Colleen Mary Breems

Colleen represented me in a recent family law case and I couldn't be happier with her professionalism and timeliness. She was always available for questions and very patient explaining things in detail. Hiring a family practice lawyer is often associated with a low point in peoples lives- however i...f you find yourself in that position, I recommend hiring someone like Colleen who will truly be on your side and represent your best interests. You may only get one shot at this- stack the deck in your favor!

BEERMANN BILLS ITS CLIENTS FOR FILING A "MOTION TO WITHDRAW" AT THE END OF ENGAGEMENTS. THE COOK COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT HAS RULED THESE CHARGES INAPPROPRIATE. BEERMAN ALSO BILLS FOR INTAKE CALLS WITHOUT ADVANCE AGREEMENT AND DOUBLE AND TRIPLE BILLS THROUGH ITS "TEAM APPROACH". I engaged Beermann fo...r a complicated case that had a short timeline. They were aware of this from the beginning. According to attorney Colleen Breems “Beermann uses a team approach to our cases, and usually, that looks like assistance of our clerks, paralegals, and associates at lower hourly rates than mine to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness." I was specifically told that the blended rate of this team approach would be less than Breems' rate of $425/hour. In reality, Beermann's "team approach" billing looked more like 2 partners and a 3rd attorney on every call and copied on every email for a blended team rate of $1,190 per hour, or over 3x the rate I agreed to pay and adding little-to-no incremental value to my case. Beermann refused to remove the additional attorneys from each phone call and email even after several specific requests from me, and continued to charge for them, knowing that I would not have enough time to engage a new law firm before the upcoming pre-trial date. Beermann also billed me $425 for my pre-engagement business development call without disclosing this before the call and $1,156 for a non-representation related Motion to Withdraw after I fired them, and refused to remove the latter charge when I disputed it. As a result, I was forced to waste time and energy at a hearing filed by Beermann, where a Cook County Circuit Court Judge ruled that this charge was unlawful and found over $1,000 of other duplicative billings, although I believe the amount is far greater than this. To add insult to injury I was not well represented and Colleen Breems made several critical errors in presenting evidence and negotiated a legally favorable but commercially poor pre-trial settlement. The subsequent Order was poorly drafted and has resulted in wasting dozens of hours and thousands of dollars dealing with fee disputes and enforcing it. Overall, I would recommend that people do not hire Colleen Breems or this law firm and if they do, they should carefully check past and future bills for unlawful and duplicative charges.

Colleen is a fantastic lawyer, and I was delighted to work with her for my pre-nup. She really took the time to explain all of the various components to consider and helped me think through any modifications that potentially applied to my personal situation. She was easy to work with, responsive, and... very thorough. I highly recommend Colleen!