Marlene Dancer Adams

I came to her in a bad situation, paid her a retainer and was told she’d email me a contract to sign that afternoon (she never did). She told me she contacted opposing counsel with a response, that was a lie. I have emails directly from the other attorney stating they never heard anything from her. W...hen I confirmed her with the emails and asked what was going on she claimed he wouldn’t respond to her and she’s call me in a couple days to come back in. Then she disappeared. Beyond disgusted with her lack of ethics. I’m not sure how she’s still licensed. I used a credit card for half of the retainer and was able to dispute the charge with the proof I sent them.

I signed a contract with her & it stated that her assistant would do the research work for $75 per hour. I did all i could to simplify the research in my case & cut costs but she would still ask me to bring in more info even though my husband & i were not fighting for anything. I began to realize t...hat there was no assistant working on my case because she has none & I was being charged her fee of $300 per hr for things that were unnecessary since i had done the research & gave the paperwork to her as asked. She would say that she could not sort it out but it was labeled & in proper order, there was no dispute, just a divorce. I began to question her & ask for my bill & she made excuses & never sent it to me. I asked several times explaining that her contract states, "monthly statements will be sent". She ended up charging me with more than half the sum of money from my home sales. $22,000. She had me sign a document that looked complete but added that she would receive the amount at the signing of the home sale. It was the worst financial burden on us.

Ms. Adams was the only mediator to pick up when I called (and I called plenty!). That was pretty much why I chose to use her at the beginning. She is easy to contact. She's very knowledgeable and helpful on the phone and was able to set an appointment with my husband and I within the week. My husb...and is a very difficult, indecisive person. I honestly did not think we would settle when we walked in there. I just thought it would be worth a try, since mediation is less expensive than a lengthy divorce with lawyers fighting on our behalf. Ms. Adams was able to get through to him and separate our assets in what I think was very fair. She is a very professional lawyer and extremely nice. I would recommend her to anyone wanting mediation.