Andrea Merrell Caster

When I met Andrea, she was so different than any other lawyer I had spoken to over the years. She was patient, kind, considerate, DV and trauma-informed, and did not make me feel stupid for not knowing something or for the decisions I made in my past relationship. I instantly knew that I wanted to wo...rk with her after our first consultation. I hired her that same week. Throughout the year we worked together, Andrea helped prepare me for the court process, hearings, and trial. She would assure me that I was going to do fine, answered my numerous questions, and walked me through the process each time. Working with Andrea helped me regain the courage to advocate for myself and my child: something I had not experienced since I filed for custody years ago. Andrea was always willing to work on things that were important to me and for the best interest of my child. In our trial briefs, she used DV research, and she highlighted evidence and issues that I felt were important to my case. It always felt like a collaborative exercise, and it made me feel like I had some agency through the court process. In court, Andrea was a constant support and advocate. She engaged me in every issue, explained and discussed what she thought would be best options moving forward. I always felt as though I had a say in what was going on. Court and trial were difficult and terrifying, but Andrea helped me take things one step at a time and get through the hardest thing I have ever done: face my abuser openly and honestly in trial and do everything in my power to obtain full custody of my child. She fought hard for me during a 5-day trial. I gave over 14 hours of testimony and Andrea was there supporting and uplifting me the whole way. I was so anxious and felt like it was impossible, but Andrea took the time to walk through my questions and concerns each time. She always supported me and did not belittle me for the choices I made as someone who survived an abusive relationship. Instead, she asked questions and discussed details and shared resources and research that supported my reality as someone who survived DV and was trying to obtain orders that helped protect me and my child moving forward. I feel like she did everything she could to support me in this complicated process. I honestly do not think I would have been able to do it without her. In the end, I got sole custody of my son and the judge adopted almost all of the schedule we had requested to the court. Throughout the process, Andrea’s kindness, dedication to her work for DV survivors, and her understanding and care for her clients and the children involved makes her an absolutely amazing and one-of-a-kind lawyer (and human being): one that I never ever imagined existed. It has been a hard and long journey, but I thank my Ancestors and Creator for Andrea. Because of her work and dedication to my case, and my family; I am now able to make decisions for the best interest of my son and can move forward with our lives. I would highly recommend Andrea to everyone. She has been a huge blessing to me.

I hired Andrea to help with what I thought would be a simple Domestic Violence case. I had an ex-partner who was sending me death threats and I we wanted a restraining order. We hired Andrea and then didn't hear from her for two weeks. At this point, we'd already paid her fee and were hoping that i...t was just taking a little while. When we called on the third week she didn't even remember who we were at first. When the restraining order had to go to trial it was rescheduled because she had never sent the notice papers and afterward told us we had to hire another person to deliver the court papers. I wish we'd known that before taking the day off work to appear in court only to have it rescheduled. So I had to request another day off work to go to court. The day of the case the Judge ruled that there wasn't enough evidence after 10 minutes of looking at the paperwork for the restraining order. When we asked Andrea what happened, she just said "this happens sometimes" and that we didn't have a lot of evidence. So not only do I still have a stalker sending me death threats, but now I'm out several hundred dollars and had to take time off work to go to court. The final kicker was when we received a bill for "admin fees" from her office for over a hundred dollars. When we asked she told us this was for court filing costs. When we showed her that she'd already charged us for them when we originally hired her she never replied.

overall she has handled my case and i cant complain too much because yes she is caring. easy to talk to. understanding.. seems to know the law well.. But mayne its just me my case or bad time in her life but i swear i can barely reach her. and qhwn i do i feel lile she dragging me out simply to bill ...me a new invoice. If i dont contact her it goes too long before a gwt a follow up from her. so yes overall great person. timing... so so.. she is always so busy that she cant seem to actually be able to contact me to answer questions or have any sit downs. idk but i dont think i ask for too much to get a follow up call if not her an assitant or anyone else

Andrea was very sensitive to my concerns and needs. She expedited requirements of the serving and filing of papers when it was absolutely critical. She was very flexible with her time, reasonable with her fees and always professional and very knowledgeable of the law. She researched anything she was ...uncertain about. She was very communicative and very timely with follow through. She was both very capable and responsible while also being warm and very human. I would highly recommend her services.

Both my grandparents and myself were extremely pleased with Andrea's dedication, knowledge and motivation to ensure that the best outcome would come out of my case. She was so helpful and supportive being that this was the first time I had to go through getting guardianship of my 3 younger siblin...gs. She invested a lot of her own personal time into assisting me in all the areas that I needed help in. She was not only resourceful, but very compassionate and supportive through all of the challenges I faced. Even after I became my siblings legal guardian, she was still there if I had any questions or concerns. She was very attentive when we met, and always assured me to stay positive being that I was stressed and worried. I really enjoyed working with her, and was pleased with the outcome of my case. I honestly couldn't have got through it without Andrea.