Douglas Paul Becker

Mr. Becker came recommended as one of the best divorce attorneys in Seattle, so I retained him for 3 months and unfortunately, I found that accolade to be in the distant past in my opinion. Mr. Becker had numerous documented difficulties communicating with me and opposing counsel. He maintained t...wo separate email accounts which caused confusion for both me and for opposing counsel, as stated by both of us numerous times. I became aware of all of Mr. Becker’s missed requests and his not keeping me, the client, informed when I attended a deposition after 2 months and I was told by opposing counsel of a missed request in person. I requested his assistant to forward me all email correspondence and I found that, in particular, Mr. Becker failed to respond to opposing counsel who had requested my credit card statements from him for some time and he even appeared totally unaware to me. Opposing counsel threatened a motion to compel so he then committed to providing the statements to her in one week's time. I provided all the required statements to him on time but then he simply did not provide them to opposing counsel, resulting in the motion against me and a fine. As a result of my bringing him my concerns about his communication, he terminated our retainer agreement improperly, then billed additionally. I now had to defend against a motion to compel and intransigence because Mr. Becker’s failures were blamed on me. I had to retain and ramp up another attorney on short notice costing me thousands more, plus the prejudice to my case due to intransigence. Comments from the court and my next attorney indicated to me that Mr. Becker was at fault. Mr. Becker then took the stubborn position that I owed approximately $10,000 for his services and referred me to collections, despite harming my case and causing me even higher damages. Most attorneys have said this is bad practice, but not Doug. I have counterclaimed. He eventually settled for $3000 of that amount after wasting more attorney’s fees. Overall, I found him to be arrogant and not accepting of his mistakes nor showing any care or empathy for his clients in their difficult times, and I would not even recommend him for small claims. He should retire in my humble opinion.

He and Showrai drop the ball, hard to reach, do not return calls timely, doesn't file paperwork. not sure if this has to do with gender, but for sure the following - if you are a woman going through a divorce, i recommend not hiring him. He will dismiss your very real concerns with evidence back conc...erns and rather fight for your soon to be former husband. he seems to be biased against women for some reason and it is frightening actually. he is not your advocate if you are a woman. but even if not, reviews seem to share a common theme of incompetence. bad actors. very bad.

Doug handled my contentious divorce about three years ago and was my saving grace. He was not only knowledgeable; he was able to push me to seperate the emotional from the details of the divorce. Doug gave me great advice and was always quick to respond to my calls and emails. He sat with me throu...gh twelve hours of mediation and supported me through the process which ended in a more then fair outcome. I am very thankful for having him on my side. I would and have recommended him to the community.

I used Doug to represent me in my divorce from a long-term, highly abusive marriage. I found him well versed in family law, matter of fact regarding my options, professional and compassionate. Doug was thorough in his explanation regarding my rights, how the process would look as well as providing ...a 'reality-check' regarding division of property. Doug kept me out of the court system for which I am truly grateful. And, he provided me with the feeling that I was being treated fairly in a very trying time of my life. I have been able to move forward in my life without feelings of regret or recriminations for which I believe Doug played a part. If you are looking for an attorney who will treat you respectfully while providing you with realistic expectations around property division, child support, etc. than Doug is the lawyer for you. He will make it very clear that his goal is to expedite the proceedings, not drag them out or make it more acrimonious in order to get a greater percentage of the retainer. I found him highly ethical and very reasonable.