Karen A Schoenau

I cannot express enough how utterly disappointed and furious I am with Karen A. Schoenau's handling of my custody case and spousal support matter. From the very beginning, it was clear that she was the epitome of incompetence and lack of professionalism. First and foremost, communication with Kare...n was virtually non-existent throughout the entire process. It felt like pulling teeth just to get a response from her, and when she did finally decide to acknowledge my existence, it was only on the day of the court hearing. I received no legal advice whatsoever leading up to the court date, leaving me completely unprepared and blindsided by the proceedings. Karen's work ethic is nothing short of appalling. She proved to be a sloppy and inconsistent lawyer, incapable of producing accurate and error-free documents. Whether it was paperwork sent to the opposing counsel or documents submitted to the court, they were riddled with typos and incorrect contact information, including crucial dates and times for parenting arrangements. As a result, important correspondence was always sent to the wrong addresses and emails, leaving me completely in the dark about vital information. The most egregious error was Karen's complete lack of knowledge about Arizona's statute of limitations on spousal support. It's utterly mind-boggling that a supposed "professional" lawyer would be so ignorant of such a basic and critical aspect of family law. Her incompetence cost me dearly, and I can never forgive her for her negligent handling of this matter. To make matters worse, Karen seemed more interested in rambling on about her personal life than focusing on my case. She wasted valuable time that I was paying for by talking about irrelevant matters, all the while racking up her bill. It was a complete disregard for my time, money, and the gravity of my situation. In conclusion, I firmly believe that Karen A. Schoenau should retire immediately and refrain from offering her services to anyone else. Her lack of competence, professionalism, and basic knowledge of the law make her a danger to anyone seeking legal representation. Save yourself the agony and avoid her services at all costs. I wish I had never hired her, and I sincerely hope that no one else has to endure the nightmare she put me through

Some years back Karen assisted me with my High conflict child custody case. Since then I have continuously referred clients to Karen due to her professionalism and in depth knowledge of child custody cases. Not only was she a true professional in every sense of the word she had a great deal of empat...hy Towards by very difficult situation. It was a pleasure to work with her and I considered her to be a friend to this day. She constantly reassured me of what exactly was going to happen and she never failed to gain the results that she promised. I am truly thankful that she finally put an end to that custody battle of 7 years. I put my total trust in Karen and she never let me down. She demonstrated her great reputation that she maintained with all of the legal professionals involved. I cannot recommend her enough! She is worth every penny! Karen got results where numerous other attorneys had failed so I have of no reservations in giving my full recommendation!

I know we're directed by Avvo not to be too specific with our cases. I will respect this requirement, but I have to be somewhat specific in order for you to understand the full impact of what Karen Schoenau has done for me and my family. I'm a disabled father who has to use pain medication just to ...get around from day to day. Once a year I have spinal blocks/injections to keep the pain at bay. Karen told me that I have to release all of my medical records to the courts. I knew the court would scrutinize them and the stigma that comes with pain control. It looked bleak to me, but I did what Karen instructed me to do and she upheld my rights as a father. I ended up getting joint custody/primary residence with final decision making and a whole lot of stuff in between. That was huge! I was so grateful! Karen was everything she was cracked up to be! But, this is where the story gets nasty! If I didn't have Mrs. Schoenau I don't know what I would've done! About a year later I ended up in the hospital due to physical complications with my kidneys. This happened on the day of a hearing where my ex was asking for restoration of some of her parental rights. Mrs. Schoenau explained my situation to the judge and why I was absent. My ex wife contradicted Karen and informed the judge that I was being guarded by police at the hospital. She continued to explain that they were nursing me back to health so they could put me in jail for being a drug courier. The hearing, mind you was about restoring some of her rights that she lost because of her issues. Well, instead of verifying any of this information my ex was giving, the judge took ALL CUSTODY away from me and gave my ex wife sole custody of the children. I practically lost all of my parental rights. All the while I was unconscious in a hospital bed! Mrs. Schoenau assured me that she was strenuously objecting to the judge’s decision. She attempted to calm me down while I was in the hospital, reassuring me that there was nothing that we couldn’t fix. She said to me, “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it!” Ha, ha, ha! I pretended like I believed her and I promised I’d rest up. All I could think was, “How could this happen!” My youngest son says to me that night on the phone (7 years old), “Daddy, when can we come home?” That was the most painful thing I had ever experienced in my life. Now, here is why I view Karen as not only an outstanding lawyer but a phenomenal human being! I went into a depression, the likes of nothing I had ever experienced before. I did not know what depression felt like and I had no idea how debilitating it could be. I could barely move because my body was wracked with physical and emotional pain! Was that an overreaction? I don’t know, but that’s what happened. Immediately Karen responded by filing a plea or motion claiming a violation of my constitutional rights. She cited cases, codes, laws, and just the plain immorality of the whole situation. It was a masterpiece. It brought tears to my eyes because I saw hope. To our surprise her pleas in my behalf fell on deaf ears. Two judges ignored her. It just so happened due to a misstep by mother, another judge had to hear our case and make some adjustments to the parenting time. It was at this time that Karen was able to present the facts in my defense and I ended up with joint custody again! That was a relief. To make a long story short, we had to go back before the court again and I NOW I HAVE BEEN AWARDED SOLE LEGAL/PRIMARY CUSTODY. The lies that were told were eventually disproved. My random urine/hair testing came always came up negative for drugs. I remember a few years ago having a big disagreement with Karen about volunteering to undergo random drug testing twice a month. It was a great idea because it cleared my name. Karen Schoenau's approach: NO MATTER HOW BAD IT IS, TELL HER EVERYTHING SO SHE CAN PUT THE PIECES BACK TOGETHER. Thank you Karen just doesn't seem to cut it, but thank you Karen!

Very high customer/client considerate. We found Karen when we were forced to leave another Phx lawyer due to his bad advice and lack of interest to help us. We were in Phx for six days from Mich. with nothing happening but a high wasted expense. Karen and her firm took us in and solved our issue with... the courts etc. in two and a half days. Karens professionalism with us was very cost effective/productive. If we would have found her first, we would have saved thousands of dollars. Her interest for us was very high. She returned every call. She new every answer to our questions. She did this for us with a death in her family. She left for a funeral and made sure we were treated with the same professionalism from her firm to finish up. I recommend Karen and her firm with very high satisfaction. Our case is custody with one parent in prison. We will return to Phx someday with interests for the child and his parent. If needed. Karen will be our top choice.

Karen was extremely supportive during a very trying time in our lives. She helped me to put things in perspective and think positive when I was overwhelmed. She is very knowledgeable about the laws pertaining to grandparents rights and the rights of the parents and knew how to provide the appropria...te laws pertaining to the situation we were in. I am so grateful for her expertise and guidance. She proved to be very aggressive when she needed to be but was also supportive to my and my children. I would recommend her to anyone in a similar situation.