Stephanie L. Judd

I researched Divorce lawyers in the Grand Rapids area for about 3 years while I tried to avoid having to go through with it. Stephanie came up with the highest marks in all the searches I did. Once we started working together, Stephanie was unusual in that she kept me apprised of everything that was ...going on in a TIMELY manner and did not nickel and dime me for every question I asked. The best thing about Stephanie though, was the INTEGRITY she displayed throughout my divorce. My Husband's attorney (also a woman) was rude, aggressive, and unprofessional. Stephanie answered each ugly attack with measured calm and thoughtful answers. My mother fell ill and died in the middle of all of this and his lawyer used my distraction with that, to try to put me off balance and push for other things in the agreement. Stephanie was very watchful and had my back at every turn, When things got ugly and I wanted to respond in kind, Stephanie talked me through exactly what responding that way would entail and how much it would cost, and what the likely outcome would be. Citing the outcome of other cases that did that. In the end, our response was fair to both parties, and handled with the utmost integrity. I could hold my head up knowing that I had taken the high road and that both parties could move forward to have a life worth living. The other lawyer acted with a total lack of integrity, but Stephanie never ONCE sunk down to their level. She always acted with the best intentions for me AND for the other party. (Because when I first came to her, that had been my intention.) She has the highest integrity of any lawyer I have ever met. And in the end, she protected my assets in the best manner possible, meeting the criteria I had requested from the first consult. She also took the time to check to make sure I was alright and sent flowers after my mother died. Small but HUGE gestures to me. I cannot say enough good about her. I feel that Stephanie led me through the minefield of my divorce, keeping me intact, and bringing me out the other side to the edge of a new life with the chance to move on with hope for a brighter future. You want the best there is with the bonus of integrity? Hire Stephanie.

I hired Stephanie Newton as my attorney in my recent divorce. She is more than I could’ve ever asked for. She is extremely intelligent, efficient, and compassionate. She always allowed me to have a say in the process while offering her sound advice. I had interviewed multiple attorneys and when I met... Stephanie, I knew she was the one. She truly is an advocate for her clients and cares about the outcome and how it will impact an individual’s life. Stephanie is fair and honest. She is extremely knowledgeable about family law and custody issues. Filing for divorce was a very scary process to initiate, but Stephanie made everything bearable and was always there for me when I needed her. I have told her, and everyone I speak about her to, that she was my guardian angel. Stephanie is an attorney that will put her everything into helping you achieve the best outcome.

I recently experienced the absolute worst period of my life going through a divorce with young kids involved. I dealt with/hired 2 attorneys prior to Stephanie and they were both a nightmare of incompetence, lack of professionalism and unreasonable fees. (one actually sent a threatening e-mail aft...er our professional relationship had officially ended). After the second attorney, I interviewed 5 other attorneys. I experienced the most outrageous lack of professionalism, sliminess, and outrageous fee quotes that I have ever encountered in any other profession in my life. One attorney quoted me $13,000 more dollars to untangle the mess that my previous 2 attorneys had put me in. I was highly discouraged and really understood why there are so many lawyer jokes. Trust me, some of these people, if not most, are truly disgusting individuals and you do not want to get mixed up with them! I was unbelievably depressed, desperate and disgusted with what I firmly believe to be an incompetent and corrupt family law system. Stephanie then returned my call and genuinely empathized with my situation. She patiently explained the situation and quoted me about $3000-$5000 to help me fix this unnecessarily drawn out process. She genuinely cared and was willing to step into the mess to help. The relief that she gave me on that first call was indescribable, I literally broke down in tears of relief after the call! From there she quickly got the stalled process moving. At that point I had no trust and significant animosity for anyone involved in the divorce industry. I was fighting for fair access to my own children, through a tangled web of illogical, and at times unjust system that I did not understand, as I am a logical person. Stephanie was always there to explain (and often re-explain the confusing details). She genuinely related to my frustration with the system. With the loss of my family and the horrendous experience with other attorneys I was out of my mind. I'm certain I was a difficult client. Stephanie seemed to genuinely understand me and my situation and she was incredibly patient and judgment free. She is an absolutely wonderful communicator and this is one the most important attributes an attorney can have. All said and done, my divorce cost me just over $30,000 in attorney fees and I think Stephanie's fees were maybe $7K of that. This system can financially and mentally rape you (while you are going through the worst experience of your life). I have significant experience now with many lawyers and I can absolutely assure you that you will be in good, caring hands with Stephanie. If I had found her earlier, I suspect I would have saved at least $10,000 and had relative peace, comfort and security. I think Stephanie did the best she could for me given the system and the situation I was in. I am taking the time to post such a lengthy review, because I would not wish my experiences prior to Stephanie on my worst enemy. Good luck to you if you find yourself in this horrendous situation of a divorce with young children involved and a nasty ex with a very good and competent attorney. One last word of caution/advice. I thought I knew the woman I was married too and that she would be reasonable and fair during the process to make it an "amenable" divorce. I was very wrong! It is crucial to acquire a very good attorney, who is prepared and competent, right from the beginning in case the ex does turn nasty. Stephanie is that attorney and her fees are as reasonable as attorney fees go. I think her work is an excellent value. She even followed up with me recently, months after the divorce was final, just to see how I was doing!