Janel K Ostrem

I found Janel's firm (Seattle Divorce Services) based on their ads on local NPR stations. I chose them based on my interview with Janel. Throughout the process she was collaborative, fair, reasonable and very competent. In contrast to opposing counsel Janel stuck by her firm's mission to not introduc...e additional conflict into the matter. Opposing counsel forced us into an unnecessary and contentious mediation. Throughout this process Janel kept me well informed, but not overly so (held the fees down). The mediator was obviously very impressed with her abilities and knowledge of family law. I got the advice I needed and ended up with an outcome that met my objectives of ensuring my ex wife got what she was entitled and that my rights as a parent of our daughter were protected. I give her and her firm a high recommendation!

Janel was always on top of my case and kept me informed. She always explained what would come up next and was prepared. My divorce was ugly and long, janel did her best to move things along while not nickel and diming me. She will fight for you when you need her to, and knows when to wait things out.... She was a great advocate to have. I highly recommend her, and have to anyone that asks.

I hired Janel as my divorce attorney on a recommendation from my teacher's union. My case was incredibly emotional and filled with more drama than I wanted. I felt hopeless and truthfully, as though I didn't have much of a leg to stand on in court. My ex husband made quite a bit more money than I di...d, was somewhat ruthless in his decisions and pushback, and we had one child together and more so, we were a mid term marriage. Through the process, Janel was knowledgeable, kind, and quick to respond to my questions. She worked with me to provide me options and how to handle the unfolding saga of my life. It truly was a nasty ordeal that, in the end I was able to walk out with my head held high, my dignity in tact, and a new life to unfold in front of me. In my first meeting with Janel, she told me she prefers to be amicable when possible, however, in the event that things were not going our way, she had no problem to go in for the fight. She proved that as my divorce was nasty at the end and even through mediation, she did not back down in order to ensure I was taken care of and not taken advantage of. I have recommended Janel several times to both friends and acquaintances. In the event I need legal counsel or representation again, she is my first choice.

Janel provided a clear understanding of the process steps that we would be dealing with under a normal divorce proceeding. She worked for and supported me in areas that I was not willing to accept the usual outcomes. She listen to and tested many of my settlement expectations and worked with me to ...come up with aggressive, but reasonable positions we used in mediation and court. She provided very good research that she used in case preparation. The third party resources that she had available for use regarding 401k, pension and real estate settlement calculations where great to work with and very knowledgeable. They provided positions that reflected what could be expected under normal conditions and using assertive positions under our strategies. The results we were able to come up with using facts and data supportable by case history, reasonableness and creditable third party calculations benefited me significantly when analyzing the final settlement results. I found the value of her legal services (professional rates) to be reasonable. For each dollar I spent for her support to fight for more value ($ and personal property) staying on my side of the balance sheet, I gained a significant positive multiplier in the end. In a state where process and laws do not favor a man like me, Janel fought and got more than what would be considered a common outcome. Janel also was willing to use technologies such as email, electronic Microsoft Office and Adobe PDF files and electronic transmissions that allowed for reduction in traditional costs of copying, mailing, facsimile transmissions, physical filing and face to face meetings. Use of these tools also allowed for a reduced cycle time. We were able to show that we had responded with electronic date stamps on many of our documents in a significantly more timely and professional way than the opposing counsel. This not only save me money, but the electronic trail was very beneficial in mediation and court.