Bethanie Lynn Fanti

I hired Bethanie about 7 years ago for a tough child custody and domestic violence case. She worked night and day, she was always available and would make sure I was kept in the loop at all times. Bethanie eventually ended up getting me full physical custody of my daughter and that allowed us to move to a different state to find a safe haven we call home. Now, years later my daughters biological father filed to have visits. Without hesitation I called Bethanie even though we live so far now (she’s the only one I would trust). Bethanie got to work right away. She pushed to speak to judges and pushed to wave jurisdiction. She was so knowledgeable with both state laws and so adamant about communicating with the judges; that they waved his petition to reopen in California. Bethanie has left my family very satisfied and we are so grateful for her hard work and aggressive use of her knowledge.

Divorce isn't the kind of of thing we sing from the roof-tops about and the thought of a prospective employer seeing this review upon searching my name makes cringe, so I'll be writing this anonymously but nonetheless with the intent to offer my recommendation of Bethanie Fanti as an attorney. You see, I finally popped, "Bethanie Fanti" into a search window today -- more than 5 months after I retained her, in a rush, without ever having heard of her, met her, seen her website, read reviews, etc. (Yeah, you read that correctly: my divorce attorney turned out to be a woman I'd never met. We didn't even talk on the phone until after the first hearing!) I was surprised to see even one less than stellar review, so I write to provide some balance and perspective. Assuming you're new to this, shopping, per-se, I point out that a divorce attorney isn't just asked to wear many hats in a general way, they're asked to be experts in many disciplines under the pressure of our/client fears and other big emotions as we navigate this ugly thing we never imagined would happen to us. They're advising us on matters that impact our children, finances, the dwellings we've called, "home," and thought would be our homes for many years. We are forced to trust someone we don't really know in a time when we are heartbroken, angry, and let's face it, vulnerable AF because a relationship with someone we actually knew and trusted is crumbling. So, we're saying, "Hey, I'm not sleeping or showering, and I really need you to know the law, the judges (their dispositions, preferences, pet-peeves, et. al), when the rules at the court-house change; predict when there will be a delay; which judge we'll get assigned - so you can tell me what that means to my case, be strategic; be a child development expert; a child therapist; a financial advisor; a real-estate forecaster; and a super-whiz at admin. tasks which, in my book, logically includes keeping track of all of the characters in my life. Oh, and I need you to tell me why my spouse is doing what he/she is doing, and why their attorney is a such a [insert pejorative about someone who's doing their job in a way we hate]. If we're trying to get through this with some semblance of dignity and grace, or just sanity, we're also asking our attorneys to serve as a sort of moral compass, therapist, and best friend -- the kind that will tell us what we don't want to hear, but may need to hear. As I type this I realize it's almost like we're asking this one person to anticipate and meet our every need with tenderness and compassion in a time when we are feeling extra-ordinarily high stress, sadness, anger, etc. I hope you see what I did there ; ) If you're looking for a gantt chart, playbook, guarantee, and some sort of web-based portal where you can log-in and control your heart out, definitely look else where. If you're looking for an experienced attorney running her own show with professionalism, and you can remember she has other clients, and a life of her own, I feel confident saying: stop looking, hire Bethanie.

I came to Bethany Fanti with an impossible case and another complicated case. One in Dependency Court and one in Family Court. She was fabulous. She took on the issues, researched, kept me informed and fought for me 150%. She has a sharp mind and can deal with pressure beautifully. She handled the other lawyers and showed graceful confidence. We went to trial and she was amazing. I love her and I will always recommend her to everyone. She won both my cases and the odds were slim. I have been using her as my lawyer since January 2011, the most recent case May 2014.

She is professional. She is empathetic. She is knowledgeable and strong. She knows how to multi task and she is organized and she follows through. She is trustworthy and she sees the views of all parties involved and helps you see things from a logical perspective. She is kind and she is great at communication. She cares deeply for her clients well being and if children are involve, she cares about the well being of the child from a logical stand point and Is always looking out for you. She is supportive and a great person. Which makes her a great attorney. I would highly recommend her to anyone in need of a good family law attorney. She is a strong woman and that's just some of the reasons why she's the best attorney!

I hired Bethanie in the middle of my ugly high conflict custody battle. I found her just a couple of days before my next hearing and she was willing to take on my case as well as read through my file and catch up on what had been happening. I was impressed with how well prepared she was in such little time. Since hiring her I have gone through a full child custody investigation and I am about to start another partial investigation. Between the two investigations Bethanie helped in coming to a temporary agreement with my ex and her lawyer, only to receive notice a few weeks later that my ex wanted to move the kids out of state. Bethanie took immediate action and thus far has prevented my children from being removed from California. Bethanie has and continues to handle my case with great diligence. She always keep me up to date with anything I need to be aware of, she is always available even on the weekends if you need to get ahold of her, she is friendly and knowledgeable. I would recommend her to all my family and friends.

I hired Bethanie to assist me with my divorce and I couldn't have picked a better lawyer. She cares about her clients and is upfront and honest. My divorce was really a difficult one when it didn't need to be and Bethanie fought for me to get me a favorable outcome. She went over and above to help me and communicated information to me effectively. I would recommend Bethanie to anyone looking for legal assistance and will refer her to anyone I know that needs help.

I cannot express enough gratitude to Bethanie Fanti. Bethanie is an excellent Family Law lawyer who is caring and compassionate with her clients. She is a professional in her field and can be depended upon to do a quality job. Bethanie is knowledgeable, prompt, motivated,passionate, and a dedicated attorney. I'm so glad Bethanie is my family law lawyer. I know I can always count on her and highly recommend her.

Ms. Fanti, I just wanted to take a moment to thank Ms. Fanti for her exceptional work these past 6 months. Bethanie’s professionalism, advice and counseling, really helped guide me through this difficult period of my life. Without the dedication from Bethanie and the firm, I do not know that I would be where I am today. Having a soon to be ex-wife hit me in front of the children and then leave abruptly, while making statements that “these were her children and not mine,” would make any man worry that he might not see his children again. In addition, when my soon to be ex-wife made false claims of child molestation, so as to try to gain full custody of the children, my world came crashing down. Bethanie was there, stood by and guided me by explaining the procedures, timeframes and how we were going to have me regain my joint legal and physical custody of the children. Bethanie and the firm provided all of the necessary resources and explained the judicial procedures in a way that someone, like myself, could easily understand. In addition, when a 730 evaluation was ordered by my soon to be ex-wife, an extremely lengthy 4 month ordeal, Bethanie was there with me every step of the way, guiding me and making sure that “we” got through this together. I am sure that I must have asked a thousand questions and each time, Bethanie made me feel like I was her most important client by always taking the time to go through scenarios, procedures and questions being asked by me. Bethanie’s guidance these past 6 months has been second to none and if any of my friends or colleagues have the misfortune to go through a divorce or custody issues, I would recommend Bethanie in an instant. Bethanie is really top-notch. I look forward to continue working with Bethanie in the upcoming months to finalize the divorce and I know that I am in good hands with Bethanie and Wallin & Klarich. Best Regards, P.K.

Bethanie will always have an excuse when she doesn't do something she's supposed to. My ex's attorney came down hard on her for not doing things when she was supposed to and being a weasel when she was caught being unprofessional. If I could do it all over, I would not have hired her and probably would have gotten more of what I wanted for my family.

Bethanie Fanti "represented" me in a child support case. At the first hearing she did not show up to court and the judge set the monthly payments to the maximum allowed by law. I had to pay this amount for 15 months until she finally fixed things. In the end my payments were fair but she cost my family so much grief for such a long time and many thousands of dollars in extra legal fees. I had to pay twice the amount of the final judgement for 15 months.

Failed to address concerns, cost me extra money, needlessly extended my case, and ignored my case during a time sensitive strech. I had to get outside advice to manage Ms. Fanti to prevent further financial and emotional distress.

I hired Bethanie Fanti after referred by another senior attorney in her firm to me as I was told I couldn't hire the senior attoeny due to his time constraints. In two weeks of dealing with her, I realized that she is what we call an 'intern' in other professions. Please make no mistake, she is a nice person, but she has not much professional know-how or knowledge to deal with the court system. No knowledge of how to argue even simple cases. She is very timid and afraid to do say anything in court. She avoids initiating anything to do with the case, except to go with the flow. All she did was bill my retainer and never cared to do anything on behalf of my case. She didn't show up in court on time on my very first appearance with a lame excuse that she had to attend another client's case on the same day. After learning the fact that I was cheated by the firm she works for, I fired her right away and I'm still trying to get back my retainer. Her firm knows how to manipulate the court system in the wrong ways, and once your money is in, there is no way out - either as a service or as a refund. Stay away and hire someone who is more reasonable and disciplined in at-least trying to work for their clients.