Claire Karlene Mehaffey

I hired this lawyer over a year ago to assist with my custody battle with my child. It has been the most stressful and the worse experience I've ever had with an attorney. After countless of evidence ( video, message and pictures) against the other party I have provided throughout the year along with... thousands upon thousands dollars spent I ultimately feel that she never had my interests at heart. It was all about money with her and if you can pay thousands of dollars BEFORE anything gets done and IF anything get done. She did not file anything to assist with my case and my childs' welfare was in jeopardy countless times and nothing was done. She has failed to stay in contact with me and will not contact me (even after payment) about the next steps in my case or updated me when things were happening. She avoided going to court at every instance even when it was a necessary step at one point. I have continued to give her chance after chance in hopes that she will help. EACH new instance that occurs requires around a $3500 dollar retainer. So basically I am back to square one with my child in the hands of someone who is unfit, me out of thousands of dollars and an a attorney who is good for.. nothing really. I wouldn't recommend her to my worse enemy, she's HORRIBLE.

Upon the request of Ms Mehaffey and her assistant, I first paid a $5000 retainer and was later emailed a contract to sign. Ms Mehaffey assured me that she would refund my retainer if I would decide not to hire her. When I read the contract I realized I could not agree to its terms, especially the Rep...lenishment of Retainer Clause and the additional excessive fees. The contract clearly states that legal representation does not commence until a retainer is paid and contract signed. I did not sign and informed Ms Mehaffey that I was not going to hire her. However, she refused to refund my retainer fee in full. She claimed she did work on my behalf, prepared documents to submit to the court, to note without my knowledge or permission. I have never known a lawyer to do work on behalf of a client, specifically prepare court documents for a case, without a signed contract in place. A grievance filing and lawsuit are sure to follow unless Ms Mehaffey begins to behave ethically and morally. Her actions are a disgrace to the legal profession.

Claire and her staff did an excellent job in handling my divorce. I felt like they were truly looking out for my best interest. I was so ready for the whole mess to be over with, that I was prepared to just walk away with nothing. Claire and her staff helped me realize that I was entitled to what w...as rightfully mine, and helped me develop a settlement of assets that was fair to both me and my ex.

If you need a family law attorney, I highly recommend Claire. Claire and her assistant/paralegal Sherry are awesome!!!! They were quick to get back to me, answered all my questions, and were EXTREMELY prepared for court. They were always honest with me and gave me great legal advice throughout my mod...ification hearing. Attorneys are not miracle workers...they can't gaurantee anything...the best they can do is to know the law and be prepared to represent you...and Claire did all that and I was very happy with the judgement.