Anthony Joseph Catena

Tony represented me in a civil matter where my ex's attorney was seeking a civil harassment restraining order against me to gain advantage over me in our custody dispute. She claimed that I had sent her harassing emails and was showing up to her office. There was a perfectly good explanation for wha...t little truth her allegations carried. All that was needed from Tony was to thoroughly question me on the witness stand. Not pull some legal strategy out of a hat, not destroy their credibility, but to just ask me questions. How hard could that be right? Well, it turned out that Tony has no integrity, and is just a giant sellout who made plans to betray me, to help the other side prevail. Sadly, I didnt realize this until day 2 of our 2-day trial. On day 1, I was called to testify by the other side. As expected, the questions that were posed to me elicited answers favorable to Plaintiff. I thought its OK, the truth will come out when Tony cross-examines me. Instead Tony RESERVED, to combine his cross with his direct examination. When I asked him about it, it was allegedly so we have more time to prep, for both my direct and cross. And we did prep, but as it turned out for no reason. On day 2, Tony was a sweaty mess, dropping things, flipping pages nervously. He seemed completely unprepared, which I knew could not be the case, because we prepped less that 24 hours prior. When I finally took the stand, he asked me the most mundane questions which did not tell my story at all. If I tried to elaborate on something, the judge would say "wait until a question is posed to you" and the question would never come. Even worse, since this was not what we prepped, I was totally confused and caught off guard, so Im sure my body language made me seem like I had something to be nervous about. I realized that Tony had betrayed me when the other side hyper-focused on a line from my email "your client gets caught, but its my fault for recording...." I was talking about video recording our son with my phone once when my ex didn't realize that I was recording and began to snap at and belittle our son, and my phone caught it. In context, that line was clear sarcasm, but the opponent was now presenting it as an admission of wrongdoing. When I nudged Tony to shut it down, he loudly snapped at me "why were you recording if you weren't supposed to?!" Mind you, this was my 11 year old child of whom I had custody. There is no such thing as "not supposed to”. I was so heart broken, I just walked out of the courtroom and left. Later Tony emailed me the restraining order. His email said "I know you wanted to explain yourself, but that DOES NOT GO TO THE HEART OF THE ISSUE” He also said “The fact is that you sent **** a multitude of emails that the court found to be harassing and outside the litigation privilege. The court found that those messages constitute a course of conduct with NO LEGITIMATE PURPOSE". Umm, well my explanation would have provided the legitimacy of my purpose. And how could it not go to the heart of the issue, when its one of the elements a plaintiff must establish in order to prevail? If you are not yet convinced that Tony is a sellout, when Plaintiff had me prosecuted for allegedly violating her bogus protection order, I subpoenaed Tony to testify as my witness. Instead of calling me to discuss the case, he would only talk to the prosecutor. Do your research before hiring this guy. Go to the courts in the counties he allegedly practices and pull his cases. And Im not just talking about the matters on which he was attorney of record. pull his OWN cases, you will learn a lot about him. After he betrayed me and I fired him, Tony continued to pull money out of the trust account for random little tasks. Whats worse is Tony betrayed me knowing that it will definitely ruin my custody case, as it did. Tony knew that he was orphaning my son of a mom, and still went through with it. Damaged man...

I am profoundly disappointed and distressed by the services provided by this law firm during my custody case. Following a paid consultation, I enlisted the assistance of Anthony Joseph (Tony) Catena #292665. However, he promptly delegated my case to an associate with less than a year of experience si...nce being accepted to the CA bar. When I questioned why Tony Catena wasn't representing me in court, I was informed of a supposed conflict on the day of my hearing. Unfortunately, the inexperience of the associate they assigned was strongly evident, resulting in an outcome far worse than anticipated. Despite assurances, the firm failed to execute any of the discussed strategies, leaving crucial tasks such as the discovery call, deposition, and communication with my ex unaddressed. Tony Catena justified these omissions by citing a desire to minimize costs, a justification I find suspicious given the hefty $33,000 fee. Moreover, I was advised against pursuing a restraining order against my ex, effectively casting me as the sole culprit despite enduring relentless harassment and aggression from my ex. This situation has been immensely difficult for both me and my daughter. I implore others not to find themselves in a similar predicament. Seek out attorneys who genuinely prioritize your circumstances and provide robust advocacy rather than simply billing large amounts without delivering meaningful defense. To current clients who may be experiencing warning signs such as excessive billing, communication lapses, and the substitution of associates for the hired attorney, I urge you to cut ties and seek superior representation before it's too late.

Tony was hired by a friend of mine escaping domestic violence and threats to her life. She was taken to court by her ex for custody of their daughter. I helped this friend closely during this process, and was very involved in the court process in addition to all the personal aspects of such a situati...on. Tony was like a grounding pillar during this time of turbulence and fear. He was not only extremely professional, his kindness and patience were so remarkable that at times it brought me to tears. He not only believed my friend, he was exceptionally good at helping to keep her calm and grounded and rational when fear would allow her to get carried away. He fought well for her and her daughter, and went above and beyond to help make the process bearable. The case was won with a better outcome than I even imagined possible (I had no idea abusive parents could be required to prove psychological progress in treatment) and I intend to recommend Tony to anyone I know in need of a kind, compassionate, dedicate attorney.

Tony is a jewel in the rough. Thoroughly professional and knowledgeable for all my family law needs. Tony looked at the specifics in my divorce and gave me the best advice that kept my interests, as well as the interests of my son at the forefront. He made the process smoother than I ever thought pos...sible and he's very knowledgeable of every aspect of the process of law and worked on my schedule. If there was ever a need for a well qualified expert through an antagonizing divorce, look no further than Tony.

Tony was exceptionally helpful during my divorce process. He knew all the requirements, and was able to communicate all the necessary details without it sounding overwhelming. Tony also has an incredibly kind heart, and makes any legal process more enjoyable through his good nature. I'd definitely re...commend Tony for any legal work you need!