Judith A. Brokaw

I had a simple relative adoption. Because the child was born in a different state, I had to get a lot of the preliminary work done by an attorney in that state. This meant that Brokaw had a rather easy job. Not the case for me, though. I always had to make multiple requests for status updates. She ne...ver made my case a priority. She delayed and prolonged the process. Every other professional involved in the case (amicus attorney, social worker, etc.) complained about her lack of response, the delays she caused, and the complications she created. Three days before our original hearing (at 5:11pm), her assistant sent out numerous documents for us to sign (as a "precaution") and requested that we fax them back that night. When I questioned the urgency and expressed concern about this late activity putting our case in jeopardy, she had the assistant tell us that she could withdraw if we weren't satisfied. Keep in mind that this was three days before the hearing. We just went along with it - thinking it would be over soon. The next day, they notified us BY EMAIL that our adoption would be rescheduled. I found out it was because she didn't have all the paperwork filed. Ovet the next few days, we continued to get paperwork to sign either "as a courtesy" or "as a precaution". On our new hearing date, AT THE COURT HOUSE we were still signing papers because of "red tape". As we sat in the court watching the families being called up by name, it was an awesome feeling to witness the happiness in the room. When it came to our case, the judge called Brokaw's name. When she approached the bench, it was obvious that she didn't have all the necessary paperwork filed. I felt sick, angry, and humiliated. Brokaw and her assistant did a mad dash to file documents with the clerk and then came back and told me that "the ckerk's office didn't send the right papers to court". Never once did she apologize or take ownership. Finally, our family was called by name. As the judge began reading through the case again, she noticed that some forms still had blank lines in them. We watched Brokaw fill in the blanks with an inkpen. She (the judge) showed signs of being upset with Brokaw through her sighs and eyerolls. In the end, our adoption was finalized but Brokaw's unprofessionalism put a damper on a very special day. And to cap it off, when I received copies of the order to grant adoption, it has my husband's name spelled incorrectly and the child's date of birth wrong. I'm not sure of the challenges that may cause with getting a passport, social security card, or new birth certificate - so our nightmare may not be over. And there you have it. She's bad news. And, as the other reviewer stated, avoid her at all costs.