Colleen Mary Breems

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 by far the most detailed, precise, thoughtful, and committed lawyer I have ever worked with. Her ability to navigate diffcult and complex situation in a flawless manner is impressive. My case went on for about a year and she was there every step of the way. Her communication skills are abs...outely fantastic--she uses proactive communication, which helped me always feel informed . Her ability to toggle bewteen empathy and objectivity is second to none; both skills are a requirement in this line of work, and she takes the cake! She is by far the best in the business and I would reccomend her to anyone and everyone time and time again! Thank you for everything you do, Colleen!

I am so impressed with Colleen. An attorney friend recommended her when my attorney for a case needed to be excused due to family issues. This was a difficult case due to mental health issues of parties involved and had been in the courts for nearly two years. Once I hired Colleen, she had the... case resolved in two months. I highly recommend Colleen Breems, Annette Corrigan and Lavelle Law. My only regret is not hiring Colleen from the start of my case.

Colleen is a fantastic attorney. She quickly got her head around my situation with great compassion and understanding. She was able to advise me on the court system and what to expect. At every court date she came fully prepared and engaged and went step by step through the whole process with me. ...Colleen is an honest, highly skilled attorney, goal minded and always put my needs first. Colleen did a fabulous job in and out of the courtroom.