Richard Forrest Gould-Saltman

Richard worked on my divorce for its duration. It was an adversarial situation, in which my ex and I were very far apart on our expectations. Child custody was the primary issue at hand; financials were relatively simple to address. The case took roughly 1.5 years, and was eventually settled before g...oing to trial. The outcome of my case was positive, due in no small part to the efforts of Richard and his associate. I highly recommend Richard in terms of his approach to my case. I always felt informed and up-to-speed on my case and where it stood. When I had questions, Richard was more than willing to explain at both a high-level and in detail the legal issues at-hand, as well as his strategy for approaching them. Divorce with child custody at stake is a trying event in the best of circumstances. In my situation, that was compounded by an ex who attempted to play on emotion and false accusations in order to sway the judge to her position. Richard's approach to this was to be as factual and accurate as possible, staying above the "he-said/she-said" that, from what I have heard and understood from friends who have gone through similar situations, can alienate judges and lead to bad outcomes. I highly recommend Richard in terms of his diligence and focus on my case. At no time did I feel like I was just one of his many ongoing cases; he was always informed as to my case's details and progress, and I always felt that he was attentive and willing to spend as much time with me as I needed. That being said, he was always careful to ensure that whatever time I needed was being spent carefully and with proper attention to cost. I highly recommend Richard's work on the basis of his "nuts and bolts" approach to the procedures of family law. Procedural accuracy and precision is really important in legal situations, and Richard was assiduous in handling this aspect of my case. Richard was up-front and straightforward regarding the costs and issues regarding the process. Richard and his staff promptly emailed all paperwork to me, and proactively informed me of upcoming issues regarding court procedure. He and his staff filed all court paperwork promptly, and at no time was I "hung out to dry" because of a procedural misstep. Richard and his associate have been my only attorneys, so this review reflects that perspective. In talking with others who have gone through divorce, reading about divorce, etc., I understand that that there are many potential issues that arise when attorneys are less diligent, ethical, and intelligent than Richard Gould-Saltman. Some clients want someone who will simply represent their arguments in court, regardless of how legally groundless or irrelevant those arguments will be. Richard would discuss my arguments with me in order to evaluate which ones were worth making in court, and which ones were not. Some attorneys file motions without looking at the long-term impacts of those motions and their strategic implications; Richard was always careful to think about those, and evaluate how each argument fit into the larger picture. Some attorneys will fail to file paperwork on time, or depend on the client to motivate their actions; in contrast, Richard was a proactive partner in my case, and was always prompt and complete in his dealings with both me and with the court. Although the basic issues at hand are similar in every divorce (children, financials, property), the specific details are very different in each individual case. My sense in working with Richard was that he provides a balanced, straightforward, and intelligent approach that focuses on protecting and advancing your interests, while at the same time reducing divorce's financial and emotional chaos. Should I need family law counsel again, I will immediately contact Richard for further help.

Despite what we discussed in every consultation, despite my clear instructions, the team (including Mr, Saltman) did everything possible to delay and prolong the divorce process. Ultimately when I fired them, they charged me an additional $3,000 to stop being my legal representative! When I refused t...o pay that and other disputed amounts (after already paying the firm a tremendous amount of money!), they used their boilerplate agreement to get every last penny they billed me for via arbitration. The arbiter seemed in league with Saltman and only told me "You should have fired them sooner".