Kimberly is Caring and Professional. I would recommend her to anyone who is seeking legal counsel in the matter of family law.
Kimberly is currently my attorney in an ongoing legal case. She is a great person to work with while I am going though this very difficult time in my life. She is knowledgeable on every matter I have brought to her and has even spoke with other attorneys in her firm to make sure we are taking the best steps for the most beneficial outcome. Kimberly is very deliberate with her time and that is a huge blessing since family law attorney are usually paid on an hourly basis. Most importantly to me is that I can tell she genuinely cares about the outcome of this case and she is in this field to represent people she can help. She is worth every cent of what she charges and likely more. With her efficiency and knowledge she brings, you will have a better outcome in less time than it would take most attorneys to get.
Kimberly is a founding partner of the law firm Lewellen | Strebe P.C., a practice focused exclusively on family law. She is a trial attorney and mediator who specializes in matters involving high conflict parties and challenging legal issues in complex family law litigation. Kimberly is certified as a family law specialist by the State Bar of California.
Kimberly has dedicated her practice to advising clients in garden variety divorces to individuals involved in high-stakes, complex financial and custody matters. With deep experience in complex family law litigation and premarital agreements, Kimberly helps her clients navigate challenging circumstances to achieve successful outcomes. She understands the need to keep sensitive family matters private and that the most successful outcome is negotiated settlement in a discrete manner.
Kimberly concentrates her practice in all areas of matrimonial and family law, including divorce, separation, paternity, custody, domestic abuse, and premarital, post-marital, and marital settlement agreements. She has established strong relationships with some of the State's best experts on family law matters. She regularly leads a team of these experts to help her clients obtain the best possible outcomes in their situation.
For clients who choose to proceed with their family matter in mediation with full document process services for filing and service, Lewellen | Strebe offers below market rates for the purpose of encouraging settlement in a neutral and supportive environment. This benefit for parties who hire her as a mediator applies to the case no matter the net worth or income levels of the parties. Lewellen | Strebe has an in-house forensic accountant who is also a mediator. For mediations involving financial issues, Kimberly and George co-mediate on cases that may require advanced financial analysis. This service stems from the firm's core value of serving others and wanting to help them in a time of great need regardless of their financial circumstances.
Our firm primarily serves clients in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento area but have represented clients throughout Northern California. We have offices in San Francisco, Redwood City, and Sacramento.
Kimberly is admitted to practice in California state courts and all federal U.S. District Courts in California.
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Kim is Cooperative and Strategic
Kim is an amazing attorney. She is cooperative, strategic, and fierce at the same time. You will be in amazing hands with Kim.
Posted by Bryce Deatherage | July 7, 2021
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Kimberly is Caring and Professional. I would recommend her to anyone who is seeking legal counsel in the matter of family law.
Kimberly is currently my attorney in an ongoing legal case. She is a great person to work with while I am going though this very difficult time in my life. She is knowledgeable on every matter I have brought to her and has even spoke with other attorneys in her firm to make sure we are taking the best steps for the most beneficial outcome. Kimberly is very deliberate with her time and that is a huge blessing since family law attorney are usually paid on an hourly basis. Most importantly to me is that I can tell she genuinely cares about the outcome of this case and she is in this field to represent people she can help. She is worth every cent of what she charges and likely more. With her efficiency and knowledge she brings, you will have a better outcome in less time than it would take most attorneys to get.
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Posted by Ravi | March 15, 2021
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Kim is fantastic!!
She is smart, driven, strategic, knowledgeable, prepared, detail oriented and fast. She is aggressive when she needs to be and fair and compassionate when needed. She is also very responsive, very involved and passionate about success. She is a fantastic advocate to have on your side in a complex situation.
I had a long tough divorce that took over 5 years to resolve. I had a difficult financial situation with a business I started during marriage and many financial ups and downs. My ex wife made many false claims and unfair accusations. Kim saw through all this and plotted a path to success. Before engaging Kim, I went through two other lawyers, so I had a good basis to compare her performance. My previous lawyers were slow and barely involved. They would not understand the issues and ramble on endlessly.
Kim is nothing like that. At one point there was a need to get a critical agreement signed in just two hours. She made it happen! At other points we needed to work while she was travelling. She did so and still ensured all the details were right.
Few matters in life, outside of health matters, have as much impact on you life as a divorce. Choosing a good lawyer for this, is very hard, but also very critical. I whole heartedly and highly recommend Kim to anyone that needs one.
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Posted by Stuart | August 17, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Kimberly was amazing!
After filling in for her partner, Michael Strebe, on short notice for a Gavron Warning court hearing, Kimberly demonstrated great ability to be thorough and well prepared. She conducted herself in a very professional and knowledgeable fashion which allowed us to get a Gavron Warning placed on my ex-wife. I was very impressed and look forward to working with her again as the need arises.
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Posted by Ali | May 19, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Smart, upfront, and a brilliant attorney!
I hired Kim a few months after a default judgment relating to falsified and distorted claims filed by my ex-girlfriend in response to a longstanding dispute.
After a muddling breakup, my ex-girlfriend refused to acknowledge our agreed-upon arrangement of property. To quash my claims, she filed various inflammatory accounts of abuse hundreds of miles from my feasible vicinity. On my very first call with Kim, she immediately saw through the accusations as confounding by design. Whereas many reputable attorneys, unable to digest the sea of information, provided me with faulty guidance, Kim recognized the reality of the dispute and was able to structure the best path forward. I hired her on the spot over the first call.
At our first trial she thoroughly outclassed the opposing counsel and ultimately paved the path towards an ideal settlement. She is a constant advocate and I leave her practice feeling wholeheartedly indebted.
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Posted by Jeff | March 23, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
An attorney who truly cares....
Kimberly is excellent at her chosen craft: Family Law. She truly cares about her clients, because she listens carefully and then with her client's permission, she leverages years of practical experience litigating and advocating for her clients. She is a consummate professional. I would highly recommend her to anyone who is seeking an attorney who truly cares and has a proven track record of measurable results.
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Posted by anonymous | March 20, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
First lawyer review.
Kim has been helping me through my child custody case. Kim has been great to me. She tells me exactly what needs to be done and I trust her experience. She answers all my questions and gives me clear answers. She has also been very patient which I appreciate. My case is still ongoing but so far she has helped me to get time with my kids that I want. She seems to really know her stuff and I enjoy her attitude in court.
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Posted by Dino | March 18, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
On Point
Kimberly is an excellent attorney. Throughout my volatile and often emotional mediation process, Kimberly remained diligent and professional. She was prepared, direct and assertive. Her knowledge, experience and proven credibility was invaluable toward reaching a good outcome. Kimberly brought a rational perspective to an often irrational negotiation. I appreciate her counsel and leadership.
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Posted by Anthony | March 18, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Determined on Behalf of Her Clients
In 2014, in the midst of a tough divorce and international separation from my children, I had the fortune of meeting with and retaining the services of Kimberly Lewellen. Kimberly quickly helped me understand the issues that lay ahead for a single Father who is seeking shared custody. As this is an uphill challenge for Fathers, I deeply appreciated Kimberly's direct, yet clear and considerate insights.
Kimberly's expertise in defense of Fathers is noteworthy. We were able to establish both legal and physical custody rights locally, however we did have a difficult time getting my ex spouse to comply with the judgment. It's a unique situation to have a counselor who clearly understands divorce and custody matters from a Fathers perspective. That truly helped matters along the way.
One aspect that drew me to her services and still remains to this day, is that Kimberly engages on your behalf with a steel focus to demand what is in the best interest of her client, while maintaining dignity in her efforts. It was important to me to find an attorney that would support my case by managing it with a level of decency and care considering that there were children involved. Kimberly was able to deliver on that as well, and I was able walk away from my legal matter at peace with my results.
I am confident in my recommending Kimberly Lewellen for counsel on Child and Family legal matters.
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Posted by Clint | May 13, 2019
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Saved my startup amidst a divorce storm!
Kim took my case from day one with all the facts in mind and worked toward my end goal with their CPAs and team members.
She fought hard to get me the settlement I needed to continue to run the business I founded during my marriage. If you are looking for a key partner to help you navigate the murky waters of divorce and business continuity then Kim is just right for you.
Highly recommended!
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Posted by Mark | February 7, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Poor representation - Made my divorce experience worse
I am an attorney, and I hired Kim Lewellen (formerly of Cordell & Cordell) to represent me during my divorce. I had a HORRIBLE experience with Ms. Lewellen. As if divorce isn’t difficult enough (especially when children are involved), Ms. Lewellen singlehandedly made the experience much more difficult and painful.
I complained to Ms. Lewellen’s former employer. I found her to be very emotional for an attorney (not to be confused with “passionate”). Specifically, she would get easily worked up over minor, routine litigation issues. She was also combative and unprofessional at times (e.g., communicating with me via text messaging, meeting at coffee shops, etc.). I also complained that she created unnecessary work and failed to appropriately supervise the paralegal assigned to my case, all of which increased my legal fees and costs. When Ms. Lewellen decided to leave Cordell, for practical reasons (my ex agreed to mediation and my case was coming to an end), I agreed to transfer my case instead of hiring a new attorney to re-learn my file, etc. She ultimately abandoned me because—in my view—I think she determined that there was not enough money left in my case. All and all, Ms. Lewellen did not provide the type of counsel and “steady-hand” one would expect from an experienced divorce attorney and what one needs during a difficult process. I wouldn’t recommend her at all.
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Response from Kimberly LewellenMarch 19, 2020
I’m sorry you had a bad experience. I strive for the utmost client satisfaction in every case. The cases that remained with Cordell were transferred to excellent attorneys in the Bay Area offices, well-qualified to handle them. Cordell did not charge for knowledge transfer. I went above and beyond to support the Cordell attorneys and the clients who did not go to my new firm, free of charge.
I have not been at Cordell for a while but am fairly certain they would welcome contact from you to address your concerns in this review. I am sorry that you felt abandoned when I decided not to transfer your case to my new firm and terminated our relationship (for reasons unrelated to what you claim here). I am happy to work with you and leadership at Cordell to privately address your specific comments and perceptions.
The divorce process can be extremely difficult for families, and this is especially true in high conflict cases with warring parties. Transitioning from high conflict litigation to resolving a case in mediation is an excellent outcome for your family.
I work very hard every day to provide the best possible service to all our clients and to accommodate them. For example, if they say they cannot come to the office because of their impacted work schedule, I will meet them at a place of their choosing if they have limited time or capabilities to review, discuss, and deliver time sensitive documents. Very few clients ever ask for these accommodations because of the number of ways we use for secure document delivery, e-signature, and private meetings. I do my best to accommodate a client’s needs. I have a designated work cell phone for clients to text or call if they have time sensitive issues, but email, calls, and office meetings are preferred. I make myself available to timely address any concerns or confusion a client may have, because maintaining a strong relationship with each client is my paramount goal.
I thank you for your feedback.
UPDATE, 3/19/2020: “Mark” has not made any attempt to resolve the issues he raised in his review.
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"I highly recommend Kim for your family law needs. Kim is a fierce and highly skilled advocate for her clients, and well respected in the legal community by her peers."
Family Attorney | May 27
Relationship: Worked together on matter
"I worked with Kimberly for several years and we worked on several cases together. She is an excellent attorney and very competent at handling complex dissolution and custody cases. I highly recommend her."
Family Attorney | Oct 08
Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter
"I have had the pleasure of working as opposing counsel on several matters with Kimberly. She is a fierce advocate for her clients but always reasonable and professional."
Family Attorney | Oct 08
Relationship: Worked together on matter
"I met Kimberly when she was opposing counsel on a case. Kimberly was always well-prepared and she represented her client extremely well. Kimberly is very knowledgeable about family law and civil litigation in general. I was so impressed by her knowledge/performance, that I have referred cases to her (that I cannot handle due to conflicts), and the results have always been very good. Kimberly is a solid, knowledgeable and personable family attorney, and I'm happy to endorse her."
"Kim is a zealous advocate for her client's with an expansive knowledge of the law and strong courtroom presence. She is more than capable of litigating and winning against the most well known attorneys in the community. A great attorney with high integrity and a pleasure to call a colleague."
"I endorse this lawyer highly. Kim is a true professional with experience in all areas of family law practice, including complex financial cases and domestic violence. Kim does not cut corners and will ensure that all aspects of your case are attended to with care."