Robert B Buchanan

I hired this law firm and I paid $ 5000 upfront, initially I talked to one lawyer, but, after payment I was assigned to a different one with way less experience! My husband and I came to An agreement and settled the case in about a month and half time, so basically not a lot was done in my case at al...l as there were no disputes! My case ended October 3rd ! I received multiple invoices with unbelievable amounts and now even after ending the case they keep billing me and asking me to pay another$ 2000 on top of the $5000! I he worst part is they sent me a bill for temporary maintenance charges for NOV 11th way more than one month after ending my case! Go figure.. Rip off artists and money hungry! Someone needs to investigate this law firm and their overcharges and reimburse people who are cheated by them!

After 6 months, 2 court dates and $5000 in legal fees, Robert and his senior associate Renata Musial were unable to establish any visitation, custody, parenting time or child support agreements and withdrew themselves from our custody case. --- We arranged for a consultation and on-boarding with Ro...bert in November 2022 following a Petition for Parentage for my son in the Cook County Circuit Court. Robert initially assured us that with a $2500 retainer, he could use his expertise to get us visitation somewhere between 2 weeks to a month through the use of emergency visitation rights. After on-boarding, we later found out the following week that Robert was not going to actually be handling the case but instead, trusted us to his paralegals and senior associate Renata. They immediately scrapped the possibility of filing for emergency visitation and began working on financial reviews. It turns out that during this time, Renata had "assumed that opposing counsel would agree to paternity" and by New Years Eve, after realizing this was not the case, a paternity would need to be ordered (18 DAYS BEFORE COURT) that she claimed would be covered by the court fee waiver. After many visits at Daley Center, city clerks had to explain to her over the phone that the court fee waiver would not cover test. We had to go back to the DNA center once again the following week and finally pay out of pocket as it turned out that the legal team did not file the case as the fee-waiver approved judicial type. By the first court hearing January 20th, judge dismissed session as paternity had still not been established, resulting in wasted court appearance and zero progress two months after onboarding with Robert. By this time, retainer had been completely used on financial reviews that were not yet necessary due to unconfirmed paternity tests and Robert was requesting an additional $1600 in fees for work they had done. We should have jumped ship at this point but after many complaints, Robert reduced bill to $700 and apologized for mishaps. Our next court appearance was for March 27th and we figured that the positive paternity results would make smooth sailing. Instead, Renata and newest paralegals had requested that we re-visit the previously compiled/completed financial affidavits from months before, citing that too much time had gone by. This incurred an additional several hundred dollars and additional discovery requests from the opposing counsel, all of which could have been completed at once now rather than months in advance at the cost of missing paternity deadlines. A week before next hearing, Renata provided what she believed to be a good offer: 1.5 hours of supervised parenting time per week at a museum 50 miles away from both the mother and I, with the condition of 10-panel ($500) drug test despite no criminal or drug abuse history or evidence of such. We had to point out to Renata that not only is this offer absolutely insane, but Illinois drug test court order form itself requires "evidence of potential drug abuse pursuant to IL Rule 215 (a)" which she previously dismissed at not applicable. At next court appearance on March 27th, because I was sick with stomach ailments, my parents sat in on the zoom hearing. It lasted all but 5 minutes and per their witness, opposing counsel made a series of unsubstantiated allegations concerning potential drug abuse until the judge asked for evidence which they could not provide. Renata remained quiet entire time and provided absolutely no defense to accusations nor did she bring up potential visitation or parenting time despite fact that paternity had finally been established. Zero progress again and we received her withdrawal 2 days later. We appreciate Robert's corporate professionalism but his team's mismanagement and inexperience has cost us thousands of dollars, zero results and valuable parenting time.

Robert and staff were obtained in the middle of a very convoluted ‘battle’ focused on parental rights and parenting time for my 2 young boys. The likelihood of trial was high, and the uncertainty that comes with this process was incredibly stressful and unnerving. The idea that I would have to “prov...e” my credibility and worthiness as a Father, while fighting for my desire to spend as much time with my boys as possible, kept me up many nights over. Many circumstances existed outside of our control, including when Mom relocated 95 minutes south, furthering the potential to be an involved Father. Shortly following our pre-trial, we were successful in entering into a settlement agreement which carried on for what felt like 3 very long months before our agreement was heard and ruled on. Leading up to this outcome, Mom’s craftiness for equivocation and constant wavering leading up to our hearing for a settlement caused moments of panic on my end. Robert was of tremendous value at these times, making himself available and accessible, challenging my thought process and providing level-headed and pragmatic perspective. Robert was my 2nd counsel hired throughout an almost 12-month process, and I genuinely felt heard, supported and valued by both Robert and staff. I would highly recommend the consideration of Robert's services should you find yourself needing family law representation.

Robert Buchanan successfully handled my recent divorce, in Chicago, while I was living out of state. All our communications were either online or by phone. Robert provided me with knowledge, his professional advice and legal representation throughout the process. His communications were timely and... clear - - any questions or issues i raised were completely explained. I appreciated that he offered me options both in pursuing the divorce, and in using his services. I felt secure in his representation. I would recommend him to others.