Jonathan Brian Merel

My real estate attorney referred me to Merel after my unexpected divorce. Unfortunately, I later discovered that Merel prioritized financial gain over our well-being. It seemed like they sold my case to the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) and the opposing counsel. As the situation with my children's mother b...ecame more extreme—she had several incidents involving the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and multiple police calls—Merel was able to charge me exorbitant fees, sometimes up to $20,000 a month. As a result of this ordeal, my children developed anxiety because Merel and the GAL never presented the therapist's recommendations to the court. I figured this out once we received a subpoena from the GAL, which revealed the ongoing conversations between them, as shown in the attachment. I ended up with over $200,000 in invoices while my children's well-being was seriously neglected. It became clear that Merel only cared about money and nothing more.

I hired Jon for post-decree matters in 2015, and unfortunately, I have needed his services continuously since then. Jon is a constant advocate for me and my kids. He truly cares about our well-being. He built an amazing team to represent me and they respected my goals and choices. They helped me achi...eve my goals (full custody and a peaceful life) and so much more. Jon answered my calls and emails and made himself available outside of business hours during times of true crisis. Jon made sure my children had amazing GALs. Jon and his team (Brad Kaye, Annemarie Terrera, Mitch Dean) are truly my heroes. Thank you, Jon! You are a fantastic attorney!

I highly recommend Jonathan Merel law office. Divorce is a stressful and emotional time of life and you need great attorneys to support and to help you navigate through this storm. I have a complicated case that went through GAL and evaluation process, difficult opposing counsel, and a long process o...ver 3 years (partially due to pandemic delay). During this period, I’ve been working closely with Jonathan Merel and David Zwaska. They are fast in response (usually within hours and even over weekends for urgent issues), explain legal matters and procedure in simple terms for me to understand, detail orientated in each circumstance and accurate in financial calculation, bring crystal clarity and bold solutions to complicated matters. While Jonathan takes leadership, oversees and brings goal and visions to the case, David Zwaska works directly with me on routine basis, and both of them are great attorneys that are capable of presenting each issue in logical manner in court and fighting for our best interests and rights. And in my opinion, all these qualities have differentiated Jonathan and David as great attorneys from good attorneys. Now, the divorce is vanishing in my rear view mirror as I am moving into the next chapter of my life, I will definitely go back to Jonathan's office for any future legal assistance.

From the attorneys to the receptionists at Jonathan Merel's law firm, everyone was professional, kind, and capable. They were quick to respond to emails and phone calls, which was so reassuring during a complicated and sometimes emotional divorce process. And they are qualified - I felt well-represen...ted by Jonathan throughout my case.

I was referred to Jonathan and his firm from one of my close friends. I was already divorced and did not want to use my attorney who worked me through my initial divorce proceedings for many reasons. From the initial meeting, I knew Jonathan was the attorney I wanted to work with. He listened to ...my journey of how I got to this place in my divorce and provided great insight and perspective on how we could work together to get more time with my child. He worked with me and helped me understand the process that was ahead and was responsive to me and all my questions throughout the process. He represented me and my position well and believed in me and my cause to get more time with my child. I now have more time with my child because of Jonathan and his hard, tireless work to help a single father get what was right: more time with his child. THANK YOU Jonathan for all that you do and I recommend Jonathan to all my friends.