Brian L. Mares

I was new to the area & needed a good attorney to handle my divorce. I called nearly a dozen firms in an attempt to not only get an approximate cost, but more importantly, to get a feel for the attorney. When I called Steinhilber, Swanson & Mares, Brian took the time to talk to explain the entire p...rocess to me, which earned him brownie points right off the bat in my book. My opinion is that if you can't be bothered to talk to me as a prospective client, then you most likely won't have time for me if I become a client. Being that I was new to the area and had no referrals to go off of, my decision of which attorney to go with was based primarily off of the initial phone call to the firm. The 10 minutes Brian took out of his day to talk to me awarded him my case despite the fact that he was slightly more expensive than some of his competition. I’m a firm believer in “You get what you pay for”. After that, I had an initial consultation in person with Brian during which he, again, explained the process to me in great detail. My situation was complicated by the fact that I had just moved to WI from my home state and my ex still lived in that home state. Adding to the complexity was a restraining order that I recently had to get against my ex; a copy of which Brian had already retrieved from court records and reviewed prior to my coming in that day! Right from the start, I felt that Brian was very knowledgeable & experienced which was reflected in how thorough he was with my case. He was great at returning phone calls if I had a question, and he made sure I understood everything that was going on at all times. When it came time to prepare the Marital Settlement Agreement, I expressed to Brian that I was comfortable with taking on half the marital debt, however he suggested that we propose for my ex to pay most of the debt being that I’d left him with nearly all the assets to offset that debt. He explained that the worst thing that could happen is that my ex won’t sign and then we can negotiate the debt differently. To my surprise, my ex signed it! Brian’s suggestion saved me from paying approximately $12,000.00 (what would’ve been my half) for vehicles I left in my ex’s possession. I truly believe that Brian had my best interest in mind and worked hard to make sure I didn’t get screwed over in the divorce. I give Brian the highest recommendation possible to anyone needing an attorney. I know if I ever need legal representation in the future, I can count on him.