Robert A Kelly

Rob and Sonia did a fantastic job for me and I recommend them highly. Rob is knowledgeable, empathic, and very patient in explaining the laws. I picked him because I didn't want a confrontational divorce, and true to his word he directed the process so that my ex-wife and I ended up in agreement on all the important issues. I got so comfortable with his advocacy that after the initial meetings I hardly thought about the divorce, after initially being obsessed with it. I never even met with Rob in person. The whole process was done on my iPhone while I was on the road. Sonia was wonderful. She explained things clearly, gave me great advice, and kept my spirits up in the initial difficult stages. I interviewed a different divorce lawyer but didn't use him because he didn't have an assistant like Sonia, who was always reliable and available when I needed her.

Rob represented me in my divorce and I was very pleased with his level of expertise, professionalism, and willingness to listen to my desired outcomes. His calm and knowledgeable approach to the process was greatly appreciated.

I worked with Rob on a couple of different occasions with my divorce. I always felt that communication was great, his work was thorough, and was pleased with the end result.

I hired Rob after interviewing numerous family lawyers in the area. I chose him because he brought the father's perspective to my case; he is obviously a family man; he wasn't simply a hired gun charging high fees and following some of my uninformed ideas; he has decades of experience and a respected place in the legal community; anyone who meets him would both respect him as a good guy and one who wouldn't back down in a conflict; and because I felt his priority was to do the right thing for my children. Mine was a complicated case involving DV, an ex with infinite time and money for a prolonged battle, two young children, and me in a state of shock and fear. Throughout the process, I always felt that Rob was telling me the truth and giving me sound advice, not just to win the case and be a bully, but to make sure my children and myself were protected. I also love his sharp and competent staff of strong women. A formidable, but altogether humane, team... I can't thank these people enough.

I cannot speak highly enough of Rob Kelly as the best possible attorney for a high conflict divorce or custody case. He genuinely cares about his clients, has high integrity, and his team at the office match his thoughtfulness and care. I am grateful to him for the many ways he supported myself and my son through the most difficult of times.

Divorce is not pleasant or easy is something we can all agree on. Working with Rob and his responsive staff made the situation manageable with an excellent outcome for myself and my ex-husband without going to trial. From my first meeting with Rob I thought he was extremely knowledgeable about family law and most importantly is an excellent communicator and listener. He and his staff always showed me respect and courtesy in all situations. I never felt my bill was being run up as he delegated what was appropriate to his staff to control my costs. There was always transparency for work being done on my behalf. For friends and acquaintances seeking a lawyer one can trust to be a strong yet flexible advocate I can without hesitation recommend Rob Kelly.

I worked with Rob on a high conflict custody case for over 4 months. Every interaction I had with Rob and his staff was professional, considerate and thorough. He worked tirelessly as an advocate for myself and family, putting in dedicated hours day after day. While the legal fees were mounting, he was simultaneously working to make a case that the children's father had brought the suit in bad faith, maliciously accusing me of activities and behaviors that were not true. While all along reminding me it would difficult to prove, I always had faith in Rob's ability to take my information through the legal lens to convince the court our parenting plan should not change, and he should pay legal fees. Rob was fair, professional and never stooped the level the other lawyers or my ex-husband, did. This makes him exemplary, in my book, because there were plenty of times he could have used information against the children's father and didn't. We still won the case, with the judge ruling to increase my child support and pay my legal fees. I'm convinced after meeting over 10 lawyers in Bellingham, nobody could have done this except Rob

Leaving my 45-year marriage took courage on my part, and special skill on the part of Rob Kelly. Rob explained things patiently, and helped reduce the surprises and turbulence. I wish my divorce had been collaborative, as Rob's background as a mediator would have helped make quick work of a just settlement. But my divorce was more contentious. Still, Rob's mediation background helped me focus on mediation and arbitration, approaches that are far less upsetting and expensive than a full-on court battle. Rob encouraged me to be a full partner in my divorce, listening to all of my ideas and using them every time they fit. I made sure to arrive at every meeting as prepared as possible, with all of the information asked of me. (No matter how great the divorce attorney is, it's important to be an attentive and prepared client. After all, it's your divorce!) At every meeting, I had Rob's full attention: it would have been easy to believe I was his only client. The dedicated paralegals were professional and thorough, and worked very hard to do things in a timely and professional way. Their attention to detail was impressive, time and time again. Rob Kelly treats you with respect and caring. Although he is the very definition of "Mr. Nice Guy," when it's time to get tough on your behalf, he will definitely do that, too. We persevered, and my settlement was very satisfactory to me. Although it was tough and trying, this divorce has given me my life back. My only "tip" for adding value to the attorney-client encounter, no matter whom you hire, is to be prepared, do your homework, and contribute to the process. Staying constructive also helps tamp down the emotional distress. Rob Kelly is an excellent choice for divorce attorney.

After our initial meeting with Robert Kelly, it was very clear he was going to be different. Rob was honest about our particularly frustrating custody battle; he made sure we knew what we could and should expect of him. With that came hope for the first time, as we were finally talking with a knowledgeable attorney who was fully in our corner and was going to do whatever he could to help us. Coming from our last attorney's office whose main motivation was money; we were more than concerned this could be a similar situation. After learning Rob is one of the only attorney's around with two paralegals; amazing paralegals at that, we knew that alone would help with the bill. There have never been any surprises on the bills and Rob has offered such peace of mind by diligently trying to save us money, even while going through this lengthy process. Rob has been dedicated to our case, working tirelessly for us, listening to all concerns, answering all questions and has been there fighting for us the whole time. He has never wasted a dime of ours, which is a precious thing as these dealings are very expensive. Rob has always broken down everything, making things easy to understand and with that, easy to make sound decisions. He has kept us in the loop every step of the way; whenever questions or concerns have come up and he's not available, he gets back to us within a short amount of time. When others may have tried to cut corners, Rob has been upfront and honest with his strong ethics hard to find in others. He has managed to take an enormous weight off and has made this unbearable process bearable. Rob was ready and willing to litigate this case if necessary but he skillfully found a way to get mediation onto the table. This had seemed impossible before him and court looked like the only inevitable way to finish this. We felt more than confident putting our full trust in Rob and his team and it paid off. Rob not only was more than prepared for the face to face, he did not allow any of the shady tactics the other side attempted. It was a relief that Rob was our attorney and we weren't on the other side of the table from him. It is only because Rob is a very good attorney that we walked out of there with exactly what we had wanted from the start. My family and I will forever be grateful and indebted to Rob for standing with us through this entire process. You would be hard pressed to find an attorney more dedicated, more skillful or more of a client advocate than Robert Kelly.

Rob was so lovely during my entire divorce process. He opened my eyes to a few things that will help me work with my ex-husband better and to be a better parent. I appreciated his patient demeanor and kind heart and definitely above all else had my best interests at heart

I worked with Rob Kelly for 18 months during a traumatic child custody dispute where my ex-wife was trying to move our son away to a different school district and drastically reduce my custodial time. Rob Kelly came highly recommended by other Family Lawyers and from the moment I met with Rob, I knew he was not only an exceptional lawyer but a good man too. He was honest from the outset regarding my chances of prevailing (not good) and didn't pull any punches during our work together. He was knowledgeable, determined, patient, caring, sympathetic, charming, honest and ultimately very successful as we won every single installment of a protracted case that dragged on for months due to my ex-wife's selfish behaviour. Rob and his excellent Paralegals are a formidable team and I'm glad I hired them and had them on my side. Whilst Rob works to the highest ethical standards, he is also more than ready and capable to stand his ground and fight his clients' corner toe-to-toe when required and because he keeps this part of his arsenal in reserve, it can have a devastating effect on the opposing client and counsel. I'm delighted with the work that Rob and his team did for me, ecstatic at the results they got for me and I recommend Rob Kelly wholeheartedly and unreservedly. I'm a very good father. Rob Kelly is an exceptional lawyer.

Had extensive criminal, drug, and CPS reports on my ex and I am squeaky clean, "A slam dunk case" he called it. He said he wouldn't go over the retainer, then shook my hand and said he wouldn't go over the next bill, and then agin. He was not confident in the courtroom and when we lost the case he tells me I still won. My son 3 year old son was surrounded by meth alcohol and felons but we still won. few months later I hired peach and won in half the time and half the price. I could have done a better job in the Cort room, honestly.