Suzanne M. Cahalan

I am the financial planner for one of Suzanne's legal clients, and I am also a former attorney). Suzanne called me about those clients, who needed to coordinate finances given some significant changes in their lives. Suzanne knew many details about her clients' situation, the applicable, complex ...laws, and how best to help the clients. She clearly took the time to fully understand the situation before we spoke. I was impressed with her knowledge and thoroughness, and I look forward to working with her further to help her clients.

I have a couple of important issues that I need good legal advice on. I hired Cahalan to write a simple will for me first, to see if she was trustworthy, responsive, knowledgeable, and kept me informed. She did that with little problem, although her lack of a professional office made things difficul...t because all the interactions where by phone. I had to find some location to have the will signed and witnessed that was convenient to her because she offered no place. However, when I asked her to do second job, which should have just required a letter challenging the unsubstantiated claims of a company known for illegal practices, she readily agreed to take the case, saying that lawyers are licensed as generalists. I didn't hire anyone else because I thought she was on it, and then SHE DID NOTHING FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR except to send the company a letter stating that she was my attorney and they should send all communications to her. I called her many times to ask her what was going on, and she claimed that she'd have some results, "just wait until Tuesday." Tuesday came and went, and after several months, I finally got her to respond to the messages I left on her machine (no one answers her phone, so if you make the poor decision to hire her, expect to not be able to get hold of her until she darn well decides to call you regardless of any prior timeline promises.) I finally left a message saying that i needed to find someone else to do this work, since she hadn't done anything for over a year (I don't think that's being impatient since all I expected was for her to write a letter.) She did respond to that, but showed up at my home on a Sunday without any advance notice (I was taught that this is impolite and very unprofessional), dropped off a letter full of lies into the hands of the person who answered the door, and took off before I even got there, the letter stating that she had never agreed to take my case because that's not her area of expertise (not withstanding the letter she sent to the company saying she was my lawyer!), and complaining that it was my fault that she didn't do anything. She has gone downhill since she did my will, and I recommend you do not trust her with any important business. She claimed to have health problems for many months, as an excuse, but I've had health problems for decades, and whenever I've been hospitalized, I found some way to notify people with whom I had appointments that I wouldn't be able to make it. The nurses, a family member, use your own cell phone, the hospitals have phone! Nothing from her, so I find it difficult to believe. I had a divorce attorney once who left me hanging like this. Luckily for her clients, she worked with a law firm, and they finally informed me that she was on a mental health leave. Ms. Cahalan might wish to consider a mental health leave.