Douglas Charles Scovil

Well. 1st I stupidly never expected to be in a position to need a divorce lawyer. I didn't have any friends or close acquaintances who had been divorced. I was seeing a very good therapist who I respected immensely and I don't recall if she used him for herself or had a client who did. I was divor...cing (not willingly) my narcissistic Deere employee who had been having affair for longer than I could have imagined. We were married 21 years and had 2 teenage kids. I was a social worker earning 34k. He was making 115k in salary alone, which he fraudently reported in initial court documents, and even after the CPA Doug encouraged me to retain to "find hidden assets or inconsistencies, and would also be able to find out if he had received an inheritance, as I suspected. I appreciated that he offered free 30 minute in person consultations and he seemed interested in the details of the case, instead of many "consultations" I've had since who just collect $200 for a 20 min phone consult only to tell you they won't take the case. The other thing he was good at was promising the moon in the beginning, and then crossing each of his promises off as long as he is able to stretch it out. He is also exceptional at threats. Such as: "Should we assume you will be bringing us a check for the amount you still need to pay at the settlement?" ,or "I'm assuming that the interrogatories you failed to provide responses to will be brought to the settlement ". Of course, he didn't even bring these things up. So, that's what I can say positive. And unfortunately, there is nowhere near enough space to name all the things I am literally sickened by. I was feeling fragile enough, but every phone contact I paid for, he YELLED AT ME, never failing to bring me to tears, always when I was at work. Bc I had been told in no uncertain terms early on that if I left a message, I had better answer when he called. I ended up having to take FMLA leave 2x & after a year of nothing getting done except for eliminating every promise he gave me in the beginning, and being corrected by me,and my husbands lawyers more x than I can count. At least 10-15 MSA were written, usually w either typos I'm sure I was billed for the rewrites, or just totally messed up statements. Then there's the emails. Countless emails. Emails to my husband???? His 2 attorneys, me, and anyone else he could think of, never authorized by me, pathetically written, like embarrassingly, and more often than not, completely pointless, like, "enclosed find the most recent MSA ". How sad is it when the client has to proofread and rewrite her own legal documentation and be billed for it? And the other lawyers continually having to correct him on errors or contradicting statements. He would speak into a dictaphone as we met, and ignorantly I assumed his legal assistant/paralegal would edit into a coherent, grammatically correct, and professional sounding document. Silly me! That would probably require an extra fee. Like reacting (whiting out certain personal info). So, some of the best lines (written to other lawyers) were: "I thought we'd float this trial balloon to you", "maybe we can get this baby wrapped up", "I suspect he'll have a laundry list of items he wants her to pay", "My client is not of a mind to...". Excuse me??? Am I not paying you to advocate for my interests and represent me??? How about:" I've advised my client not to accept this. Please advise your client it will be far more cost effective for him to refrain from suggesting my client settle for anything less than the law allows. Your client has chosen to pursue this divorce with the intent of pursuing the mistress. Kindly remind him those decisions don't come without a substantial cost. " I'm sure my ex would write him a great review. Not sure what he paid him to "ensure him a good outcome ", but he took it from me. What a waste of paper and money.

This attorney is poor at responding to clients. He fails to return phones calls. He was rude and condescending. Finally, as the simple divorce should have been coming to a close he dropped me as a client. He took the retainer, did nothing in return and walked away without finishing the divorce. Save ...your time and money and go elsewhere.

I hired Doug because a lot of people said he was the best. Not at all! The office is extremely unorganized. Constantly losing paperwork and information. Had to call his office several times to tell them my now ex address because they kept sending his paperwork to my address. Then double charged me fo...r a service which after a long period agreed I was double charged. Then again found more mistakes. Takes forever to do anything there. Did not really listen to me and what my kids and I needed or our situation. In the end he withdrew from my case without finishing his job!!! Please do not hire him. You will regret it as I did. If he was the best he is now a hot mess! Beware!!!

Doug Scovil represented my child custody case a couple years back. His associates have left and the staff has changed. I'm aware of some health issues as well. The secretary and office help are often unprofessional, and at times, unprepared. Which is unfortunate, since I know that Doug is a fantastic... lawyer. He's rather stoic and tight-lipped. I believe it must be his no nonsense, matter-of-fact approach that allows his to negotiate so well among other fellow attorneys. I would seriously recommend him to family and friends. I made the mistake of terminating our contract early for his legal services because of the terrible staff. I should of held out until all matters of my case were settled. My next two attorneys following Doug had been the worst nightmares of my life. Please take my advice and stay away from Jennifer Olsen and Dennis Jasper.