H. Michael Finesilver

I hired Mr Finesilver after a consultation with him. He listened to my case regarding child custody and agreed to help. It was only after he took the retainer fee that he became totally negative. He only spoke of all the things I could not do but did not come up with a positive action I could take....

Mr. Finesilver was my second attorney in a complicated divorce process (ex had hidden financial accounts, same name as his father, squandered assets, etc). My case included depositions, out-of-state depositions, parenting evaluation, arbitration, contempt charges (for my ex), motions, reconsideration...s, and more. Mr. Finesilver continually reviewed and cited pertinent legal cases for my case. He was extremely knowledgeable about the law and case law. He would advise me on the pros and cons (including financial implications) pertaining to various choices/options in how we proceeded and which leads were worthy of further investigation - and whether they could result in a potential financial gain or legally favorable gain in the end. With certain issues which would have a financial or legal fee implication, he would explain different options and the associated costs in a straight forward manner, which allowed me to better choose my focus. He was up front about costs for the entire process. Mr. Finesilver tends to talk out-loud while he thinks, which I found to be informative and helped me understand how he was viewing the case and helped me understand the process better (having never used an attorney before). While he can be quite blunt, he is extremely level-headed and helped guide me in looking at the facts and not the emotions in the case. He does not play "dirty" and will not tolerate a client who wants to play "dirty" - even when the opposing side is doing so. His focus is the law and he encourages you to do the same, and ignore inflammatory responses. Mr. Finesilver will reflect upon new incidents or information, and deliberately considers how they could positively or negatively impact your case. His goal is to get you the best long-term, favorable results. In the end I ended up with an appropriate settlement in terms of the divorce and parenting plan, and did not have to go to trial. In addition, his paralegal staff is efficient, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. If I need further legal assistance I will absolutely contact Mr. Finesilver.

Hank came highly recommend, sadly his follow through was not there, he often didn't keep his word, didn't return calls and boasted he was cheaper than all the other guys in town while toting he was a SUPER LAWYER! Hank is really a Luddite at best........ He creates double work with everything h...e does by running everything through an assistant charging for their time, and then his. He rarely answers his phone nor returns calls, he didn't provide an email address and then when asked refused to correspond directly through his own email. He dictates emails and phone calls then reviews them, and has his assistant send in a letter format via the para-legal. The majority of communications are handled in this fashion, it is entirely inefficient and frustrating. The overall efficiency of the system was simply awful. Mr. Finesilver's given expectation for the cost of my divorce was entirely misleading. If you are considering hiring him, be warned, find another lawyer. If you have a lawyer that is matched up against Hank then good for you, as you will benefit from Hank's lack or organization. E.g. he asked me to sign a parenting plan that was full of errors that he repeatedly assured me had been corrected. In fact it was not, even after I put the needed changes in writing and spoon fed them to he and his assistant, he still couldn't get it right. if I wasn't reading everything I would have executed a PP that was not acting in the best interest of my kids or me, and frankly written very poorly. His services were very disappointing, and costly in many ways beyond just monies.