Kelly Marie Wiley

Kelly represented my ex-wife in a separation. I wanted to negotiate and settle out of court, but according to my first attorney, Kelly was very combative and difficult to work with, so I hired a different attorney, hoping to placate her. The second attorney also said she was impossible to work with, ...unwilling to give anything in negotiations and seeming to pick fights at every opportunity. We ended up in court. At trial, one of my witnesses described Kelly as an "ineffective bulldog"- trying to be aggressive and tough, but failing to score points or impress the judge and in stead looking unreasonable and unnecessarily argumentative. She kept focusing on specific allegations and financial details, even after the judge said repeatedly that he had heard enough on these subjects. She had countless Zoom problems that made her look, frankly, incompetent. She made it a point to not agree to almost every small detail or proceeding that would expedite the case, racking up billable hours by prolonging the process, but visibly annoying the judge. When the ruling went against her and my ex, she attempted to re-write the judge's ruling, to no effect. Overall, I am simultaneously happy and annoyed that my ex-wife went with Kelly. Happy because I won the case, and I think Kelly's incompetence contributed to that win. But annoyed because had my ex selected a better attorney that would de-escalate conflict and work collaboratively, we may have avoided at least some of the immense stress, cost, and long-term emotional damage of the trial. A hyper-aggressive attorney is not always best when you will need to co-parent with your ex for many years to come.