Joel A. Bernier

I am usually a positive person and rarely write a bad review. The information I am going to provide about my case (case number 2023-518907-DM at Oakland county), can be verified on courtexplorer.oakgov.com I must first say that Mr Bernier is a very pleasant and respectful person, and used to always... ask how I was doing. We kept good communications for the most part. My divorce was contested, mainly about parenting time, and when I interviewed Mr Bernier for the first time, I was very clear about my expectations to go to a trial not an arbitration, if an agreement can not be reached through mediations, and he agreed to represent me. I have a graduate degree and I have done extensive research about divorce before I spoke to him. I provided him with a USB and a binder that has all the exhibits and a written description of my position. Our first trial date was set 10/23/23, on 10/3/23, the opposing attorney filed 3 motions for spousal support, attorney fees and to exclude our witnesses and exhibits from trial. The opposing attorney indicated during the motion hearing, which anyone can watch at the media center in the county building, that he notified Mr Bernier about the motions over the phone and he served him the motion notice, and that he filed the motions because he never received our exhibits and witness list despite requesting them from Mr Bernier. The motions were heard by the judge and granted, since we weren’t present, on 10/18/23.. Since my attorney and I weren’t present at the motions hearing; the judge postponed the trial date indicating that we weren’t ready, despite being ready. Mr Bernier informed me on 10/20/23 of the motions, and for the following months, he kept insisting and pursuing me to go to arbitration, indicating that he agreed with the opposing attorney to do so, and the opposing attorney will let us use our exhibits and witnesses if we go to arbitration. I asked him to file the motion for reconsideration with the judge, and helped with the draft, but he filed on 11/07/23 a motion to compel discovery (discovery that I requested prior to hiring him) and asked the judge to allow us to use our exhibits in the motion, since the other party wasn’t complaint with the discovery. Outside the court house, the opposing attorney indicated that we filed the wrong motion, and the judge will not hear the case of excluding our exhibits and witnesses in the motion to compel discovery, so Mr Bernier didn’t have the motion heard by the judge. On 01/17/24, Mr Bernier filed a motion to compel discovery and a motion for relief from judgment (which I helped with the drafts), but he cancelled the motions on 01/23/24 WITHOUT consulting with me first. At that point, the due date to file any motion before our new court date was past. He told me again, that he reached another agreement with the opposing attorney to go to arbitration. I couldn’t replace him at that point because the attorneys I contacted didn’t want to take the case at that advanced point. I felt as if I was left without any options only to agree to arbitration, which took about 10 months from the point we all agreed to go to arbitration till we received the divorce judgment, and cost about 10,000$ for the arbitrator alone (rate 400$/hr) while the court would have been free, and I would have had the option to file an appeal if I deemed necessary (the grounds for filing an appeal to an arbitration award is extremely limited). There are other things that were missed by Mr Bernier and his staff, but I think I don’t need to go into more details. I emailed Mr Bernier after I received an invitation from his office to write a review at the conclusion of my case, and asked him to explain to me why he ignored the first 3 motions, which led to my case being dragged way longer and cost way more money, but did not receive an answer

I cannot say enough positive things about Joel Bernier. For starters, he truly made me feel like I was his only client, always answered my questions/concerns, and was always there for me. Joel was a rock in a storm for me…Always- calm, collective, and professional when I was not. He constantly played... defense handling my divorce case because of me, not him. Despite not giving Joel any power moves, the man was able to negotiate and make some deals happen when I felt the situation was hopeless. Joel is a good person who operates with integrity. I highly recommend Joel Bernier!