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!

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.