Shelly Kay Perkins

I made many mistakes along the way in my divorce and seemingly inevitable follow up custody battle (8 years start to recent finish) The prolonged nightmare was the direct result of no lawyer and then a poor lawyer. When I hired Shelly I had no leverage and little hope of getting my kids into a bett...er situation. Over a period of almost two years, due to constant delays created by the other side and the need for a custody study, Shelly shepherded me and my case though a mess and didn't break the bank. She is efficient, smart and EFFECTIVE! Thanks to Shelly I now have Joint Custody, and the majority of parenting time, and I don't have pay my ex a dime. Oh yeah, and I'm a guy... Shelly got me Custody, Parenting time and no payments in Multnomah County in spite of a wishy washy custody study where the Dr. couldn't come to grips with the idea that I was the primary parent Bottom line, whoever you are, hire Shelly and do what she says. This will make the rest of your life better. Seriously, Call her

I have had a few attorneys. Shelly Perkins was definitely in another league compared to them. She helped me to get full custody of my daughter. She never gave up, had a great attitude, very smart, and a true pleasure to deal with. You will definitely be satisfied with her work. She is nothing short o...f amazing.

Ms. Shelly Perkins has been my attorney for several years through a particularly grueling visitation situation. It has always been important for me to have as much time as possible with my daughter. When I first hired Shelly, my daughter was less than a year old. At the time, the child's mother was o...nly willing to give me visitation every other Saturday and Sunday and was insisting that I pick my daughter up on Saturday morning, return her Saturday evening only to pick her up again on Sunday morning and return her on Sunday late afternoon. Being that I wanted to spend more quality time with my daughter and that the mother's residence was 45 minutes away, I decided to find an attorney to seek more time with my the child. Oregon claims to be progressive in that fathers are given equal opportunity to parent. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be the case in speaking to several people in situations similar to my own. My consultation with Shelly was through an Employee Assistance Program though my work. I instantly felt at ease with Shelly and she explained the child custody laws and we discussed what I wanted and what options I had. I wrote a check for a retainer and have never had regrets. Our first court date awarded me not only an overnight every other weekend but an overnight and full day every other Thursday. I also was able to have four weeks with my daughter throughout the year. Shelly was well-organized, informed, and really just ran circles around the mother's attorney. We were able to stay with this visitation plan for three years. Over the years, there were a few incidents where the mother denied my parenting time with my daughter. When I was not able to have my child for the agreed upon Christmas break, I contacted Shelly, apprised her of the situation, and put her back on retainer. The mother hired a new attorney because she was dissatisfied with the last judgment. Before our court date, the mother and her attorney offered a child visitation plan that actually gave less time when all the calculations were said and done. I chose to go to court and unfortunately it took five hearings to finally get the visitation schedule settled. The length of time was no fault of Shelly's but rather the other attorney. I said that Shelly ran circles around the mother's first attorney and this was definitely true of the new attorney. For example, the mother's attorney would state what she called a "fact" and Shelly was able to open her well-maintained case file and within seconds, find proof that the fact was not a fact at all. Shelly tried to settle the visitation out of court by working with the mother's attorney but the other side refused to give an inch. As I mentioned, we went to court five times. The other attorney was constantly late, disruptive, and very unorganized. Looking back, I can say that Shelly kept the focus on the child while the other side focused on money, how much overtime I worked, etc. In the end, I was awarded week on/week off with my daughter over the summer. I have three weekends a month, an overnight for all school holidays, every spring break, every Memorial Day weekend, every other Thanksgiving, and half of Winter break. I even have a two hour dinner visit with my daughter on the Wednesday of the week that I don't have her for the weekend. Please let me note that this was never about the money for me. I didn't want more time with my daughter so I could pay less in support. I wanted time with my daughter because I love her and want to be a part of her growing up. Shelly helped me be able to do just that. People that I speak with are surprised that I received so much time and I credit Shelly's tenacity, level-headedness, and knowledge of family law. My daughter is now five and I am sure that before she turns 18, we will be in court again. When that time comes, I would want no one but Shelly as my attorney. Five stars out of five.

Ms. Perkins was hired, performed less than three months of work - mainly through her associate Adrienne, who was excellent - and then quit abruptly less than a month before the trial. She did not understand or advance my case at all. In fact, she undermined it. Do not hire this attorney if you ar...e involved in a high conflict case. This attorney can not understand or handle aggressivley unethical opposition. Waste of time, money, energy, all to end up far worse off had I not hired her. Avoid.

Shelly Perkins went above and beyond to represent me in my custody case. Countless hours were spent in the preparation of my case and she was no nonsense in her manner and told me what I needed to do every step of the way in order to get the results I wanted from my case. She was a fighter all the wa...y and stood up for me and my child. She was very educated in the law and her advice was brilliant. I liked her strong personality and her directness. She was always a phone call or an email away morning, noon, and night with any questions I had. I would recommend her to handle even the toughest of custody cases where you feel all hope is lost. She will be your guiding light and get you more than you even thought possible. Worth every penny. Her knowledge and experience is the top in her field. I will be forever grateful for her and would give her 10 stars if I could.