Andrew J. Harger

I was involved in a lengthy divorce which ended up with me no longer able to trust my own lawyer. Data that I had asked for repeatedly never turned up, my lawyer knew the opposing counsel personally, and talked about it often, and even knew the new woman my husband was seeing. Too close a circle. I a...sked my friend who was high up in HR in a large downtown corporation for help as I didn't trust the numbers, and she sent me to an eminent accounting firm for an opinion in determining whether or not I should hire a separate outside forensic accountant for my divorce case, as again I no longer trusted that my own lawyer was truly acting in my own best interest. Well, this firm advised me instead to first consider a young attorney just setting up his practice (this was about 7-8 years ago), who had worked for an aggressive firm and succeeded against some well known and tough lawyers. He was described as "having one of the best legal minds around, hands down." And so, my association with Andy began. He was easy to talk to and empathetic, but professional at all times. He was a wealth of knowledge, and knew the law exactly. He understood the broader picture, yet also knew how to focus in on what was most important for the long term. And the case was successful in my favor. Without his expertise, I felt that major points were being missed. Best of all, he was extraordinarily fair in his pricing (I had gotten used to grossly overpaying for poor services), and was so very very patient when it took me awhile to fully repay him. I feel he knows what he is doing, and has an honest heart - very, very hard to find in divorce attorneys.

I retained Andy to represent me in Feb of 2016. At my initial meeting with Andy I felt comfortable that what he told me was the right direction of the dissolution and trusted in his support. I expressed first and foremost importance was the wellbeing of my son, after we were displaced by my ex. There... was initially temporary relief after his first motion for support. However after that, the case lulled along, motion after motion were filed after numerous orders were not followed by my ex husband and his high profile attorney dictated the tone of the finality of the case. My ex husband continually stalled the case by not producing what he was told to produce order after order, even after numerous follow up emails and requests I had made. I was denied access to get back into the marital residence for my personal belongings since we were displaced almost 3 years ago. I was shut out my 410k without access to trade within despite numerous emails to my attorneys and the United States Department of Employment Security. Every single marital asset was in my ex's control, except the car I left with. Again, yes there were points of minimal relief, however my credit suffered tremendously. I was rationed back a small portion of martial money to pay my and my sons medical bills, two months before the divorce was final. I followed every order, every request for information, all discovery requests, my deposition, as well as court dates and meetings with the GAL. It took over 2 years to get a parenting plan in place, after meditation , failure to come to the minimal consensus with the other party. There was never an urgency for the wellbeing of my son, after this was expressed to exhaustion, it lulled . It was always the wait and see approach, I expressed my concerns about the final settlement and parenting plan, in my opinion they were taken lightly , It was the "best I was going to do” and "that's a reasonable amount of time for them to propose given the circumstances of your case”. After expressing my concerns regarding the final settlement, I was left playing go fetch with my settlement and discovering now the aftermath of not only the the tax ramifications, but they also took my ex husbands word regarding utilities, taxes, leases and association fees being “up to date” when some were months and years delinquent. There were many instances I felt I was not in control of the outcome after serious expression to both my attorneys. In my opinion, your lawyer should have an overall direct plan for your case not a wait and see approach. If there is any component of mental and financial abuse in your relationship with your ex, they should also be verse in representing that type of client. Not allowing an opposing council to speak to their client in a derogatory way as they wait for the prove up. I understand there is a non emotional component of the representation, but there should be a highly regarded component of fiduciary responsibility that should be addressed not disregarded after expressing that on multiple occasions. My ex husband was able dissipate marital funds through the entire divorce, make unilateral decisions regarding our marital properties- and he was also able to pay his attorney fees out of the marital assets. I never questioned their professional opinions or billable hours , the future of the dissolution was entrusted in their hands. However toward the end I asked Andy and his team to review the invoices where I was charged over 14k a month for numerous months. I saw a more intensity of attention to my case when the final bill was in question than when I was in need of emergency funds to pay my rent in the middle of the divorce.

Andy worked with me on my first divorce with one of the leading divorce lawyers in the country, he basically handled most of the case, and the trial. He has an amazing ability to strategize what the other side is going to do and has an excellent and friendly personality with judges. He handled my ...second divorce and his strategy and recommendations ended up getting me a great outcome, truly a first rate attorney that is pleasant to work during a very sensitive time in your life, and an honest person, which is a rare statement to make about a lawyer.