Gina Maria Costello

I gave one star rating since there is no zero star. She was my divorce attorney and had the worst experience with her. At the final reading (agreement to) the dissolution in mediation, I started to get very emotional and excused myself to go to the restroom to compose. Right after I entered the ba...throom and was crying, she followed me in and proceeded to raise her voice and told me harshly to get myself together and get back out there so we could wrap it all up. I told her I just needed a few minutes to compose. She continued to hound me to get back to the room in a very rough way. I then told her I wanted my ex to pay for my attorney fees ($6,000) since he had cheated on me for 5 yrs. She said there was NO way they would pay that... NO way! I asked her "how do you know if you don't ask?". She begrudgingly agreed to ask. It was agreed upon that he would pay 1/2. If I hadn't forced her to ask, I wouldn't have gotten ANY fees paid!! I had to argue with her just to get $3,000 for attorney fees! Shouldn't have to do that! In addition to that, she later billed me for phone/email charges in addition to the $3,000 retainer fee I had already paid her for a few short months. I researched the phone logs on Verizon and found that she was over billing me by several hundreds based on her and her paralegal's pay scale for calls/time. I asked her to provide any records of verification of call time she had so I could compare it to mine. She left me a nasty, mean voicemail stating that she didn't operate that way and would NOT provide ANY records. So I ended up sending her a check for the amount that I showed to be correct based on phone records, etc and a note that if she had any issues with the amount that she could contact me. I never heard from her again. In addition to being cheated on by my ex for 5 yrs, this was a horrible experience to go through at a time when you need support, compassion and advocacy. She was rude, brash, and didn't advocate for my best interest financially. For 23 yrs of marriage, I received only 4 yrs of spousal support (and 1/2 attorney fees at MY request). I would not recommend her.

I hired Gina a few years ago. She represented me in a spousal support modification. I was employed at the time of the settlement but became unemployed soon afterward. Gina knocked some money off her fees and I went on my way after paying a reduced amount. I would not hesitate to recommend her. ...

I was looking for a feisty lawyer to represent me in a divorce settlement modification. I had interviewed several other lawyers who basically said "suck it up and pay the original alimony" or "in Washington you are rolling the dice on how the judge will interpret the law". Gina listened to my story,... asked relevant questions and finally said "I'll take your case". It wasn't easy, but Gina found a mediator who helped us reach a new settlement that neither side liked -- in other words, a fair settlement. As with any lawyer money was a concern, but dealing with the case came first and money second.