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!

I would seriously consider choosing Nancy to be your lawyer in a high conflict case with a potentially aggressive ex-spouse. Nancy immediately saw the issues that would unfold in my case from the very first meeting. She is fair and will be able to tell you what your case looks like from a parenting e...valuator or GAL perspective, which will be highly valuable in a divorce with custody issues. Unfortunately, Nancy wasn't my primary lawyer. I used her as co-counsel. In my first meeting, Nancy did not have the best "bedside manner", which turned me off from her. I regret this decision. If you can accept her tough approach as an aspect of her methodology as a lawyer to get down to the facts, she will be a very good attorney for you and will make the best argument for your case. All of my future family court issues will be done with Nancy. I did not provide a "kept me informed" rating because she wasn't my primary lawyer. However, I'm sure she would be very good at that. I gave her 4 out of 5 stars only because I thought she could have been a bit more compassionate and slightly less condescending toward me in our initial meeting. If that happens to you, let it slide by and remember that she's trying to get down to the core of the issues and that she will argue on your behalf.

Nancy is a brilliant family law attorney. I would trust her with any family law issue. Nancy is spot on. She knows the family law system. She is very thorough, detailed, and succinct. She knows how to cut straight to the issues at hand. I have learned so much from Nancy and am grateful to her ...for her support and advocacy during such an emotional time. We prevailed in a very difficult situation and I know it was 100% because of Nancy's brilliant and confident handling of my case. You can depend on her to do everything possible for your case and cause. I was so impressed by her as a person and as a professional.