Michael Roger Schneider

My divorce was complicated with child custody of an infant and shared property at issue. Michael and his staff were always available when I had questions regarding what was happening with my case. Their assistance prior to mediation was invaluable and I felt much more confident when I spoke with th...e mediator because I knew what to expect. I did not expect my lawyer to be available 24/7 because I knew I was not their only client, but when I had questions or needed clarification, they were there for me. As an aside, I was amused by the negative review from the person who's ex was represented by the Family Law Center. I think their displeasure with the proceedings might just be a positive review for the attorney in question.

I was so disappointed in the performance of Michael Schneider and his legal staff that I don’t even know where to begin. My case was a relatively simple one. Divorce. No kids involved. A not very complicated property and financial settlement. Michael & his staff were consistently uncommunicative, d...id not explain things thoroughly or in language that I could understand [I have a MS degree, but don’t know much about law]. He and his staff [Tracy & Mariah] raised their voices and were rude to me more than once. My phone calls & emails repeatedly went ignored. I was given a ‘big talk’ when I retained him about not bugging them by calling often and asking lots of questions. I held up my end of the bargain, but when I did call or email to ask about my case my calls/emails went unreturned. He never took the time to explain things or discuss options. Months would go by between hearing from him. Months. He was repeatedly late to court appearances. How anxious would you be if you found yourself in court and the bailiff was swearing everyone in and your lawyer hadn’t arrived yet? No “I’m sorry for being late” or explanation or anything. But you know what? The bills were mailed to me in a very timely manner. They were never late once in that regard. He made an already painful and difficult process more difficult and anxiety-provoking due to the uncertainty of not being sure that my lawyer was even on my side. And in the end: The case dragged on for over 2 years and he lost the case for me. I had a reasonable case. The respondent didn’t even have a lawyer. He was up against a lay person with no legal training representing themselves. Not being aggressive enough with the respondent, failing to give good legal advice, not brining up pertinent information in court or in his documentation, and citing an unrelated precedent that the judge shot down. In her judgment, the judge basically accused me of making bad decisions and stated that I ought to have known better because I had a lawyer. What does that tell me? That my lawyer either didn’t give me good advice or neglected to give me advice at all. It will be easy to read this and decide that I am angry about the case being botched/lost. Yeah, maybe some. But please don’t make that mistake. All feelings about my divorce and ex aside: Michael did a poor job of communicating with me, of representing me and he and his staff were rude and just never seemed to have time to answer questions. You decide. Why do you hire a lawyer? To guide you through the legal process, give you prompt sound legal advice and represent you well in court, right? Michael did none of the above. Think twice . . . hire somebody else. My advice is to do the leg work and get a reference from someone you know prior to hiring a lawyer. I would never consider under any circumstances re-hiring Family Law of Riverside or Michael Schneider.

The day I met with Attorney Michael Schneider i was very nervous. My case was complex dealing with the paternity of my child, child support, visitation rights and my divorce. Attorney Schneider researched my case and right away gave me guidance and the positive as well as the negative sides to my cas...e. I found Mr. Schneider to be a very honest, resourceful, caring, and affordable Attorney. In addition, Attorney Schneider and his staff are very professional people. I highly recommend The Family Law Ctr of Riverside!!!

Since meeting with Mr. Schneider and informing him of my desires to divorce my exhusband, he has given me nothing but wonderful, and helpful advice. I felt confident and prepared when ever having to appear to court. Because of his advice, the judge was able to find favor in me. This I have been mo...st appreciative of because I have been concerned about the safety of my children. I feel that because of Mr. Schneider's assistance I have been able to make sure that my children are kept safe. I had seeked advise from others but they gave less encouraging advice, and as a matter of fact, gave me negative advice. I was told that claims that I wanted to file would basically be a waste of time, yet Mr. Schieider encrouaged me to file the paperwork, and my wishes were granted.