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My experience with Cordell & Cordell was not good and I would not recommend them!
They have a great radio commercial that tells you everything you want to hear, but what I experience was far from what they promise in that commercial.
They will prey on your fears. They will file mountains of paperwork with the court and opposing counsel all the while charging you by the hour and running up your bill. In the end, all you will have to show for the thousands and thousands of $$$$$ they charge, is a lot of paper and no closer to the divorce ending or seeing more of your kids! In fact, they drug my case out for even longer than it should have been. They did not put an end date on the temporary support to my wife and all the ancillary expenses I had to pay her, so she continues to drag out the divorce. To make matters worse, they moved my trial date out by over 6-months from when it was originally scheduled.
And, yes they will send you letters in the mail updating you on the progress of your case. Every 2-weeks when you receive that letter, they just billed you for another half hour at $250-300. By the time your case is settled, you won’t have a dime.
When you get to court, you'll find out that your attorney doesn't know opposing counsel, doesn't know the judge or how the judge runs their court. My attorney just sat there and did next to nothing all day! Except run up a Big bill for a day in court.
Do yourself a favor, interview multiple attorneys. Make sure before you schedule an appointment that they have multiple years of experience in your court. Make sure they know opposing counsel and your judge. Cordell & Cordell will tell you they have experience, but when you get to court, you’ll find out the hard way like I did!
Good Luck and God Bless!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I got ripped off by Matt Mullhofer Attorney in Santa Ana CA with the same run around and no help with anything. This Matthew c Mullhofer guy actually stole clients trust fund money, invested it in bogus stock trades and lost it. Now he will probably go to jail and lose his license.
I also have been ripped off by Cordell & Cordell. Specifically attorney Christopher Lafrance and his cronies in Tampa Florida. Not only did they run up bogus charge after bogus charge then hit me with a whopping $7, 000 bill for a temporary hearing, I was asked to settle my case as they had completely run through all my credit. This is still on going battle. Not only did I fire them but have gotten no where with their customer care. They agreed that there were bogus charges and reduced my bill by $300. During a conference call in order to get this little amount back, Christopher Lafrance stated that he didn't know the specifics of my case. After charging me $22, 000, you would think the specifics would be known especially when he was in the temporary hearing just weeks earlier. Well to add more insult, after firing this firm, they continued to run up hundreds of more dollars in what they termed preparation to be dismissed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but once someone is fired, that is it. No more money exchanges hands. Apparently this firm does care about saving your finances from your estranged wife by putting it in their pocket, screwing you as tightly as possible, and hoping you never get up to say a word. With enough of us coming forward on the web, hopefully the message will get out there and this firm will be charged for fraud.
The firm's goal is to provide clients with the best results possible. After looking into this case, we apologize that you feel you case was not handled properly. We aim to offer the best representation possible. Without discussing the specifics of your case, I can assure you that if there were any bogus charges on your case, your Client Care Representative would work with you to fix that. As from your post, it is noted your bill was refunded $300, in the case of your withdrawal. If you would like to discuss your concerns privately, you are welcome to contact your Client Care Representative, even after dismissing the attorney. You may also contact me directly, at kesmar@cordelllaw.com. We appreciate any feedback you provide to ensure better service in the future.
I was screwed by cordell & cordell. Please warn anyone you know. Avoid them like a plague. every complaint I have seen here is true. There are also numerous complaints against them on other sites. They are not difficult to find. The only thing they do right is lure you in and get your credit card #. They lead me to believe that it would be an open and shut case and should cost no more than $2500.00. Bryan Abercrombie (the local manager) told me we wanted to avoid a trial because that could cost $5000.00. So far they've screwed me out of $12, 000 and there is no end in sight. and my wife got everything she asked for (and more) . There is one difference between my case and a previous complaint. His attorney acted like he did not know the other attorney, but mine acted like my wifes attorney was one of his old freinds.
If you have been screwed by cordell & cordell (or any attorney for that matter) please report them to your state bar. If their firm advertised falsely or deceptively, you may also report them to the Better Business Bureau.
To the previous commenter, Cordell & Cordell's Client Care Department has attempted to reach you multiple times, however you are unwilling to communicate regarding the specific issues you have had. If you would please contact us regarding specific issues with billing we would be more than happy to discuss and come to a common ground on these issues.
However, if you are unwilling to discuss this with us we can not help you. Please contact Kathy Edson by calling us toll free 1.866.DADS.LAW.
I'm posting a follow-up. I went to another attorney after Cordell & Cordell. Not only they the new attorney tell me in no uncertain terms that Cordell & Cordell is a scam but the new attorney had to start my case completely over and fight for what was right. Cordell & Cordell cost me $22, 000 resulting in absolutely nothing. The new attorney from scratch (ie Cordell & Cordell provided me absolutely junk in my case paperwork), she finished it out and I won everything I asked for in the divorce for $10, 000. She even said had I came to her first even with the same level of incompetence as Cordell & Cordell, she would have done the entire case for $20, 000. These amounts are not small change and it really sickens me that Cordell & Cordell has people hired to comment on these boards about how good they are. I'm am so sickened with this firm that I change the radio station every time I hear their commercials. I have made no qualms about telling everyone I know very loudly never to use this firm. There will come a point in time that this firm will be judged. I have been contacted at least once about getting a class action suit against this firm and I for one think it is well overdue.
It seems that I am not alone. Cordell evidently smelled money with me. I had recieved an unusually large bonus prior to hiring them. Long story short... GONE. I have spent 20, 000.00 and my case never even made it to mediation before I fired them. (Dallas, TX office) I am dissolving my first and only marriage of over 27 years and really put my trust in them. What I got was sickening lack of results. ie; temp orders which gave my wife 1200/mo plus I get to pay ALL the bills and only get my house 3 weekends of ea. month. After firing them I still owed a balance (per them) of around 800 bucks. They hammer me for this multiple times each wk and threaten "collection" activity if I don't pay. If they had explained to me some very basic options up front I could have avoided thousands and thousands of dollars... gone to mediation and this would have been over months ago. Instead I'm paycheck to paycheck and currently have no atty working for me. Cordell/Cordell Dallas, TX is a "meat market" preying on guys like me who work their [censor] off and don't have time for a legal degree. Shame on these leaches! Avoid them at any cost.
T. Matheny - I understand your concerns with the cost of your case, and your concern with not making it to Mediation sooner. I apologize that we did not provide the service you were expecting. I understand that you have been in contact with our client care department, and I assure you they will work with you to come to a mutually acceptable conclusion. Our goal at Cordell & Cordell is to provide the best service possible to our clients, and I'm sorry you feel as though you did not receive that, but I appreciate your insight as it helps us to improve our services in the future. If you have any future concerns, or would like to discuss your concerns further. Please feel free to contact myself, Keri Esmar, at kesmar@cordelllaw.com; or your client care representative at kedson@cordelllaw.com.
Cordell and Cordell in reality loves women, and this is a scam. Since they know that usually guys make more money, so they lure guys into filing for divorce/custody modification/or whatever ... They will get your credit card, and go on vacation, didnt return calls, they funny thing is they usually called me at my home number even thou i told them to call me on my cell, so they can bill you for a VM. Well about their customer care...LOl its a joke. They try to be nice and sweet talk, but in actuality they try to keep the billing on the roller-coaster going... so you get clam down and the results are disastrous. My Lawyer Dan Cuneo dropped out of my case 4 weeks to go, left me scrambling, and helpless. As you can see in this blog, they are trying to defend. I went to Cordell and cordell to get an advice, and they told me piece of cake and they will take care of it, and once the case was filed, and my ex found out about it, my ATTY Dan Cuneo handed my kids to my ex with no evidence, just her say. And the billing was just speed of light. He didn't answer any calls for a week, and every voice mail i left Dan Cuneo charged me for it...trying to follow the contract agreement, but he ethically violated my representation, and fooled me and my kids. He took away their success and kids active father away from them. ALL KIDS NEEDED WAS SOME PROFESSONAL HELP SIME MY EX WAS ALIENATING THE KIDS. He also disclosed any AND ALL confidential convo we had to the GAL, and GAL all of the sudden wanted to award the full custody to kids mother...Cordell and cordell billed me $30k for just phone calls, and not even an depo or defending me. I didn't get to see my kids for 4 months. Cordell and cordell will mislead you and they will try to make your case very complex, and will make you bankrupt. Please research, educate yourself with family law. I was discriminated by cordell and cordell.
www.cordelllaw.com Noone tried to call me from Cordell and Cordell . Stop copy and pasting the same message over and over for each complaint.
cordell_past_client,
We can not reach out to you, as we do not have your name. I'd be glad to discuss any issues you had with your representation, if you would like to contact me. This is not a copy and paste message.
Please feel free to email me Keri Esmar @ kesmar@cordelllaw.com. Or you can call me at 1.866.DADS.LAW. You can also talk to your client care representative, they would have called you in the past. Her name is Kathy Edson - kedson@cordelllaw.com.
Please help offset the phoney testimonials being posted on yahoo local and yellow pages dot com by posting your complaint there in all of the cities that the crooks of Cordell & Cordell operate. Please be advised that they might be reported as abusive and removed so you will need to monitor them and repost as necessary. Also, please post your complaint on courthouse forum and pissed consumers. Thank you
Cordell & Cordell never fought for changes in the law. They are masters in marketing by making statements as fighters that no one will call them on. Go to Cordell's web site and you will see they screen their "clients" posting before placeing them on their forum. That in it's self tells you the level of distrust with their "partners."
Cordell & Cordell is NOT DADSLAW in southern California, County of Orange. We are (1 800DADSLAW)
Wea re the orignial DADSLAW founded 1991
Ha Funny to read as I have been severely ripped of by Cordell also. I know exactly you people feel. I paid those lying ### 15grand and had to get a new lawyer to finish the case because my cordell lawyer went and told opposing council and my ex that he was too expensive for me and I needed to get another LIAR. Still considering taking the ### to the diciplinary board.
I hope all the lying lawers burn in hell.
AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS!
They are doing the same thing to us right now the bill is over 4k only to have the lawyer show up and sit on his hands the entire proceeding. He presented no evidence to support our claims while her attorney provided plenty. We asked him several times if he needed any documentation but he assured us that none was needed for this hearing. So I am 4k in the whole my wife has custody of my son even though it is a dangerous environment with drug/alcohol abuse and DOCUMENTED mental illness. We could have saved ourselves 4k and not hired a lawyer and be no worse.
Any company requiring full time damage control feminists Kathy Edson and Keri Esmar in an attempt to placate the thousands of victims they are preying on, says a lot about the truth behind these complaints. DO NOT USE CORDELL & CORDELL. STAY AWAY! Lawyer's lack of experience, high school level of knowledge about the complexity of family law, as well as their customer care staff are just as manipulative as our ex wives. They pretend to like us because they want our money. Just don't. You're welcome. Hire a REAL attorney with experience for half the price to get results.
Wow same ole Cordell and Cordell I got ripped for 21000 and guess what we got to court and the lawyer Emily Vowell from Knoxville tn didn’t do anything let them slander me in the court room and make me look bad and told me to accept the deal made by my ex’s lawyer now it’s in collections and my daughter is still in that horrible place because I am broke thanks Cordell and Cordell
I too have been ripped off by Cordell and Cordell. I have lost everything. My house, my kids, and all my savings. My attorney mistakenly stipulated that I would pay my Ex $107, 000 in cash, and she keeps the mortgage free home, while I PAY her $1500/ mo in child support AND $1500 a month in alimony. This divorce has gone on for 30 months and has cost me over $35, 000 in attorney fees. I also only get weekends and the Wednesday night special. Considering I've never even had a speeding ticket and live 15 minutes away, is not in their best interest. I am absolutely broke because of them. THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF AND PRAY ON YOU IN A VERY DIFFCULT TIME!