John Michael Kelly

Don't fall for the act. 'Michael Kelly' and  'J Michael Kelly' as he is also known, is the recipient of numerous 'ripoff reports' and professional misconduct actions for sound reasons.  In my case he exhibited callous greed, shoddy practices, and total lack of concern. People who seek legal hel...p are usually in crisis. Family law involves the safety and well being of those dear to you. Be mindful of the dramatic focus and financial part of Mr. Kelly's multilevel intake process.  He's sizing you up. Once the retainer is signed, you're just another revenue stream. He preyed on my (legitimate) fears about my abusive violent ex who already had (3) criminal and domestic violence restraining orders and significant documentation of unresolved substance abuse. Mr. Kelley used that info to demand an 18k retainer and an hourly rate of $600 promising 'aggressive' and expedient advocacy assuring me we would be protected.  The meeting in which I signed the retainer was the last I saw of Mr. Kelly. He passed me off to a junior partner who hadn't read the file and was coached via cell phone on our way into court appearances using terms like 'slam dunk' I thought were about wrangling my ex. Over the next 2 months they didn't do anything except spend my money on weekly ex parte/emergency hearings in which the junior partner appeared. Pleadings were filed/served late/improperly, omitted the critical details and documentation needed to address safety issues,  contained errors, and sections cut and pasted from other cases which included the wrong names (that were not examples of case law). None of the evidence of my ex's physical/emotional abuse, stalking, or DUIs was presented, so nothing was accomplished except giving opposing counsel the opportunity to plead 'no grounds' for the actions and use that to plead my ex as the maligned victim of 'unsubstantiated' claims, and with none of the evidence presented by my counsel, the judge believed it and granted unsupervised visits with heartbreaking results; my beautiful little boy sustained injuries during visitation that leave him permanently disabled. Mr. Kelly had no comment before I ended his representation. Literally adding insult to injury, I received the bill for our 2 month tenure with a 20k balance due (on top of the $18k retainer) calculated with Mr. Kelly's $600 hourly (instead of the junior partner's $300 rate), hundreds in per page copy fees and postage, thousands in calls, emails, and filings that didn't happen, plus interest, and was harassed by his collections department until served with a letter giving notice he was being sued for malpractice.

I am still in the midst of my divorce case and it's a kicker tearing me inside out and let me tell you I could not have landed in a better firm. They are managing me terrifically. There have been times when they could have milked me pushing ideas of restraining orders etc..when I became distraugh...t and they didn't. There are many wrong turns I could have taken that could have derailed my case but they have kept all aligned in a conservative and smart, tactical way. One of the partners need special mentioning. If you are looking for a firm who has a bull dog, sharp edge, seriously educated and tactical interrogator...Mark Karney is your man. He is a rock in court and in the way in which he manages his case. He's very, very tough and I would fear being interrogated by him for anything! Their support team is top notch.. They immediately respond and never leave you hanging and are concise and extremely professional. The treasure in the core of this group is their soul commitment to doing right and good by their client and managing that client in a multi- tiered fashion, as not to incur unnecessary costs, keeping a very upset client grounded and keeping me railed and grounded to the law vs. emotional expectations caused simply by the pain of divorce. I am extremely pleased with not just the leadership of Michael Kelly, but with his partners and his entire support team and highly recommend you meet with them before you commit to any other attorney. You will not be disappointed.

my case was no easy case to win and this team pulled out all stops and won, they are tenacious and excellent listeners and investigators, I searched for a great firm with soul and knowledge and a fighting spirit and am more then pleased with Kelly Fernandez and Karney...never would have gotten as far... as I did without their expertise and eagle eye tactics