Heather Elizabeth Forrler

I originally contacted Heather about doing an uncontested divorce. This quickly turned into a 2 1/2 year contested nightmare! Heather, was with me every step of the way, always available for consultation, advice and shoulder crying. She was very reasonable with her billing time and cost. She was a...lso good at weighing the pros and cons as to whether we should settle or go to trial. The only thing I would suggest is that she be more aggressive, she is almost too nice for this type of conflict.

Ms. Forrler could not have handled my case any less professionally. She failed in many regards, and my case was not particularly complicated. Her failures caused me to hire a new attorney solely to address the egregious damages she caused to me and my children throughout the legal process. I relied ...on her for legal advice and representation and was accurate and timely in my communications with her at all times. However, Ms. Forrler made tremendous and inexcusable errors in my case. She forwarded my very confidential email and information sent exclusively to her - directly to the opposing counsel in its entirety without my consent. She failed to be a conscious -- never-mind effective, representative in any settlement negotiations. This was in part because she failed to conduct the most necessary inquiry into the facts of my case which ultimately resulted in major losses to me. She attempted to postpone every hearing in my case because she was not prepared, or ill. She advised me incorrectly with regard to the state laws, when I asked important questions. She was utterly incompetent and unprepared at trial, which caused me to discontinue it. She allowed me to enter a settlement meeting without discussing any necessary provisions with me, and without notifying me that a transcript would be taken or there was any final or binding legal process taking place. A non-lawyer would not have prior knowledge of legal processes. Her missteps caused major errors in all of my legal proceedings. She "forgot" to notify me of the date of my very, very important final decree hearing and subsequently forgot to prepare with me in the weeks leading up to it, resulting in a final decree that I disagree with. I did not even know it was on the court calendar. She then agreed to major provisions with opposing counsel against my consent or without any notification to me at that hearing, because I was not present. The series of events is very shocking. Ms. Forrler had no knowledge of very necessary preparation and provisions to consider in a dissolution agreement, so she was unable to counsel me to any adequate degree. In addition, her fees were misrepresented, inflated to a large degree and highly unreasonable, for which I complained. She kept the balance of a requested advance payment for four anticipated days of trial, when there was only one. I certainly don't think she should profit from the damaging effects of her representation against me. I feel that through her incompetencies, she actually worked for opposing counsel and not for me. Upon firing her for all of these inexcusable acts, and after asking her what I could possibly do to address the disagreements I had with the "final" document in the court, she failed to notify me that I had the right to an appeal within a certain timeframe, which I did not know. You are very well-advised to choose another attorney. There are several good ones in the same area. As I said, I cannot imagine how my case could have been handled any worse.

Ms. Forrler was unable/unwilling to help me! Even after taking a retainer, discussing the case,, her skills and my needs.....EPIC failure when it came to being in Court! She failed to provide me court documents in a reasonable & timely manner (I received than 48 before court), did not send me the p...leadings associated with the hearing until AFTER the court date passed. She never attempted to introduce new evidence that could have helped stop a contempt charge and reduction on my maintenance. She did not bring forth my financial situation that I was already living on only $31 a month (a declaration was made) but she did not attempt to help me by raising my financial distress prior to court, at the court hearing and is now far worse situation I am forced into. She is unwilling to be proactive with or for a client. I would warn people to not consult with her, even for uncontested matters. She lacks ability to work for the clients needs. She spent more time talking to opposing counsel than she did with me that day, and the Sat just before combined. My concerns seemed to be unimportant and left unaddressed after she was paid the retainer, much to my detriment in the end.