Tess Marie Cozine

I hired Tess Cozine to represent me in my divorce case. In my case, we had no children but a 12 year marriage with significant assets and I am the breadwinner. So, I had a lot to lose from a financial perspective -- I was on the hook for spousal support, and was going to lose half of my investments ...and two LA properties to my spouse who had none and contributed little during our marriage. I was also on the hook to pay not only my own attorney costs, but to pay my spouse's costs. I was facing an enormous financial cost and was very concerned that my divorce outcome would cause financial ruin or worst case, bankrupt me and I would lose all the properties and savings that I worked so hard to achieve. When I was evaluating different attorneys, I chose Tess because of her credentials and experience -- UCLA Law school grad with 13 solid years of Family Law experience. And I liked that her firm, Levin Margolin, was specialized in Family Law but wasn't too large or small. If I ever needed other more senior counsel, Tess could draw upon her partners to provide that. For the "day to day" work, I was able to get a very skillful and knowledgeable attorney but at a better value (Tess is an Associate Partner) than if I hired a Partner. And if I did need a Partner's counsel, Tess's firm was able to provide that. Getting divorced is one of the most traumatic and scary experiences I've had to endure. You're at your lowest point emotionally and at a scary financial juncture that could ruin your financial future for many years to come. It's a crappy and ridiculously expensive system here in the US but there's no other way out of a marriage. So, finding a lawyer that is not only skillful, and experienced -- while not taking financial advantage of me, was my utmost concern. Tess Cozine has operated with fairness and integrity throughout the 3 year process. Furthermore, she has a rare ability to understand short-term tactical strategy while keeping her eye on the long term strategy and goal. She's incredibly smart, savvy and personable. I enjoyed working with her. A divorce case is very much about making "cost-benefit" decisions -- i.e., analyzing what costs to incur with the intent that those investments would pay off and save me money in the long term. I've learned that it was critically important to not only hire Tess but to hire a couple experts that she recommended (forensic accountant and vocational examiner) that proved to be extremely worthwhile investments. With my positive outcome, I look back at the recommendations Tess made along the way after careful consideration as to whether or not it was a wise investment -- and she was always right. She knew who to hire and who not to hire -and she knew when it made sense to spend money and when it didn't. She always carefully considered the cost of each tactical move and would discuss with me before proceeding. She knew I was extremely cost-conscious and was able to put herself in my shoes with every decision. Due to my ex-husband's reluctance to settle or cooperate in the process - and because he was living in my house at my expense -- our case dragged out and was unusually long (over 3 years). This 3 year process gave me a lot of insight into the keys to a successful client-attorney experience and I'm so thankful that I hired Tess and Levin Margolin. With Tess's skillful tactical and long term strategy, I was prevailed on all issues of my case. Tess has given me renewed confidence in the Family Law profession -- as she and her firm are not only super savvy, smart and strategic -- but she and her firm operate with integrity. Many attorneys are not this way. There are many shady, unethical and unscrupulous attorneys. I was very skeptical of all attorneys when I hired her. But along the way, she earned my trust and I now can emphatically endorse her. I recommend her very highly for divorce and family law cases.

I hired Tess almost 8 years ago to represent me as a single new father in a custody battle case. I knew going in that I didnt have much of a chance of anything going up against the legal system and the Mother of my child. But immediately I felt that Tess cared about me and my situation and wasn't jus...t going through the motions. Throughout the 2 and half year ordeal Tess guided me through each and every step and provided thoughtful, caring, and logical advice and counseling to get me through each and every hurdle along the way. Over the course of my case, there were many obstacles to over come and many battles to be fought and the temporary outcomes did not always go my way but I knew I was in good hands with Tess and her firm. At the end of the custody war Tess won FULL custody for me, a single Father, which is simply unheard of these days. I dont wish this process on anyone but if you have to go through it I recommend Tess Cozine with all of my heart and soul.