Jay J Hall

I consulted with Jay on multiple topics regarding my divorce and child support/custody case; no matter my question or concern he always had a well educated answer. Even while emotionally overwhelmed (and probably a tad hysterical) he stayed level headed and patient with me while explaining what, how ...and why things worked the way that they did. His rationality and "larger picture" mentality gave me the confidence to do what needed to be done in the best interest of my children and what would, eventually, become less stressful for me as the transition to this new way of life was complete. I have, and will continue, without a doubt recommend Jay and his team of attorneys to anyone in search of help, guidance and representation in the realm of family law!

Hands down the best in the Valley. Jay and Emi provided legal advice and guidance during a very difficult time in my life. They were not only experienced and knowledgeable, given their strong background in family law, they were also incredibly honest, very responsive, and extremely fair. Before makin...g any decision, they made sure I had all the facts and a solid understanding of them. I knew they wouldn’t steer me wrong and that I was in great hands. They were compassionate about my situation and it was clear they really cared about their clients. I would strongly recommend Hall Underwood to anyone seeking the absolute best legal representation and advice.

Despite the length and complexity of the case, Jay provided an expert consultation that helped me understand the laws and regulations in family court. I wish I had known about this lawyer when the case started, as it would've resulted in a much better outcome. I thank him for taking his time to revie...w the case and give me advice.

I've had the pleasure of retaining Hall Underwood twice. Once for temporary orders, then again for the rest of my divorce. Words really cannot express how grateful I am for all the effort Jay and his colleagues put in to my case, because everything I've been fighting for over the past year (my kids a...nd their future), he fought just as hard for them on his end as counsel. While I didn't get what I originally had hoped for out of the the temporary orders matter, it had to settle. Jay thoroughly explained why it was necessary to do so. The evidence I had simply wasn't enough to meet the burden of proof for anything more than equal parenting time and decision making. Being hot-headed by nature, I had foolishly considered going to an evidentiary hearing on it regardless, but Jay was able to talk me out of it, and in the process very likely saved me from having to pay several thousands of my ex's attorney's fees. Looking back on it knowing what I know now about family law, he was absolutely right. After the temporary orders matter settled, my ex and I had considered reconciliation, and he withdrew so I could pursue that. I ended up retaining Jay and his firm again a few months later after unsuccessfully trying to settle the rest of the issues when it became apparent that the marriage was in fact irretrievably broken. Opposing counsel had been extremely dodgy responding to calls and e-mails and continually refused to provide mandatory discovery for months even after I retained them. They were calm and professional dealing with my ex's unreasonably difficult attorney and eventually forced them to hand over everything we needed. The most impressive part of Jay's performance was that he noticed a subtle, yet significant defect in the wording of the proposed parenting plan we received and capitalized on it, which allowed me to place the children in any school in the valley with zero restrictions and ultimately place them in the best school possible (one of the things that is EXTREMELY important to me). Needless to say, my ex wasn't very happy about that, and her attorney fought pretty hard to try to save face in the wake of his devastating blunder. He tried to back out of the agreements that we had made that were not yet binding, tried to conduct an untimely noticed and frivolous deposition, tried to make misleading arguments so I'd be the one to have to pay child support, tried rearrange the parenting time schedule, and continually threatened to seek an award of attorney's fees if we didn't give in to his demands. Naturally, Jay knew it was all just an act and didn't fall for it. Eventually, after all the discovery was completed, Jay gave him an ultimatum. Either this case settles, or we go to trial and we'll almost certainly collect an award of attorney's fees from having to enforce the parenting plan we agreed to (which was binding pursuant to Rule 69). Needless to say, they chose the former. I really couldn't be happier with the results of my case. Not only did I get almost exactly what I wanted out of my divorce, but also my fees for the entire case were only about one-third (1/3) of what my ex paid for her attorney (hers was hourly), who has been practicing for over 30 years, and we still came out slightly ahead. I think that speaks to how amazing Jay and his colleagues are in their profession. Having dealt with a dozen or so other attorneys in my divorce, Jay and his firm is the only law firm I'll ever recommend to family and friends.