I literally spent approximately 50K getting custody of my son Nick. When I went through my divorce, a different attorney said since she was the primary caretaker while you worked, you will spend 10k in attorney fees and you still wont get your toddler. What the attorney didn't say was that if you do...n't petition for custody at the beginning, if for any reason you need to try for custody later it will be 100 times harder. Why? Because in the courts eyes if you don't try initially, if your ex withholds visitation, the court really doesn't care. My ex lived in Longview/Kelso and I lived 150 miles away. She assaulted her mom, my son, and would later assault one of her other son's. During our marriage she assaulted me. The Guardian Ad Litem ignored her pattern. I went 45 days not seeing my baby son, spent 3K in attorneys fees, lost wages, and driving all the way to Longview and all day in court just to get the first contempt. My ex tried to keep us from taking him to Disneyland, because the paperwork said upon completion of the school year the father will have visitation...Well he was only five and not in school yet, so she didn't show up. Another 1500 dollars and emergency trip to court, the judge made her hand him over. I could go on and on, but after five contempts and driving her to bankruptcy we finally got custody. The amount of money we spent 17 years later is still felt. It took almost eight years and Noelle was my attorney the whole time! She is very very thorough and understands how men have such a disadvantage in the state of Washington. I always say attorneys are like dealers at a casino, whether you win or lose, they still get paid. Most attorneys will tell you what you want to here, just so you will hire them and then make up an excuse for when you lose. Noelle isn't that way. She tells you the risks! She isn't cheap, but many times my ex would pull some stunt like the Disneyland no show, or when she finally said I have had enough you can custody of Nick, Noelle was drawing up the paperwork and ready to go to court that day!!! She is a busy lady and may not always able to take your call, but trust me, when you truly need her right now, she is so there for you. I can't thank her enough for all she has done. I truly care about her and hope her and her not so new hubby are doing awesome. Sincerely Jason

Noelle took over my case in the middle of a modification of orders and request to relocate my son. My case was a difficult one and Noelle and her staff welcomed the challenge and were kind and prompt in returning emails and phone calls. Noelle kept in constant communication with me so I understood an...d knew what was going on every step of the way. She was prepared for trial and fought for my family and I. We won the trial and I am ever so thankful for Noelle and her staff. She is by far the best lawyer around. Thank you Noelle.

Noelle truly cares about her clients and strives for a positive outcome in her cases. Although hiring an attorney is expensive, Noelle's priority is her client. Her office staff are very helpful and friendly, and you're greeted with a smile every time you walk through the door. The petitioners' ...attorney in my case was clearly out-gunned by Noelle. Her knowledge, professionalism, and expertise makes for a formidable adversary to anyone. We were faced with a petitioner who attempted to mislead the courts by claiming to have a much smaller income then what he/she actually had and was asking for an outrageous amount of spousal maintenance and attorney fees. We provided documents that completely contradicted their claims and a couple of days later they contacted us asking if we would be willing to settle out of court. We had a couple more stumbling blocks along the way that was due to either the opposing attorney giving bad advice, or his client not following his advice. In the end the petitioner contacted me and asked that we settle out of court prior to our trial; I only ended up with my own attorney fees which is money well spent considering I was looking at over $25000 if I lost. I would definitely hire Noelle again in any family law case.

After nearly 37 years of marriage, circumstances were such that my marriage needed to come to a close. Having come from a family with little history of divorce ( parents happily married for 65yrs ) I was very hesitant to take this big step. Not knowing how or who to start this process with, I turned... to this site and reviewed all the family law attorneys here. Thanks to very honest reviews I was able to select Noelle. My choice was great. From the first consultation to the last final meeting of what I refer to as the "closing ceremony", Noelle and her staff were there for me. They are knowledgeable, friendly and compassionate. I was so scared and fearful going into this process and afraid of being intimidated, but after stepping through the door I never felt that way again. She took on my case and had it closed and cleanly wrapped up in the least amount of time possible. I am highly recommending Noelle McLean to anyone needing family law representation. Thanks to her and her staff I now have my life back.