Vanessa Betryna Gnekow

I was going through a horrible divorce. I hired what I thought was an experienced lawyer, but she was terrible, the first time in court, she was 5 hrs late, and we lost, I got nothing, she didn't do anything to plead my case. The only good that came out of waiting 5 hrs is that I got to see Ms. Gneko...w in action, fighting for her client! I went home and looked her up and spoke on the phone with her for over and hour. I could tell right away that she really cared for her clients. Although I lost my retainer with the previous lawyer, switching to Ms. Gnekow was the best choice. She fought for me, we were awarded spousal support and even most of my lawyer fees. It was no accident, God put her in my path, used her to right the wrongs. Divorce is ugly and painful, but a good lawyer can get justice for you. I highly recommend Ms. Gnekow and Mr. Garcia who work very closely together on their cases, they're a great team, very tough in the courtroom but caring and understanding with their clients.

I do not recommend Vanessa Gnekow as an Attorney. I hired her to represent me in divorce case and civil case mediation. I did not have much money and was told I could pay retainer and pay the rest of what I owed when trial completed and I sold my equitable portion of my two homes from family trial. W...e had two separate contracts. I paid her $5,000 as a down payment retainer for Family case and $3000 to handle civil mediation. The statement I received from her office at the end of April 2015 was a combined statement showing all work provided by her firm. It was very difficult to show what case had what billing. But it showed combining the deposits as $8000 paid leaving just and over $5000 still owed on $13,000 worth of billing. We completed the Civil Case in March 2015 at mediation and had a family trial set for July 2015. After receiving bill in April she told me she would not represent me at family trial unless I sold my house. Problem is the mediation failed when the other side refused to release title so I could not sell my home, because it was not in my name as I was told by her it would when I signed mediation agreement. So she continued to blackmail me for payment about representation in family case so I released her on May 8, 2016. On May 22 she said I needed to sign another form releasing her from Civil Case, when I told her that the case ended at mediation, she told me no and that she was working behind my back to finish final with other Attorney’s. When I went to court the Judge forced me to sign mediation agreement at family case as it was written in July and not what I had agreed to at mediation settlement. She did not keep me informed as to her actions, and did not continue helping me with Family case. It has been recommended by other attorneys to report Vanessa to the State Bar for her unethical actions. As I said I owed just over $5000 at the end of April, she started sending me invoices with no breakdown saying that I owed her another $14,000. Does that mean he billed me for another $9000 after I fired her? Beware of her work and contracts.

Vanessa Gnekow was extremely helpful in this difficult time in my life. I had multiple court cases regarding legal custody of my child. She took my calls and emails every time I had a question. She walked me through the court proceedings and helped me understand thoroughly what was expected of me bot...h in court and outside of court. She also met with me frequently to advise me on my case. I am so thankful to Vanessa for helping me to get the results that I wanted and a better understanding of these types of proceedings. Thank you Vanessa!

After attempting to do it all on my own with no results, I found hope with Vanessa. She helped me finalize my divorce and child custody orders. Something that was taking me 2years to do she got done in 8 months. I'm very pleased with her professionalism and how the staff and her work. They have al...l been very kind and always straight forward. I never wondered what was happening with my case because they always kept me informed. I recommend Vanessa B. Gnekow and the offices of Vincent B. Garcia