Marcia L. Zimmerman

I'm reluctant to post negative reviews but felt the need to share my experience so others might avoid what I went through when I hired Marcia Zimmerman to represent me in my divorce. Trust and open communication between an attorney and client are essential; that was not the experience I had with ...Ms. Zimmerman. I often felt that she dismissed my concerns. When I had questions about admitting evidence at trial, her response was simply, “Oh, I have my ways.” There were times when she expressed displeasure that I had questions; she cut me off mid-sentence and scolded me like a child. This felt highly inappropriate and uncalled for. At times she recommended financial decisions I disagreed with and am now grateful I had the sense to decline. I perceived her behavior towards me to be generally unprofessional and on some occasions hostile. Her disrespectful attitude towards me as a client was offensive and increasingly difficult to endure. In time, Ms. Zimmerman felt more like my adversary than my advocate. Her actions seemed to me to sometimes benefit her at my expense. I began dreading interactions with her and grew increasingly frustrated that obtaining discovery information from my spouse wasn't adequatly pursued or completed. I couldn't understand why more action wasn't taken to enforce the law and protect my interest. Towards the end I suspected it may have been due to poor organization and management; in one document we discovered in my case file she'd listed me incorrectly as the plaintiff instead of the respondent in our case. My divorce drug on for several years without significant progress. Eventually I lost all confidence in her ability and felt I'd make a huge mistake in hiring her. One day, Ms. Zimmerman called me at work and informed me that I needed to grant her permission to use our marital trust fund to pay anticipated legal expenses. This was unexpected and unnecessary, so I asked her to explain why. She became angry and instead of answering told me that I would comply without further discussion or she would withdraw from my case, right before mediation. Her response made me question her intentions. I was uncomfortable being threatened for requesting a simple explanation. I didn't sign the authorization, and she withdrew as counsel the following morning. It felt like I'd been set up to give her an excuse to bail out of the mess that my case had become. Fortunately, I'd begun interviewing other attorneys six months earlier because she'd lost my trust and confidence. I felt I might need to hire someone else to salvage my case. Her withdrawal occurred at a critical time which left me in a vulnerable position. After reading other client reviews I suspect I'm not the only client who experienced this. I feel I was right not to trust her and thankful that I'd prepared for it. I felt betrayed and angry, but more relieved to be finally freed of her. I hired another attorney who was better equipped to handle my case, he quickly got things back on track. When I requested my final invoice from Ms. Zimmerman, it didn't disclose a $7,500 retainer that was due to be refunded to me. My new attorney discovered this only after contacting the forensic accountant she'd hired for my case. When I contacted Ms. Zimmerman to request the refund she said she'd "have to see about it". She told me she'd contact me if the accountant refunded her the money but according to the accountant she'd received it months earlier. Her assistant then emailed me that a check had been prepared and was ready to pick up at the office. The fact that I learned I was owed $7500 as the result of my new attorney's investigation instead of the final statement from Ms. Zimmerman that I feel should have disclosed it was deeply troubling to me. I cannot recommend Ms. Zimmerman as an attorney. I believe hiring her prolonged my divorce and made it more expensive and stressful th