Reviews

She was quick to respond to my initial call and consistently responsive to calls and requests throughout my case with her. I like that she answers my questions in a way I really can understand and, in my situation, I found her sensitivity and quick grasp of my situation so reassuring. I am thankful to have found her in my time of need. At a very scary time she was one of the people I could trust.

Kathy Minella helped me out a lot in my case. Long story short Grandmother from the other side of the family not my mom. Grandmother tried to get joint custody of my daughter and unsupervised visits over the weekends and also requested holidays too. Everything got dined from the judge. Because she didn't have a lawyer and she didn't have anything legal. This was my first time going to family court and my first time hiring a lawyer. Kathy is a professional at her job, I recommend her for anybody that needs a lawyer. Kathy answered my emails immediately, I had a chance to chat with her before my hearing date. she is a awesome person to work with.

I hired Kathy while at the tail end of my 1 yr deployment to Afghanistan. My ex wife had opened credit cards in my name, mistated income causing me to pay over $600 extra a month for over 4yrs and used my career as leverage to keep me as a financial crutch. Keeping in mind as father, I have my children 50% of the time (2 weeks a month including weekends). After hiring Kathy she quickly reassured me of my rights as a parent and everytime my ex tried to pull from me monetarily or just acting out of spite, she quickly found a subject matter expert in Family Law on my side. Not only did Kathy protect me from the nuances of my ex wife, she assisted me even further when our case took a surprising turn. When going after my ex wife for fraudulent credit cards while I was deployed, my ex wife decided to secretly file for bankruptcy while I was in Afghanistan to wash her hands of the illegal activity in which she used my personal information for her financial gain. I had been a victim as a co signer to my ex wife's Discover Financial Services student loan for $15,000, an American Express Card for $8000 and a Citibank account I had never opened. Before court, my ex wife tried every trick in the book to justify keeping her child support above California guidelines in such a manner that she filed for full custody to increase her custody split once she knew support would be adjusted to the correct parameters. My ex wife wanted to say that the distance of me living in Murrietta to their school (Poway) was too far and that it would benefit my children to only see me every other weekend when in fact their school is on my way to work (Miramar) and it was a seamless transition. When my day finally came in court, Kathy had every thing she needed in evidence, laws, consistent untruths of my ex in such that her lawyer had no grounds to even fight back. Kathy covered every base painting the picture of my ex wife's character in in court. In the end, I retained 50% custody, a specific schedule covering every day of the year, tax exemptions for children, child support lowered to California guideline support of $1048 (vice $1500) and then a $250 sanction against my ex for fraudulent actions further lowering my support to a total to $800 a month. She also worked with me as costs started to rise due to the complexity of the case and the actions taken by my ex. Kathy and her assistant Edenia kept me as calm as can be despite this long process and it was the best money I could have ever spent...a piece of mind as I sit here this evening packing my children's lunches for school :) I highly recommend Kathy and her services to anyone...ESPECIALLY MILITARY!

I can say Kathy was very honest, professional, and helpful. She handled my case in a timely manner with updates in times when there was a waiting period. She was also very open to what I wanted out my situation and did her best to accommodate me. Her price was reasonable to where it didnt break my bank. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a good professional lawyer.

Attorney Kathy Minella is a truly worth 5 stars! Both Attorney Kathy Minella and Paralegal Edenia are outstanding in what they do! Kathy has represented me for the last 2 years with a Child Custody case as well as a Domestic Violence Restraining Order case including going Ex Parte on multiple occasions to address these issues in emergency situations to protect my son and myself. Kathy has taken a personal interest in our case showing her commitment to bringing the necessary legal changes for our family while still staying professional in her approach, especially at court hearings. For two years I have had nothing but excellent phone and email communication, excellent guidance on what would be the most efficient way for me to approach various issues, excellent responses to time sensitive court filings and hearing preparation, and excellent cooperation allowing me to be involved and able to voice my needs with her responding to them every single time. Edenia, the Paralegal who works with Kathy, is equally as impressive. She is detail oriented and efficient in her communication, working together to get documents to me to be signed, often in a same day time frame, prior to having these documents submitted to court. Her turn around time for updating declarations and making necessary changes to information being submitted to court has been outstanding! Choosing to be represented by Minella Law Group has been the best decision for me and my family. I have recommended them to multiple friends and family and extend this same recommendation to whomever is reading this. You will be making the right choice by choosing Kathy to represent you.

The 5 star ratings that I rated Kathy are not nearly enough! We started the process of step parent adoption with Kathy and from the beginning she was very trustworthy, very knowledgeable, and always got back to us promptly. She explained how the process would work, and in our case it played out exactly how she advised us. Our case went to trial, and she was a rockstar in the courtroom! Our case was not easy as the case worker ruled against us. Needless to say there was a lot to prepare for and a lot of facts to prove, and a very detailed time line. When it came time for the trial it all played out how she had planed and prepared, and we WON! I would recommend her to anyone who is looking for an attorney, because had we not had her and her ferocious drive who knows where we would have ended up.

It was very difficult to find the right attorney to defend my case. A huge concern of mine was to find a lawyer that not only would represent me, but would also put the best possible effort on my behalf to make sure my rights were protected. Before I met with Kathy I talked to other lawyers and I felt that they were promising too much without really knowing anything about my case. She instead gave me a clear picture of the situation and explained to me possible outcomes and more than once she went out of her way to get things done. My custody case was tremendously difficult, it included a move away request that thanks to Kathy's hard work and competency, it was denied and my little one was able to stay with me.

Kathy was terrific. My wife and I were separated by a temporary restraining order. There wasn't any violence involved but our arguments were very heated. I had no idea what to do or how to proceed and Kathy clearly explained the situation and my options. She met with me twice for brief discussion and promptly answered emails. At the end of the day, my wife and I independently worked things out and I didn't need Kathy's representation in court. At that point, she agreed to return the retainer as she didn't "work" on the case! And yet her help was invaluable to me. I would highly recommend her to anyone - she is absolutely personable, knowledgeable and honest.

Kathy was a great attorney to work with. She kept everyone on their toes and worked hard in getting our case done with a timely manner.