Nell Anne Oram

I discussed/consulted my case at length with Ms Oram and her paralegal prior to signing. Ms Oram’s estimate was also in line with 2 other attorneys I consulted with. I hired her and her paralegal based on a caring, combined team of knowledge and experience, The Contract has some typical standards o...f Monthly billing, Paralegal usage and Terms of Net10 payment. There are other Contract terms I should have paid attention to. Nothing was explained in billing details. With an impression I would be in good hands, I trusted the process. -Within the first few months, my trust was violated! My spouse was erroneously served at work; and to his employee; I didn’t receive a statement until 3 months later; also indicating Ms Oram already used half my retainer without my knowledge; I was also charged for other fees without discussion. These experiences created extreme undue stress for me. However, Ms Oram convinced me not to worry, promising transparency and accurate, monthly billing statements. This did not happen. As time went on Ms Oram lied to me. She created situations for more fees. She started padding timelines. She would ignore me regarding discrepancies. She continued to email bills 2 or 3 months later marked as the 1st of the month. She billed additional hidden charges. She lost my money at one point then charged me to discuss what happened to it. Her experienced paralegal was replaced with some gal just out of college with no business degree or even job experience. - Why didn’t I fire Ms Oram? A lot of this was discovered much later and within a couple months of final negotiations. Ms Oram then ignored my instructions regarding final negotiations, fabricated padded and mystery fees to create two more invoices for $15k, then emailed me these statements months later with threats of her contract terms. She told me her value was worth the amount she charged and then ignored my emails to discuss or negotiate these charges. In all - she charged me more than double her estimated quote, more than double the opposing attorney and more than the rest of all case charges combined. We did not go to Divorce Court or have custody issues. No kids. We did have 1 home, 2 cars, 401Ks and a lifetime of savings. Unfortunately I trusted Ms Oram, but Ms Oram took significant, unethical advantage of me.

Ms Oram will intentionally not tell you how she will spend your money, what she determines is billable, ethical or inform you how much she is spending. RECORD EVERY CONVERSATION because Ms. Oram will mislead you. Ms. Oram will pad her fees and ramp up excessiveness over time. She will create situati...ons in order to justify extra fees and will ignore you if you say NO. She will claim later that the work was done anyway because of some reason ‘she can’t recall’. She will claim to spend 3x longer than other attorneys on something. She will start sending snippet emails and charge .20. She will do simple administrative tasks and claim this as Atty work. She will read an email, then write an emai the following day to charge .20 twice. She will bill you for discussions about her late billing statements, missing money or computer issues. Do not be surprised if she tells you one thing on the phone and sends an email to the contrary, regarding any issue, to lay a foundation for a dispute later. She will not recall any phone or one-on-one conversations that a 3rd person cannot attest to. Do not be surprised if she claims she will send a bill, but waits another month or two until she can come up with more things to charge for. Do not be surprised if she creates duplicate work and charges you for any mistakes or staff training. Do not be surprised if later Ms Oram claims that you agreed to this. Do not be surprised that she doesn’t follow her own contract - You will be the one paying more than double her original estimated claim and more than double the opposing Atty, because she will ensure to unethically bill you as much as she possibly can and not take any responsibility for her actions. I was fooled by her cleverness. She’s had 30 years experience taking advantage of people in vulnerable situations and she will get away with it. If you hire Ms. Oram - RECORD EVERYTHING! Please heed my warning.

Nell was recommended to me by two separate attorneys. They both described her as the lawyer other lawyers would go to for their child custody concerns. I couldn't ignore an in-industry recommendation of that caliber, and it has proven to be the best choice I could have made. Child custody cases are... stressful and having an experienced professional is essential. Nell was not only attentive to all my legal concerns but she is a kind, caring and understanding of her clients emotional needs which made a huge difference in my ability to handle the process. Her trial expertise was impressive and I fully believe I would not have been granted such a positive finding if it were not for the manner in which Nell handled the proceedings. Whether you are able to settle with legal assistance or have to go through the full court experience as I did, you really cannot do better than having Nell as your attorney.