Shannon E. Payne

If you are going through a high conflict case, please do yourself a favor and do not hire this attorney. She will not fight hard for you. Rather, if the odds are not in your favor, she will just take an L and try to negotiate that L. That’s basically what she did with me. She even admitted to me t...hat “when the facts are not in my client’s favor, I will try to negotiate an agreement that is better than the court will order.” In other words, she will SURRENDER and negotiate the terms of the surrender. What is the point of that?!! I can do that myself. If I wanted to surrender, I wouldn’t be looking for an attorney to fight for me. I had a very high conflict case where the other attorney fought very hard for her client. She asked for things that were politically incorrect. Such as removing custodial time from me, removing presumed father status, and asking for sole custody for her client, amongst other things. When it came time for my attorney to ask the court to object her move away, so that my ex doesn’t take my son with her, this attorney was 100% USELESS. She started settling everything outside the courtroom in favor of my ex ultimately getting her move away. She even told the court that the parents have come to an agreement, which was a big fat lie. It was the attorneys that came to an agreement, not the parents. And that was because this so called attorney does not have the PERSEVERANCE to fight in court . To this day, I CRINGEEE just thinking about the whole experience. I just hope that no one else has to go through what I went through and be scammed out of their hard earned money. I confronted her about the whole situation and the fact that she ended up talking me into agreeing to something I did not want to agree to. And she had the audacity to say that I would’ve been granted less time and that I cannot rewrite history. It’s not up to you, it’s up to the court to decide her move away or not. Your job as an attorney is to object it. But if you are not equipped enough to fight in court then maybe you should just not participate in high conflict cases. Her attorney never came and settled with any of my attorneys. She fought tooth and nail even when it was not in her favor to remove custody and parentage from me. I don’t understand why Ms. Perkins partnered up with her. Perkins is 100x better than her and is not afraid to object or fight in court. There was a point when we were sitting down and Payne specifically read over a line that read “parents shall not use corporal punishment towards the child,” paused, looked at me dead in the eyes for like 5 seconds. It was a very ACCUSATORY stare. Almost like she was accusing me of using or intending to use corporal punishment against my son. She was obviously NOT on my side and was obviously believing the false allegations that my ex made against me. Very disgusting. When I spoke to her over the phone she cut me short after like 2 min and said she needs to go because she needs to pick up her son. So why even answer if you’re busy? There’s attorneys that fight hard for their clients and there’s attorneys that don’t give their heart out and are simply there to collect some money and take easy Mickey Mouse routes. This attorney unfortunately falls under the second batch. To sum up, this attorney doesn’t respect you as a person or as a client. Please, if you have a high conflict case, save yourself lots of stress and headaches and just look for a different attorney that will actually respect you and fight for you.

I called Shannon's office last week, regarding complex, atypical, domestic violence issues, with an individual located in Los Angeles. Shannon was recommended by lawyer Kelly Chang. Shannon personally, returned my call the next day. I have been searching for legal help for over 3 years. Shannon is t...he first lawyer to substantially help me. I wish I could have her as my attorney! Unfortunately, Shannon informed me, I would need to find an attorney in NY- where I reside. Shannon listened to my story for two hours- free of charge- even though she knew, I would not be able to hire her!! Shannon displayed exceptional compassion, and kindness- while advising me re: the best course ahead. Shannon is the first person, to take time to listen carefully, and give me hope for the future. Her youth proved advantageous, in understanding technological aspects of my case. The sweet smile in her photo gave me the courage to call her- since I have dreaded calling attorneys after so many have been so unkind and disrespectful- (most hung up /cut me off in less than 5 minutes). Shannon's photo did not lie- she is an honest, sweet person- of great integrity. I will be forever grateful to her. As a young woman who understands complex female gender issues involving domestic violence- I can't recommend her highly enough! Thank you Shannon.

Ms.Payne is the best attorney I've ever worked with. I was dealing with a custody case that wasn't only about custody but about protecting myself and child from abuse during exchanges and allowing me to have employment without the other parents interference due to spite. The other parents attorney ha...d no issue slandering me and appeared to allow her client to fabricate whatever they perceived helped their case. Ms.Payne was very ethical, but tactical and found very substantial, truthful evidence that showed the other parent to be not credible in their false claims. She also listened to me when I told her specific items that were important for my child's best interest and she passionately but respectfully got the court to rule in my favor. Ms. Payne works hard and thorough with minimal drama, she handles narcissistic and Cluster-B personality types with a poised, firm, diplomatic approach that is less argumentative and more about finding a solution while protecting her client and their position.

I consulted with Shannon Payne regarding my custody battle. Shannon was always there for me from the beginning ...she returned my phone calls, emails, and answered all of my questions. She is a fighter. She is professional. She is well-informed. She had good ideas about strategy. She caught the impor...tant fine details. I would highly recommend Shannon Payne to anyone who is looking for a good lawyer.

When I cam to her she explained the importance of removing the emotion and the importance of moving forward in a sensible direction. Integrity, Personal attention and Responsiveness !!! Communication is her forte, and the assurance of exploring the many options that may be available. Extremely pat...ient and immensely knowledgeable. I was BLESSED to have her represent me in a time when I was overwhelmed. Stop looking as I interviewed many attorneys. She is the BEST!!!