Christopher S. Haaff

Chris Haaff is very professional and knows his field of expertise, family law. He does return phone calls, and after he attends court for you, he always sends a letter with a copy of the order that was entered that day and explains what comes next. I would definitely recommend him to friends and fam...ily.

Mr Haff was retained for my husbands child custody case, snake charmer would be a nice way of putting it. After initially selling you he then disappears and is never to be heard from again. We wasted the entire retainer trying to get a hold of him and finally when weeks went by with no return email... or phone call to either us or to the other sides attorney we tucked tail and ran. We followed up with the Illinois Bar Association as well as the BBB as I really feel this guy is shady and an awful attorney. More than anything I'd sincerely like to prevent anyone from making our mistake and trusting this guy. Somehow it seems he's able to manipulate his ratings as when you google search you get 5 stars despite all the poor reviews.

I hired attorney Chris Haaf in the Spring of 2017 to help me with a dispute between my ex wife over time with my son, and to help pursue a few other modifications in our joint parenting agreement. When I first met with him, he was very personable. He played up the fact that he was also a divorced... father, and that he had family in my same profession so I related very well to him. He had a firm handshake, looked me in the eye, and needless to say I felt very good about providing him with a large retainer. That was the end of the good things. From the first month, Mr. Haaf was extremely poor at returning phone calls and emails. Days up to an entire week, with no responses. I would try him at the start of the business day, mid day, and evening. Once i did finally reach him, he would always have an excuse. Whether it was helping other clients or busy with his family, there was always an excuse. He explained that he liked every one of his clients to feel like “they were the only client.” I decided to give him one more chance. As my next court date, one which was very important in my case about a week out, I figured it was my turn in importance. Still no responses via phone or email. As my case was less than three business days away, I ended retained a different attorney. I sent him a certified letter and email to notify him that I would be taking by business elsewhere. And his response, you may be wondering? It was an invoice, showing how he carefully used every dollar of my retainer, some of it highly questionable. My favorite part was how there were items listed, “at no charge” after I notified him that he would no longer be representing me. Unbelievable. I have requested a partial refund in his retainer fee, almost two weeks ago, and have received zero response either way. Now I am paying another attorney to undo some of his motions, as they were wrong and having to start from square one. A complete waste of time and money. I would not recommend Mr. Haaf for any legal needs.

When you first meet with him he tells you everything you want to hear. After you pay his retainer he's done with you. He does the bare minimum. Never returns calls or emails. He works hard at trying to work the least amount possiable. Hopefully it's not too late and hopefully he has not done too muc...h damage. He had court dates that he didn't tell me about. When I told him what I wanted he said he understood but did not follow through do not use him

Chris is bright, assured, thorough, and savvy. I hired him on 3 occasions: in 2007 and 2010 for visitation and child support negotiations, and most recently in 2014, to formalize college expenses. Chris accomplished what I wanted in negotiations and hearings, even with the combative relationship I ha...d with my former spouse, also a practicing attorney. I had confidence when I went into court with him; I finally felt like someone was on my side which relieved some of the stress. Chris answered all my questions throughout the process. He shared his experiences in dealing with similar issues over the last 15 years. He's familiar with the network of family law judges and attorneys in McHenry, Lake, and DuPage counties. Chris prepared well-written petitions and settlement proposals covering the bases now and provided protection for me in future disagreements. Friends of mine recently hired Chris and are happy with his representation, too. He is our go-to attorney.