Samantha L. Hughes

I retained Samantha Hughes to represent and guide me in a recent divorce action. From day one, Samantha made a sincere effort to learn every detail of my case and asked specifically about my personal views of the divorce, my expectations, and what outcome I was comfortable with achieving. She then we...nt on to explain how the process would work and what I should expect through the process. In addition, Samantha went to great lengths to ensure I understood my rights under the law, and how she would ensure my rights would be protected. The divorce action was not initiated by me and, as such, was a very difficult and emotional period for me. Samantha was always very empathetic and compassionate to my feelings while consistently keeping me focused on the task at hand. One of the things I valued most when working with her was that she listened. Another thing I also valued greatly was how quickly she responded to my messages and calls. Regardless of whether my outreach to Samantha was for a simple question or an urgent development, she was always very responsive and timely. This was very comforting for me during a very challenging life event. In the end, Samantha was instrumental in creating a fair and reasonable settlement for both sides. Engaging Samantha as my legal counsel was an excellent decision and I could not be more pleased with her representation and support. I recommend her highly and enthusiastically to anyone seeking an exceptional Family Law Attorney.

I initially tried to do my divorce case without a lawyer. I filed my paperwork on November 18, 2019. With three kids, school, and work - it quickly became too much for me to handle. In March 2020, I contacted Samantha Hughes, who was very upfront about her costs and what she could do for me. I had al...ready been to court and was ordered to submit a judgement by the next court-date (July 31, 2019) or we'd go to trial. I felt confident with her as my choice from that initial call - even though my case was in LA County, she is based in Orange County AND I was about 1/3 the way through my divorce proceedings. I signed a retainer and that was that! Samantha was not my attorney on record with the court, but helped me "behind the scenes" as I continued "In Pro Per" or representing myself. Samantha asked me to scan all of the court documents I already had, then she carefully reviewed them and got to work creating a case plan by March 13, 2020. She also noted that the ex forgot and needed to file a certain document before we could proceed. She tried to contact the ex and the ex refused to cooperate with her. Samantha continued to clarify things as she worked on the judgement. I received monthly statements (both in my email and at my house) as to what was being billed - and it all added up perfectly. Samantha presented a beautiful global settlement proposal to me in June 2020 and I showed it to the ex. Of course, in the interest of being difficult, the ex wanted a lot of things added or removed. The ex told me those changes one at a time - but Samantha was patient and got all the changes in with no issues. Samantha heard me out and helped me make the changes in ways I felt comfortable with. When our original court date of July 31, 2020 was pushed back to September 25, 2020 due to COVID-19 and court closures, we had more time to get the ex to sign the proposed judgment. The ex was still slowly "reviewing" the latest copy of the proposed judgement. Our court date was pushed back AGAIN to October 19, 2020 - but luckily the ex decided to sign paperwork on September 14, 2020. Samantha communicated amazingly quickly and professionally, even as I grew frustrated with the changes the ex was making and court delays due to COVID-19. She also answered all of my questions and helped me feel more secure in the entire process. Samantha handled the judgement filing as I sat at home comfortably. The paperwork was received by the courts and a judge accepted our proposal. I was just decreed as divorced on October 7, 2020! I couldn't have done this without Samantha Hughes. Lifesaver!

I had been looking for a good divorce attorney for the last couple of years. I called and talked to many, many attorneys before deciding to hire Samantha. Prior to hiring Samantha the attorneys I talked to either did not understand the circumstances of my case or looked at my case in too simplistic o...f a matter. On the other hand, I also talked to lawyers who tried to complicate my case and bring in variables that were not there before. Other attorneys either did not quote me a price for the type of divorce I was requesting or charged exorbitant fees and retainers that were unreasonable and which I could not afford. Samantha was a breath of fresh air when I first had a chance to talk to her during our first consultation. At the end of the consultation I knew, without hesitation, that she was the perfect attorney to handle my case. She quoted me a fair retainer fee to handle my divorce. Also, her hourly fee is reasonable as well. As for those contemplating or going through a divorce knows the process is very upsetting, stressful, and depressing. That is why it is so important to have an attorney that makes you feel comfortable, secure, and confident about going down the divorce road and Samantha did all that for me. Samantha is very easy to talk to both via the phone and email. She explains matters in a straight forward manner so that those without a legal background like myself can understand. Do not let her calm demeanor fool you, however, she is a tough, skilled, experienced and knowledge attorney who will fight long and hard till you get what you deserve.

I honestly can’t say enough about Samantha Hughes and what she was able to do for me. My divorce got ugly, as these things tend to do, and she remained cool under pressure the entire time. Consultation – she gave me a free one hour consultation prior to me hiring her. I had no idea what I was doin...g, having never been divorced before, and she answered every question and without hesitation. I immediately hired her. Temporary Custody – my ex and I could not agree on custody for quite some time. Samantha stayed the course and pushed on. She even thought of things I never would have thought of on my own but were of major importance. There were a handful of stipulations I would absolutely not cave on and she supported me, ensuring that did not happen. Divorce – Samantha is seasoned, smart, and well acquainted with the family courts system and you can tell. She preemptively knew how one thing would affect another later on down the line. Even when the courts shut down because of COVID she knew what avenues to go down to make sure the filing still happened. She caught mistakes my ex's attorney had made and even called out a few instances where I felt my ex was trying to ‘sneak’ things into the settlement. Samantha worked incredibly hard to help us come to an agreement on a global settlement to keep us out of court and keep the costs much lower. Cost – Speaking of cost – she was incredibly fair. Her rates are on par and worth every penny. She doesn’t balloon up on payments and is honest with her time tracking. I couldn’t have asked for better representation when going through something so difficult. Highly recommend Samantha Hughes!