Sean Patrick Stokes

DISAPPOINTING experience with Mr. Stokes. We were already prepared with exhibits, etc... for a trial & we hired him mainly to expedite court procedures. It took months longer than we expected, as he had no filing or mediation actions until months later, 2 days before our scheduled hearing. And he was... hired for legal advice (he rarely responded to emails or phone messages). And, he was paid to honor our requests. Instead, he scolded our requests, argued, & did what he wanted. We reached out to him several times, letting him know the stress of waiting for a discussion with other party was causing our family much unneeded anxiety. He didn't seem to get our priority & he never responded & never kept his initial promise. He didn't even do any court doc. filings, the other party's lawyer did the drafting. Regarding the drafted order, we had no time to review & it was emailed to us, night before our trial. Order humored the other party's lies (other party is still defaming us on social media!). We signed last minute order just for "dismissal purposes". Although, it defeated the purpose of us showing our innocence & proving other party's purgery & abuse! For a family lawyer, Mr Stokes sure didn't seem to understand family needs. He got paid thousands of dollars for doing not much.

I retained Sean Stokes to represent me on a contempt charge resulting as a backlash from a divorce settlement. Upon paying a $5000 retainer, I discussed some additional items that I needed to be brought before the Judge: some monies owed to me, property that wasn’t returned as ordered in arbitration... and an issue with a loan my ex put in my name after the Decree. The Court date had already been set for 8 week later. During those 8 weeks, I attempted to reach Mr. Stokes by phone 7 times (documented) and additional attempts by email. It was not until the evening before my Court date Mr. Stokes returned my call to state that none of my issues would be brought before the Judge at this time as he had not filed a motion. The next morning as we arrive to the Courthouse, Mr. Stokes had none of my paperwork nor exact facts and numbers available for the hearing. After the attorneys met in chambers, a settlement was reached in the conference room, however, when Mr. Stokes read the agreement on record, he misspoke. Even though I tried to correct the error while in the courtroom, the official settlement, which I did not agree to, was approximately $100 less per month for the next 10 years. Alot of money! Shortly thereafter, I received my bill stating that all $5000 (approximately 17 hours) was used up. When I requested for an outline of how I could have possibly been billed $5000 when we were in Court just a few hours and never spoke until the evening before, I was only provided a general summary, never my requested itemization. I was not only disappointed with Mr. Stokes’ responsiveness, but his follow through and accuracy.

I retained Mr Stokes for assistance shortly after I received divorce papers. Mr. Stokes encouraged me to mediate my divorce rather than going before a Judge. While this recommendation may have been appropriate, the execution of my mediation was less than focused. As we went through with opposing c...ounsel and agreed upon a parenting schedule and the splitting of larger items (investments, house etc..) it was the lack of focus on the smaller items that has ended up costing me thousands and thousands of dollars in a few short years. It began with simply over valuing the vehicle I was keeping (he simply guessed at it’s value), leaving out topics that should have been discussed, and inconclusive wording which ended up sending me to Court. Even though opposing counsel wrote the Decree to contain our agreements for our review, our approval was required before it could be submitted to the Judge. There was high conflict around the area of the children’s sports and those fees, this topic was not discussed in mediation nor included in the Decree. When I asked about it, I was told the Judge wouldn’t address it anyway if we went to Court and it was in my best interest to sign the Decree and move forward. As a result, I am responsible for all the fees associated with activities for all of the children because the father did not agree in writing to assist and he has chosen not to. I have retained another attorney to assist me with some Property issues stemming from the Decree and he was appalled that the activities topic was not discussed and completely absent from my Decree. This topic should absolutely be talked about and addressed in writing in the Decree. When the Decree was received for review there was an area of medical reimbursement, which was very sensitive to my situation. It was important this area had very tight specific wording to protect me financially. I approached Mr. Stokes multiple times concerning this wording wanting more detail to be included; he stated the broad categories listed in the Decree draft covered all my concerns. Fast forward one year later and I am in Court seeking reimbursement for the exact items I had concerns over.