Jonathan Brian Merel

Your avvo review: My divorce case was not technically difficult, but I needed help immediately and Jonathan Merel and his associate Brad Kaye were able to leap in and help me with custody issues right away. Both men were aware my divorce was very difficult for me emotionally and their professional...ism didn't just extend to legal analysis and representation; they also encouraged me and helped me through an awful period of my life, carefully explaining what was going on all the time. Jonathan was always prompt about getting back in touch with me when issues arose. And while Jonathan and Brad are both smart and affable, they were also dogged in defending my interests. Once, in court, faced with opposing counsel mocking me directly, Brad responded aggressively in my defense — something that deeply impressed me, and for which I am still very grateful. Additionally, I quickly came to prize Jonathan's astute legal analysis and vision for where he wanted my case to go. I'd highly recommend The Law Offices of Jonathan Merel to those looking for competent, kind, and candid divorce attorneys. They know the law. They helped me get a result I can live with and which is helping me move on with my life. And, maybe more importantly, it's clear they actually give a damn about their clients. That last bit is worth its weight in gold.

Jonathan Merel and his office is exceptionally professional, and a no BS kind of lawyer. He's very honest and always easy to get a hold of. He doesn't try to waste your money, instead he has his paralegals complete the easier things and only comes in when needed. His office pushed for my custody agre...ement quickly, there was no hesitation, there was no extreme waiting periods, everything moved very quickly. Much faster than expected, which has since lead to a great victory. He shows up personally to court dates instead of his paralegals, he coaches prior to the court date, and he knows what he's talking about. I highly recommend him. I've had many lawyers in the past, and if I ever run into another problem, I will be contacting him first.

I found Jonathan on the internet and at the time was in quite a state. My husband was petitioning for me to be in contempt of court since my attorney - who I had to fire - showed up for court with none of my disclosure documents! I frantically interviewed attorneys and each was worse than the one bef...ore. By the time I met with Jonathan I had all but given up and was planning to go before the Judge without an attorney. But Jonathan got right to work, was direct and seemed to immediately be on my side (something you'd think all attorneys would do!) and like me was not necessarily vindictive to my husband but just wanted him to agree to some kind of equitable divorce - I won't go into all the crazy demands my husband was making but I'll just say one of them was he wanted to keep keys to my house after the divorce so he could still come and go when he pleased. Since my husband has free legal I knew he would do his best to drag things out as long as possible in an attempt to get me to agree to anything just to end it. But Jonathan and his team - Melissa, Anita, Joseph and Jasmine were so effective that I felt confident for the first time that I had real representation in this unpleasant matter. Of course it's not cheap... but let me warn you about 'cheap' attorneys: My husband's "free" attorney got him a week in Cook County Jail!! You get what you pay for most times. Take your time and interview your prospective attorneys. If you don't feel that they are 'on your side' from day one, it doesn't get better after that! I could tell from my interview with my initial attorney that she was more interested in timing my session in her office on her iPhone than what I was saying. That should have gotten me running out of her office! But as a a simple law abiding citizen how many times have I hired a lawyer?? Yup, first time! So let my lesson be yours! I'm not saying Jonathan is the right attorney for everyone out there, but I am very satisfied with his handling of my case: he is thorough, prepared, never late or unready for court and his team is just as committed to providing top quality legal service as he is. Jonathan and his team are compassionate even though they deal with divorce everyday they seem to understand that my divorce is painful and sad at times. Their guidance through this process has saved me money and court time. They've chosen the battles they were confident of winning and didn't pursue the ones I suggested knowing it would only lead to more court time, more money spent and no real progress to my goal: being divorced. In all I do recommend Jonathan - at least give him an interview and see if you don't feel how I felt after our first interview - that someone was finally listening to what I wanted and not just trying to get money regardless of service quality, and wasn't going to make my divorce convenient for them but tailored to me. Oh yeah, he's one of the few that charges for the initial interview so bring your paperwork and make it a working session!! What can I say? We all need to be paid for our time. Good luck!