Nancy S. Weil

To start, I want to say that I am posting this review after the fact, and it will make zero difference to my/our children’s lives. My sole purpose for writing this is to warn and educate other desperate parents. I sincerely hope this helps someone/anyone, as I wish I had the benefit of hearing others...’ experiences with Nancy Weil as GAL, good and/or bad. Like myself at the time, if you feel Nancy is your only option – WAIT for someone else. So to speak, you get what you wait for. Objective review (in a nutshell): Nancy is incompetent, unprofessional, uncaring/callous, and lazy (her report also suggests illiterate). Please let me know if you would like a redacted copy. Truthful/detailed review of my first-hand experience: Similar to the reviewer below, being the “losing” party (obviously), this is the most objective review I’m capable of writing, and I’m posting this, to the extent possible, after having had ample time to “cool off” and recover. I initially had serious reservations about engaging Nancy after my ex-husband’s attorney disclosed that she had previously worked with Nancy (imo this should not be allowed, irrespective of whether it was disclosed or not). However, after Inquiring with 15+ names of GALs provided by KCSC (she was not on the list), I agreed to use Nancy because I was desperate to find a GAL with availability. Suffice to say, myself, and subsequently our children, learned in the most life-changing way possible, the reason for Nancy’s quick availability. Ultimately, as it turned out, her proposed schedule was moot due to her multiple vacations and “illnesses”, which significantly delayed the scheduling of our trial. Had we waited for a professional, experienced, and respected GAL, that person most likely would have stuck to their stated schedule and the timing difference would have been insignificant. In my first-hand experience, Nancy was incompetent, lazy, biased/pious, without compassion/ empathy/ bedside manner, and strictly financially motivated. As was to be her SOLE role, Nancy did not get to know, nor consider the feelings/emotional wellbeing of our children. She did not even meet the kids, as she advised after we engaged her that her contact with all involved parties would be remote. Nancy’s “investigation” and final work product was shoddy, at best, especially for the exorbitant fees she billed, exponentially increased by unnecessary tasks/communications. As evidenced throughout her “report”, being generous, was a mess on the whole. Nancy consistently made incorrect statements and extremely impactful negative judgments without sufficient/any supporting facts or evidence, and she made zero effort to obtain any such information. Unfortunately, since I represented myself and did not have the advice of an experienced family law attorney, I did not realize the weight and possible ramifications of a GAL report, hence how critical this role was/is. Apparently it is a commonly known fact that family law courts essentially “rubber stamp” GAL reports (Google this!), as opposed to serving its intended purpose of thoughtfully and independently, based on the actual evidence provided, determining the best interests of the families/children involved. The court is supposed to be the one to see past baseless accusations and all the hurt, anger, and desperation of the parties, with the sole objective of providing just and thoughtful outcomes for the sake of the most vulnerable children. Compared to other countries, our family law system is a disgrace. It is an uncaring, unfeeling, money-making scam, which robs families of their life savings (and, in my case, more), when families are at their mercy and at their most vulnerable. Lastly, do not make the mistake I did – go with your gut!

Getting divorced is arguably the most painful and stressful life event you will ever experience. Finding an attorney to represent you in your darkest days can feel overwhelming and daunting. I researched several attorneys and found that NONE of them would speak to me prior to me retaining them. How c...ould I possibly hire them to represent me if we hadn't even had an introductory conversation? Nancy was the ONLY lawyer that I contacted who provided me with a free consultation before requiring a retainer. I knew in the first two minutes of us speaking that I would hire Nancy to represent me. She was empathetic, direct, and knew how we would approach my divorce. Fast forward several years later and I can confidently say I wouldn't be where I am today without Nancy in my corner. She highly strategic, smart, and pragmatic. She is an expert at navigating the legal system, and will not lead her clients astray. Nancy is well respected, concise, and dynamic. She does have a little spice to her and doesn't sugar coat her feedback, which I have always appreciated because I knew she would never present unreasonable. Her ability to effectively argue in court is nothing short of remarkable. There are few people that can match her ability to distill complex information into thoughtful yet succinct briefs/arguments. I have learned an immense amount from her and consider her representation akin to gaining a post secondary degree. I've always felt that Nancy has my back, she is fair with her billing, and doesn't pad her hours. She is thoughtful in her approach and always develops the plan WITH me. If you hire Nancy you can rest assured that you will be expertly represented.

Nancy gave a first impression of being proactive and strategic in her thinking. However, working with her over time showed this was not accurate. She does know the system, the procedures, and the players in the King County Divorce process. I had a case with complex finances. She initially ans...wered my questions with confidence and seemed to have a plan. However, over time she would flip flop and unilaterally switch strategy without discussing with me. For example, after telling me mediation was not a good idea, she just started talking about plans for mediation in a subsequent phone call. At mediation I felt alone and unrepresented. It was so bad that afterward, I hired a new attorney and fired her. Now, that I have worked with someone else, I see how poorly represented I was with Nancy. My current attorney is respectful and provides transparency in what he is doing. He keeps me informed. He has been consistent in his approach and thoughtful/accurate in answering my legal questions. Nancy is the opposite. I have learned that some of Nancy's answers to my legal questions were just plain wrong. She was not always courteous (sometimes snarky) to the point that I got a stomach ache when I had to speak with her. I feel that I wasted a LOT of money with Nancy. Too much billable time was spent on things like the financial statement that haven't really mattered. Yet, she did not address issues regarding bank accounts that would require some deep thinking and advocating for me on her part. I have been with the new attorney, who has a higher hourly rate, for longer than I was with Nancy, but I have spent less money on legal fees. Plus, I have gotten better service. I feel that he is on my side. With her, I felt like she was doing what was easiest for her and then trying to intimidate me into accepting it. Going into mediation, I really did not know what her strategy was and when I asked her, she was snarky. There may be certain kinds of cases where she is an adequate attorney. She does know the system. But, if you have a complex case that requires a hard working attorney who looks out for your best interests, there are better attorneys than Nancy Weil out there. I do not recommend her. When I was looking for a new attorney, one attorney told me that Nancy had a reputation for charging a lot of fees but not working too hard. I recognize that this is hearsay, but it is consistent with my experience. I also noticed that in one of Nancy's positive reviews, initially the reviewer found her a little "condescending". I can see someone getting that first impression. Condescension is consistent with my experience.

My case was very difficult. I was in an abusive relationship. I'm a legal inmmigrant with an autistic baby. My ex wants to take my baby from me as I did't have a job at the time (full time mom), and I was scare about him taking advatage on my situation as I never worked on the States before because m...y visa didn't allowed me. Nancy and her team was very very helpful, she explain all my rights and take care of me, my baby and my assets. When my head was overwhelmed by the situation she take care of everything making the most rough time of my life easier. I felt with strengh thanks to all her good work. Beside to be the best attorney, she is a mom, so she understands perfectly what my concerns was. She always responded my calls and emails on time and what I admire from her, is her honesty. She never take advantage of sending emails or anything like that to charge, it was actually the opposite, she knew my economic situation and helped me to go trhough it smoothly. I will recommend her all my life. Is thanks to her that my baby is with me now. I owe my peace and happy life to her!.