Shaun Edward Whitehead

Working with Shawn Whitehead is a catastrophic disaster & a masterclass in professional negligence. I spent about $15,000 in legal fees and court costs so far , only to watch my case suffer intensely destructive, irreversible damage. According to other reputable lawyers I consulted, the mistakes he ...orchestrated have almost 0% chance being undon. My children are fracturing from the severe trauma resulting from this deeply flawed arrangement. It is devastating to watch my kids unable to function because I trusted a legal representative whose service was aggressively destructive. The single most critical issue—my children’s school placement—was completely mishandled. I discussed it repeatedly for months with Mr. Whitehead, spending over 50% of preparation time on this issue alone. Yet on the morning of court, he called me & casually stated he had just found out the school matter was on the docket. I could not comprehend how something(I made painstakingly clear for months)could be overlooked until the morning of court. Knowing the docket is a fundamental job requirement. Every time I attempted to ask questions, he talked over me, repeating information I already knew rather than addressing my concerns. I hired an attorney because I needed someone to listen, prepare, and guide me—not deliver empty rhetoric. Then came court, where vital questions were never asked, & essential evidence was left off the record. When I questioned why crucial points were omitted, he told me it was my responsibility & that there was no way to know what the court needed. Other attorneys stated his behavior was completely unprofessional, unacceptable, and most likely amounts to malpractice. Furthermore, Shawn Whitehead repeatedly infuriated the judge by interrogating the opposing party on matters already clearly answered. Ensuring a client’s position is powerfully communicated is the core duty of counsel. Instead of advocating for me, I paid him to actively sabotage my entire case with irreversible consequences. At one critical juncture, the judge directly asked what I wanted. Rather than articulating my position, my lawyer responded with, “whatever you think.” I was sitting right there knowing precisely what was at stake, trying to speak up, but closing arguments rushed forward, & my voice was silenced. Afterward, he blamed the outcome on me for not speaking up directly to the court. Yet multiple independent lawyers confirmed that speaking out without proper legal framing would have been disastrous. Once he committed these destructive errors, recovery was impossible. Anyone knowledgeable about autism understands that this custody schedule is unworkable and causes harm. These children require stability and minimal transitions, yet the current arrangement heavily damages them. This is an earth-shattering ordeal with permanent repercussions determining whether my children can live independently or face institutionalized care. My youngest was forced into a cognitively impaired classroom purely for the convenience of the father, despite maintaining honor roll status in general education. Shawn Whitehead and other attorneys agreed this was an indisputable, almost guaranteed win. Yet, Shawn Whitehead still managed to lose. I walked away realizing I would have achieved a vastly superior outcome representing myself, saving thousands of dollars. I felt utterly unprepared, unheard, and betrayed by someone who took my money while ignoring 99% of my instructions, handing the opposing party 100% of what they wanted. If you are considering hiring this individual, save your family, your finances, and your sanity. Do not walk away—run. What Shawn Whitehead engaged in goes far beyond incompetence; I believe it was calculated sabotage and a total breach of trust. How can any client trust an attorney who remains oblivious to the court docket, alienates the judge, suppresses vital evidence, and shifts the burden of representation onto the client?

I hired Shaun Whitehead on a limited-scope basis for my child custody case, and looking back, it's not something I'd do again. I had months of documentation built up — messages, records, a long history I needed him to actually understand before we walked into a hearing — and I never felt like there w...as enough time or effort put into getting there. Most of what I dealt with went through his assistant, not him directly, and when I did get him on the phone, it felt more like I was being questioned than actually being heard. At one point I was told I "wasn't fighting" for my son, during months where I had documented every single attempt I made. That one stuck with me, because it felt like it came from someone who hadn't actually looked at what I'd been doing the whole time. There was also a moment where a scheduling change affecting my parenting time got agreed to without much explanation or pushback on his end, and when I brought it up afterward, I didn't get a real conversation about it — just more questioning of me. I ended the representation before my hearing even happened, and I'm glad I trusted that instinct instead of pushing through it. Since then, my case has moved in a completely different direction, and things are going well. Looking back, I think the bigger lesson for me wasn't about this one attorney specifically — it's that a complex custody case with a lot of history and documentation needs someone who has the time and the scope to actually learn all of it, not just show up for one hearing. I'd think hard before anyone does limited-scope representation for something this involved. This is just my own experience, sharing it in case it helps another parent make a more informed decision.