Janice K. Langbehn

I paid for 6 different consultations and spoke to over 10 attorneys all through the PNW. This does not include the endless amounts of reviews and research I did on attorneys in which I chose to not call. Even some of the most high rated attorneys lacked the knowledge, skills and confidence that ...we needed for our family court hearing. I came across Janice on AVVO and started doing my research. I seen that she is an advocate, a blogger and had a strong legal background. It was very important that we found an attorney that could articulate their words on paper and in court. Knowing that she was a fierce advocate for her own beliefs gave us confidence that she was a fighter. All of these things prompted us to call her. During our consultation I explained our situation. There was a lot of previous litigation and we’re at risk of losing custody based on lies. We are the primary custodial parents. I asked Janice what she had to offer us. Her answers were straight forward and honest. She didn’t try and glorify or give us false hope… but she did promise she would fight hard. We knew she was the right attorney for us. I was so impressed through the entire process. We did extensive pro se work in the past, so we knew all the court rules. Janice was on point every step of the way. She went through all of our declarations and collateral material with a fine tooth comb. During the court hearing she was strategic and confident. She knew her case law, court rules and had no fear. She was up against a well known attorneys office. She quickly and respectfully objected to the information being provided by the other attorney. She stated precise case law and defeated their claims. She won our hearing. It was obvious that even the judge was impressed with her professionalism and skills. I wanted to post a review for Janice because I know how hard it is to find an attorney that is truth worthy and a fighter. Reviews are important when making a big decision. I called so many attorneys before we finally met Janice. She is worth every penny!

I had really high hopes when I retained Janice for a parenting plan modification. She had fantastic reviews, her background seemed really well suited for my case as it had been high conflict from the onset. The first 4months or so were ok, things went relatively smooth, but that may have just been be...cause not much happened. After mediation failed, we prepped a motion for modification and it was down hill from there. I am not certain if she felt over confident in her abilities, didn’t want to tell me something she felt I didn’t want to hear, or was just in over her head but it all went so much worst than I could have ever anticipated. First, the initial filing was either wrong or there was a miscommunication, but two different motions were in and the court was confused. I asked about if we could change different sections of the plan or if we needed to stick to just the section in question. I was advised “we can ask for whatever we want, the court will decide”, however the court felt otherwise and was pretty unhappy about some of it. Less than 24 hours before the first major hearing, Janice notified me that she couldn’t attend and some other attorney would be covering. So after months of prepping, some attorney that maybe spend an hour reviewing my file attended my hearing and it was bad. He didn’t know enough about the case to adequately counter the other parties arguments. That was one awful hearing down. Then unfortunately Janice had a medical emergency and was out of commission for a month or two. I had a mediation during that time and was going to have to have yet another attorney cover which, initially, I was very hesitant about. I also had a hearing less than a week after mediation and did not want to have another unfamiliar attorney cover it- this was probably my biggest error. Meredith from her firm cover my mediation and was great. She was knowledgeable and prepared. I should have let her cover the next hearing as well, but I had retained Janice and wanted the attorney I had spent so much time prepping with and, at the time, had great confidence in covering it. Janice did show up for this hearing however she was not the same, she was still on very limited hours and seemed like she was still very much in recovery. The hearing didn’t go any better than the 1st. Then there was a review hearing that went, I wouldn’t say well but at least got a ruling that the previously ruled final plan, wasn’t actually final so that was a plus. Then the next hearing, again less than 24 prior, Janice said she wouldn’t be able to attend and a 3rd different attorney was going to have to fill in. Another crappy hearing. This 3rd attorney was definitely an improvement over the 1st one that covered, but still didn’t have the in-depth knowledge of the case. He tried hard but by this time, I feel we had just pissed off the commissioner. So 10months and $25k later- I’m in the worst position possible because of what I feel was just piss poor representation. From not showing up for multiple hearings, either lacking sufficient knowledge or being unwilling to provide honest useful guidance- it was bad. I Now I’m 3 months from trial and because I already spent $25k getting here, I’m not in a position to even be able to hire another attorney. Janice is a great person. Maybe she is a great attorney as well, but that wasn’t my experiences. It feels like I got the really short end of the stick with her- if I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t retain her. Outside Meredith Gerhart, I’d probably steer clear of Envision Family Law in general.