Samantha J Hazel

Samantha “Sam” as she goes by, seemed charming and quick at our first meeting. She later would demonstrate noticeable changes of personality that make her super sensitive, unacceptably slow at responding and very slow with retaining any details of my case. She ignored crucial details of my case... and made me repeat entire stories like when my child was physically abused under my ex’s care. You’d think an attorney might remember that…so I spent large amounts of money repeating myself to her and when I would do so, she would act like she never had heard a thing, never having a memory jog. This was frustrating. So was her taking hours to touch each piece of my discovery, slowly ,before flipping to the next. Sure she has to make sure I’m not missing statements but it took me a few minutes to sort my mortgage, credit Card statements and investment paperwork. It took her hours, I am not exaggerating. She would stop and stare at February mortgage statement. Then March. It was almost like she was stoned or overly medicated, she seemed so out of it and that day I wasted $1,000 which is what I was charged for her moving like a snail to look at paperwork. I get pausing with bank statements to sew if there were mysterious withdrawals of large sums of money or huge deposits. But mortgage statements? Come on… Sam was abhorrent with negotiation with opposite counsel, a man she described as old school and not that bright. Yet she literally didn’t get a millimeter forward in standing up for me. Not once did she write a single letter that put pressure on my ex. She appeared intimidated by opposite counsel. Sam ignored communication with opposite counsel for at least three weeks after they receive info they asked for, except to ask for his discovery, too. I asked for follow-up, for our very private but very time sensitive issue, through email. Nothing for weeks. After this, I texted her and she texted back immediately. She engaged in back and forth messages until I expressed I didn’t understand why we weren’t contacting opposite counsel as weeks had passed. All of a sudden, after this “yelling at her” as she called it, she said “stop texting me or I will block your number.” That sure doesn’t feel like appropriate behavior when I hadn’t used profanity, name calling, etc. I had just said I expected her help as that’s why I had hired an attorney. S After being threatened to be blocked , out of nowhere, I was no longer comfortable with her . She immediately sent a withdrawal for counsel. The next day she emailed opposite counsel a “mistake” email of my private questions to her about my ex that was harmful to me. It felt very retaliatory. Finally, my file ans remainder of retainer she owed me was sent to the wrong address, not mine. This envelope was jam-packed with very confidential information on a Zip drive that did not have password protection. Sam started strong but proved to be an aloof, slow, and ineffective to the extreme at advocating for me to get more parenting time as my ex was in contempt of court in so many ways. Not once did she make this an issue to put pressure on my ex. I then hired Mark at Menasche Gertz, granted he is not cheap, but his pace doubled hers with meetings, comprehensively picking up on the theme of my ex and my issues . It was was night and day at me feeling like I would get what I deserved in a custody and financial battle, in court. Sam’s estimate was super low compared to his of what parenting time I would be awarded. He got things the first time, had stronger strategies, was more experienced, and was firm and steady at advocating for me to opposite counsel.

I hired Sam over 5 years ago upon a recommendation from my financial advisor to handle my very long divorce settlement. I believe that was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Sam knows the law and current family court precedents to expertly get results. She actively listened to my desires, yet guide...d me to a positive position that protected my current and future assets. I am writing this review now because my case was opened back up and she fought to minimize my expense and exposure with a fire that impressed me. I can now look back from day one until the time of this review and say Sam is much more that just a family law attorney. Sam has the rare quality of masterfully guiding you through the most trying and emotional time while giving sound advice to rebuild your happiness. Sam truly cares and has your back.

Samatha Hazel successfully helped me through a complicated, stressful legal matter while I was located at the other side of the United States. She found a solution that none of the other 3 potential lawyers I had interviewed even realized. She was always quick to respond to questions and she kept in ...touch with me through every step of the process. She was quick to think multiple steps ahead and strategically planned for it. I just wish I could hire her to represent me for the remainder of my case here in the D.C. area.

Working with Samantha through my divorce process was fantastic. Because I live I WA state and my now ex lives in OR state, I had to find an OR based attorney and didn't know anyone. I contacted their firm because they work in both states. During our initial phone consult, she had to calm me down a f...ew times, just because of what he initially was asking for that I disagreed with. She was thorough, to the point, professional, and sincere. She was tough with my ex's attorney and told it like it was; which was GREAT. She would respond to my emails very promptly and I would even get messages from her over a weekend, when timing was of the essence. She knew when to push and when to just let things take their natural course. While I never got to meet her in person, because it was settled without mediation, the next time I am in OR, I will stop by and say hi.