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Michelle Renee Penna

Family Attorney at Murrieta, CA

4.0   16 reviews
  • Licensed for 30 years
    State CA
    Acquired 1993
    Status
    Active No misconduct found

We have not found any instances of professional misconduct for this lawyer.

About Michelle

Learn Michelle’s areas of practice.

5
Practice areas
  1. Family
    50%
    Riverside, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles Counties

    30 years

  2. Adoption
    5%

    30 years

  3. Alimony
    5%

    30 years

  4. Child custody
    5%

    30 years

  5. Child support
    5%

    30 years

  6. Divorce and separation
    5%

    30 years

  7. Domestic violence
    5%

    30 years

  8. Guardianship
    5%

    30 years

  9. Marriage and prenuptials
    5%

    30 years

  10. Mediation
    5%

    30 years

  11. Uncontested divorce
    5%

    30 years

With nearly three decades of experience and thousands of cases handled, Attorney Michelle Penna has earned a reputation as the Murrieta divorce lawyer clients can trust. Her unmatched service to her clients has earned her being awarded Family Attorney of the Year by Consumer Business Review and Family Law Attorney of the Year by the Orange County Bar Association. Penna Coker, A Family Law Firm serves clients in Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Temecula, San Diego, and the surrounding areas. Call their firm today to schedule your free consultation to learn more about planning for your family’s future.

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Penna Coker, A Family Law Firm
41391 Kalmia St Ste 300
Murrieta, CA, 92562-9766

Reviews

4.0 / 5.0
  16 customer reviews
5 Star
 
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25%
Posted by anonymous | April 19, 2019
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Great Attorneys!
Michelle Penna and her staff all worked very hard to help resolve my issues. When looking for an attorney, you want to find one that will be fair and is capable of providing you with accurate information. Michelle and her staff will go above and beyond to help you find a fair resolution. If you want an attorney that has no heart and will just crush the other party then don't go to her. If you want someone that will help you through a tough situation and do everything possible to provide a very fair result, then Michelle Penna is who you want to hire. As angry as we can be with our former partners, at one point we loved them. It can be difficult to remember that, especially in the heat of battle. For me, the most important thing was getting though my custody situation with a fair outcome. Michelle made that possible for me! Now me and my ex both feel good about the situation and are able to communicate well again and work together on matters regarding our daughter. Everyone's situation is different, and it wasn't an easy road getting to this point. It took us over a year to get to where we are today. On the other hand, I have recommended people to Michelle that were able to resolve their issues in a matter of weeks. I would recommend Michelle and her staff to absolutely anyone I know. Thank you very much Michelle, for everything you did for us!
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Posted by steve | March 28, 2018
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Thankful I had MIchelle Penna as my Attorney
Michelle has been representing me for some time now and has always giving me the attention and my case the expertise required for favorable and fair results. I always feel good going into court at anytime with Mrs. Penna and her team on my side!!!
Posted by McAdams | November 1, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Our family is whole again!
Michelle Penna's law firm did an amazing job representing us, reuniting a son and father by love not from blood. Obtained presumed fatherhood and then custody! Our family is whole again and a big thanks to Laurie Cocker who did a top notch job representing our rights and our sons. We are eternally thankful to all the staff and professionals at Michelle Penna's law firm, she came highly recommended and worth every penny, cant put a dollar sign on family. Thank you! The McAdams
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Posted by Lisa | October 11, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Absolute Best Attorney Ever!
Michelle and her office staff were amazing in helping through my case. The were always courteous with my constant questions and always got back to me right away. I could not have gone through this ordeal without Michelle and her team! Thank you Thank you ! I would always recommend Penna Law Firm to anyone who wants the very Best!
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Posted by Mike | September 20, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
High Dollar Divorce
Mine was a tricky case, but Michelle handled it superbly. Her experience, knowledge, creativity and attention to detail resulted in a very favorable outcome. She really knows what she's doing!
Posted by Caryn | September 18, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Great attorney!
I hired Michelle to handle my case when my husband was adopting my son. Very satisfied with how she did everything. She communicated very well on what to expect, always returned my phone calls and just an over all great attorney! I would recommend her to anyone that is looking to hire a family law attorney!
Posted by Ron | June 2, 2015
Professional excellance and concern.
Michelle has a very positive attitude. Her professional ethics and concern for the client are very commendable. She is able to make the complicated legal options understandable and relative to your case. Her knowledge and performance are confidence based on successful representation in legal matters. She is genuine and very unique in a profession that is missing many of those attributes. Her presentations are direct and persuasive.
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Posted by Darrin | March 14, 2014
Great Family Law Attorney
Michelle is a great combination of expert family law advice, representation and cost effectiveness. My opposition is very litigious and because of Michelle's legal acumen I did not lose my life savings to excess legal fees. I highly recommend her.
Posted by Patti | March 5, 2014
Michelle and her staff are the best !
I had to see Michelle for an issue regarding child support. These times are always emotional and stressful. Michelle and her staff made the situation very easy to deal with and gave me great advise. She was able to get the issue resolved in a timely manner as well as inexpensive! I would highly recommend Michelle Penna for any family law matter.
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Posted by LTH | March 4, 2014
My Life Back
Michelle was great and handled my case with respect and professionalism. I owe her for letting me get my life back and she was always available for me when I needed her. I had a unique case and she did what was best for me and my children. Michelle is a great family attorney and I have referred her to a few friends also
Posted by Matthew B | February 28, 2014
Awesome Attorney!!!
What a relief to find a competent ass kicking family law attorney. Michelle and her team were professional and made me feel like a client and not just a retainer!! Thank uou for getting my case done when several other local attorneys could'nt. A+++++
Posted by Moe Meyers | September 14, 2011
Michelle Penna attorney at law review
Michelle Penna attorney review- My wife and I started our divorce over two years ago, and I was at a stand still with my wife and my attorney at the time had no plan. I had to make a decision to hire a new attorney and decided on Michelle Penna. She was highly recommended throughout the valley and he was able to expedite things farther than my first attorney in less than 2 months!
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Posted by anonymous | September 7, 2022
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
There needs to be a no stars choice.
I hired Michelle during one of the most vulnerable and traumatic times of mine and my children’s lives. She made big promises, didn’t deliver, and drug things out for billable hours, while she knew my kids were going through hell when with their dad. I was never in the courtroom with her, always made to wait outside of it. I remember one court date, where I became very frustrated as the court was once AGAIN postponed, and she turned around, away from me, and said to her associate, “She’s so I unappreciative”, referring to me. Very unprofessional at times. I finally had to fire her and retained another lawyer who had my children’s best interest at heart and got results and resolution, and always had me in the courtroom with him. If you can, try to work things out in your marriage. If you can’t, try to keep it out of the courts, and work out an agreement that’s good for the kids.
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Posted by Ryan | May 10, 2021
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Save Your Time, Money & Headache. Concerning Lack of Attention to Detail.
Being a business owner, I typically only leave reviews for one of two reasons; Either what I experienced was above average, exceeded expectations, & the business deserves the shout out. Secondary, as a forewarning to others the business was such a letdown & did so horribly, avoid wasting your money. Unfortunately, my experience with Michelle & her firm was the latter. Custody is never easy and conflict was high with my case as I was barely able to see my kids for almost 2 months. I reached out to Penna Coker Law & spoke with Michelle, once & only once with an initial free consultation. After listening to my case, she provided pieces of an aggressive game plan & some guidance that gave me hope. I retained Michelle's firm & she assured me along with her team, she would be there to continue providing legal guidance. She couldn't have been more wrong. I spent the next 3 weeks with unanswered questions, confused, afraid, & completely left in the dark without a single word from Michelle until I terminated her firm. Things started off rocky with over 20 misspellings on the initial filing, including several of my son's name which would be correct on one line, incorrect on another, correct, then incorrect. Other misspellings included commonly used words or incorrect grammar. If you're going to charge $350/hr for a paralegal's work, at least have them run spell-check. Even Windows 98 had spell check... After that, they filed a document I never saw until after they filed with court & misspelled CALLIFORNIA. The state they're practicing law in. I emailed my attorney directly 6 times & called 6 times requesting to speak with Michelle over a 3 week period. I always got the same excuses of why she wasn't available & after taking my money, Michelle didn't see my case fit enough to take even one more second of her time on me. Michelle was so uninvolved & out of the loop, in one of her final emails to me she made several references to my "child". I have two children Michelle. After being fired, Michelle was so kind as to take the liberty of filling in my new attorney, then bill me for her time. Neither my new attorney nor I requested Michelle to inform my new counsel how to do their job. $4,500 initial retainer, then Michelle informed me "there was so much work done on my case" & then I got another $3k bill a month later. I just hit the same total amount with my current attorney after 7 weeks, who also got me custody orders & overnight alternate weekends with my kids after 11 days. Michelle advised me to file an aggressive restraining order, then admitted to me in an email (after termination) that evidence wasn't concrete enough. Had I pursued what Michelle advised with fantastic odds of losing, I was potentially liable to pay the opposing side's legal fees if I hadn't decided to drop the case. If you're looking for help with your family law case, I would recommend any firm but this one.
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Posted by Marie | June 18, 2018
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Need to know your client's case
Family law is a no win for everyone except the attorneys. With so many clients it has to be impossible to get to know what they are dealing with specifically. We went pro per for the single reason this attorney told us a reunification request from opposing counsel was "not unethical". Ms. Penna, please note that we watched our child breakdown and suffer years of traumatic nightmares at the thought of being reunited with the "ethical" parent. If you took the time to research the therapy notes you'd see that supporting us in our fight to stand up and protect our child for her best interests maybe you'd still be our attorney. Not every case is textbook. $2500 for nothing, absolutely nothing.
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Response from Michelle Penna May 17, 2019
We have never represented anybody by this name but invite anyone with any concerns to contact our firm so we can address them personally.
Posted by Sani | March 12, 2018
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Completely dissatisfied.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY WITH MICHELLE PENNA’S LAW FIRM. My husband and I hired Michelle Penna of Michelle Penna’s Law firm to represent my son in an Emergency Custody Hearing against his ex-girlfriend. We paid Michelle Penna a retainer of $3500. Michelle Penna’s Law office managed to spend the entire retainer plus more. We never even got as far as a day in court. Where did all the retainer money go? Michelle Penna’s Law firm managed to spend the entire $3500 and is requesting an additional $141.25 for doing nothing to help my son's defense. My son’s ex-girlfriend filed a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against my son. A bogus restraining order that was dropped after we fired Michelle Penna’s Law Firm and hired a new attorney to represent and fight for my son. My son said a stupid remark to his ex-girlfriend out of sheer frustration of not being able to see his daughter. His ex-girlfriend after getting a new boyfriend stopped allowing my son and our family to see his daughter for no reason. Out of frustration towards his ex-girlfriend my son said to his ex-girlfriend “If you were a man, I would kill you right now”. Yes, we know how bad that sounds. Although, my son agrees that was not the right way to express his frustration. He has never threatened his ex-girlfriend and has never been a threat to his ex-girlfriend. My son was scared about the TRO and had numerous questions to ask Michelle Penna for legal advice. Michelle Penna never contacted my son regarding the TRO. We requested several times to have Michelle Penna contact my son to give him legal advice. We waited for Michelle Penna to contact to discuss with my son on how to respond to the TRO. Michelle Penna was never in the office. Or never available to talk to us. We quickly got the feeling that Michelle Penna was not up for the challenge to fight for my son. We felt defeated. We felt Michelle Penna’s law firm was not on our side. Michelle Penna never called to listen to my son's side of the story. Michelle Penna ignored our requests for legal advice. By not willing to communicate with my son directly on such a serious matter as TRO. We felt hopeless. Luckily for my son and our family we were referred to a local attorney that has a great reputation in the Inland Empire for child custody and Criminal law defense. This new attorney quickly put us at ease in our very first consultation. We instantly felt a sense of relief that this new attorney listened and understood my son. He had a Pitbull don’t mess with my client attitude against this bogus TRO. Wow, we had an attorney that wanted to fight for my son. We fired Michelle Penna’s law firm that same day and hired this new attorney. Within weeks of obtaining this new attorney the TRO Temporary Restraining Order was dropped! We never even had to go as far as to have a day in court. This new attorney fought for my son by communicating and meeting with us directly. This attorney contacted the ex-girlfriend’s attorney that next day regarding the TRO. Michelle Penna ‘s law office had us feeling like we had no hope. We were ready to give up. We felt Michelle Penna’s Law firm was not willing to fight for my son. If it wasn’t for the new attorney we hired we are confident that if we had stayed with Michelle Penna’s law firm my son would have a Restraining Order on his record and more time not allowed to see his child. Which could have also ruined his chances of a career with law enforcement as a police officer. The only thing Michelle Penna's law firm is good at is taking your money. She never tried to fight for my son's TRO. Don't waste your money on hiring an attorney that is not willing to contact you directly about your case. That should be your first red flag when an attorney doesn't contact you directly on such a serious matter as a TRO. Our new attorney answered every call we made and he was sure to speak to us directly.
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Response from Michelle Penna May 17, 2019
While we disagree with your claims, due to our commitment to confidentiality, we will not respond specifically. We are sorry that you were not pleased with our services. We work hard for our clients and are proud of how most are very happy with our services and results. We wish you much happiness and success.
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Cost

Rates
  • Free Consultation 30 minutes
Payment methods
Cash, Check, Credit Card

Resume

AVVO RATING 7.8 (Very Good)

Work Experience

  • Founding Partner
  • Penna Coker, A Family Law Firm
  • 1993 - Present
  • Judge Pro Tem
  • Orange County Superior Court-Family
  • 1995 - 2014

Education

  • Western State University College of Law
  • JD - Juris Doctor
  • 1993

Associations

  • Special Master of California Bar
  • Riverside and San Diego Counties
  • 2015 - Present
  • Riverside County Inns Of Court
  • Riverside County Bar Association
  • 2004 - Present
  • State Bar of California
  • Attorney Member
  • 1992 - Present

Languages Spoken

  • English
  • Spanish

Honors and Awards

  • Family Law Attorney Of The Year
  • Orange County Bar Association
  • 1995

Attorney endorsements

Received (1)
Given (0)
Endorse Michelle
Family Attorney | Oct 21
Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter
"I endorse this lawyer. I have had multiple cases with Ms. Penna. She is always well prepared. Ms. Penna is aggressive in court, has compassion for her clients outside of court, and is always willing to explore solutions without having to take her cases to trial. She is an excellent attorney."
This attorney hasn't created any attorney endorsements recently on Avvo.