Shirley Sutherland

My girlfriend and I retained the services of Shirley Sutherland’s law firm approximately eight months ago after she experienced ongoing issues with the father of her daughter. At the time, there was no formal custody order in place, which led to significant instability. The father frequently kept ...the child beyond agreed-upon times, failed to provide any financial support, and was not employed. Additionally, he had received a second DWI, with one incident occurring on the very day he was returning the child. His communication was often verbally abusive—even within a co-parenting app that could be reviewed by the court—demonstrating a clear lack of accountability. With Shirley’s guidance, my girlfriend was able to successfully navigate the legal process and establish a structured and enforceable possession schedule. The final order also included alcohol monitoring measures to ensure the child’s safety, as well as requirements for the father to re-enter the workforce and provide child support. Importantly, it also addressed communication standards by prohibiting profanity and abusive language moving forward. Shirley’s deep knowledge of family law was evident throughout the process, ensuring that all relevant scenarios were carefully considered and addressed. I would also like to recognize Shirley’s legal assistant, Amanda, who played a vital role in the experience. She consistently kept us informed, responded promptly, and followed through on every detail. Her communication was clear, efficient, and reassuring, giving us confidence that everything was being handled thoroughly and professionally. While we hope not to go through a situation like this again, we are confident that if we ever need legal assistance in the future, the Sutherland Law Firm will handle it with the same level of care and expertise. Thank you, Shirley and Amanda, for your exceptional work and attention to detail.

Shirley helped us to adopt our precious grandsons from my husbands addict daughter (meth). While we were dealing with irrational people on drugs causing many unnecessary hearings and emotional distress Shirley handled everything w an impeccable knowledge of the law, class and furthermore did not nick...el and dime us at all. I almost don’t believe the negative ratings as she is our hero and still works for us on other family matters.

If I could give no stars I would. After messing up the original Petition and Restraining Order, Shirley Sutherland did not do Request for Production and if she did I have no record of it much less anything from opposing counsel. She did not return a lot of calls or emails, did not inform me of when m...ediation was, did not send me copies of some filed documents, did not get the notes from the Police Department, she lied and said she was going to try to negotiate settlement then tried to charge me another $2500 just before she decided she was going to withdraw because she "could not communicate efficiently" with me mere days before the mediation date she never told me about. She then blamed her paralegal and fired her. She claims she properly filed the Motion to Withdraw WITHOUT my signature (I had no objection to her no longer being my attorney and had already hired a new one) after she told me to do her job and correct the Motions that had the wrong name and wrong addresses claiming they did not have a correct address for me - it was on the check I paid with! Lastly, she flat out denied she had been suspended October 2013 until January 2014 and stated I was "projecting". Yes, I was projecting...the truth. I would definitely never recommend her to anyone for anything. I have filed two grievances with the Bar already and am about to file a third as I keep finding out she did things wrong and/or did not do things at all! She also took credit for "helping" me keep my child which any attorney could have done as I am a good mother, a decorated veteran and law abiding citizen who does admit to making mistakes. It was a big mistake marrying who I did but it was a bigger mistake hiring Shirley Sutherland.