of montgomery county.