Reviews

I think Jen was motivated more by wanting to remain chummy with my ex's attorney, than represent me. In addition, her lack of professionalism was stunning. Whenever she had to give me bad news, she insisted I come to her office. The problem was that her assistant would call me to schedule an appointment, but due to Jen's calendar, it might not be for 1-2 weeks. That meant 1-2 weeks of needless anxiety and sleepless nights. When we did meet, Jen had an amazing ability to make it about herself. One time, I was struggling to hold it together and Jen recounted that when her parents divorced when she was a freshman in college, she too struggled and turned to a life of promiscuous behaviors. In another instance, when she delivered bad news regarding money and I became upset, she told me that she too struggles with money as her husband buys and sells used cars which isn't overly profitable. Thanks Jen, but didn't need to hear either of those. In my own career, I work hard to build a professional reputation. In reading Jen's reviews, the platitudes and banalities indicate that they were not written by actual clients. Given that all court records can be easily corroborated via the clerk of the Court website, http://www.alachuacounty.us/depts/clerk/publicrecords/pages/courtrecords.aspx it was easy to confirm that a number of Jen's reviews are fictitious. Ruth McIlhenny- Ms. McIlhenny wrote in part, "Jennifer's deep knowledge of collaborative family law and her empathy were key to having a positive divorce experience. She always listened, and clearly explained current law to me." Jennifer responded to the post saying, "Thank you for your review and feedback! I really enjoyed representing you." Interestingly, a search of Alachua County court records indicates that Ms. McIlhenny has never filed for divorce. However, court records indicate that she had a March 4, 2009 traffic violation in which she failed to stop at a red light. She paid a $125 fine and court records indicate that she did not retain Jennifer to assist with the payment. As a side note, I know of Ms. McIlhenny. She is a lawyer in town and presumably, would have a better than average understanding of divorce law. Coral Cribb- Ms. Cribb wrote in part, "Absolutely LOVED working with Jennifer. She was able to take my concerns, feelings, and explanation of events and articulate them perfectly in a way I couldn't for myself." Unfortunately, a search of Court records indicate that Ms. Cribb has never filed for divorce. The only record on file is a Sep 27, 2017 speeding violation; she was driving 48 in a 35 mph zone. She paid a $159 fine and wrote a reflection on the consequences of speeding. The reflection is quite interesting and is worth a look if you have a few minutes to kill. Unfortunately, court records indicate that Ms. Cribb did not retain Jennifer for help with either paying the fine or writing the essay. Suzy Forbes- In 2018, Ms. Forbes wrote in part, "Jennifer is so professional and caring. She really listens and goes the extra mile. I highly recommend her." A review of Court records indicates only one file on record; a divorce decree that was filed by a Suzanne Forbes in 2006. Unfortunately, court records indicate she was represented by Kevin Jurecko, ESQ, and not Jen. There are several others that are fake including Joe Hancock. In sum, Jen spends most of her time creating online profiles for people that do not exist or coercing her friends to write about divorces that never occurred. Check it out for yourself. I long to think that if Jen had instead been invested in my case rather than concocting fictitious reviews, my outcome would have been better. With the number of attorneys in this town, you have a great many options. If you chose to hire Jen as your attorney, you do so at your own peril.

I was so grateful to have Jennifer's represent me in my recent divorce. With her help, the process went quickly and things were resolved fairly. She is very knowledgeable, compassionate, and skilled in advocacy. She is also approachable and easy to talk to about difficult things, but also an excellent an zealous advocate. I have and will continue to refer friends and colleagues to her.

I approached Jennifer about representing me in a "Collaborative Divorce." Collaboratives are where each person has a lawyer, plus there is a "financial neutral" and a "mental health coach." At my first meeting with Jennifer, she assured me that she had done numerous "collaboratives" and could represent me well. She explained how collaboratives are different from litigated divorces, and I understood those important differences. I eventually asked, "How much will all this cost (ie, for all four professionals)?" She hemmed and hawed and did not want to give me a number. She said that each situation is unique and costs can vary greatly. I told her that I understood this, so I then asked her for the costs for her last five collaboratives, since she had done so many. She was even more uncomfortable with the question. I told her that perhaps a collaborative process wasn't for me, at which time she said, "About $10,000 total." I asked, "Worse case scenario?" She said, "$12,500." I retained her at that time. The billing was slow at the beginning, but once my financial information was provided to the collaborative team, the billing picked up. When those subsequent bills hit, the total cost was at $24,835, and we were only half way through the process. While Jennifer has the right to bill whatever she deems is appropriate, misrepresenting those costs made me quite upset. Jennifer and the other 'professionals' told me that in exchange for paying current invoices, all future billing would be suspended. I expressed my disgust with Jennifer in very clear terms. Her response was, "Had you litigated the divorce in court, the costs would have been much higher." I replied, "That may very well be true, but it is irrelevant, as I did not ask for the cost of a litigative divorce." I challenged Jennifer and told her that if she produced the total costs for her last five collaboratives, and the average cost was $10,000 or less, I'd donate a $1,000 to the charity of her choice. She declined my offer. The "financial neutral" was Helen Gyllstrom and the "Mental Health" professional was Bill Farley. Both were equally complicit in the fraud as they saw and heard Jennifer's $10,000 estimate several times and said nothing, yet knowing full well that the costs would go well beyond $10K. I spoke with a friend in Nebraska who is a divorce lawyer. After explaining my situation to him, he stated that while each circumstance is unique and there are differences from state to state, my divorce should have costed around $5K - $6K. Honestly, the Gainesville Collaborative Divorce group is run like a criminal cartel with Jennifer being one of the crime family heads. In closing, I can't tell you who to retain as your divorce lawyer. What I can tell you however, is that Jennifer and her colleagues were not truthful about the collaborative divorce process. Jennifer is also being reported to the Bar for this. It is frustrating when you're paying someone to professionally represent your interests and that person looks you straight in the eye on Day 1, and is not truthful.