Reviews

For me, he showed up for court one time, and after that, no matter how many times I called him he never returned my calls. He never followed through on the court paperwork. He never advised me further - and I asked multiple times for a response. I had issue after issue with my situation and I was not able to get a hold of my attorney for any reason. He abandoned me after he got my payment. The case finally ended on its own without his help. Disappointed.

I was referred to Joe and Jerica Carins by another attorney. I felt confident in the referral and once I spoke to Joe. However, I engaged and paid my retainer in March and still haven't recovered my personal property. I have requested this ever month, bi-weekly, for the past 6 months. I am disappointed. I feel unimportant and not valued by the attorney I hired to guide me through one of the most difficult times in my life. The staff of Carins law is disrespectful and do not adhere to my request to use proper titles. Even my request for them to apply my proper and earned title to the court documents fell on deaf ears. The entire process has been laden with little to no communication, no follow through on requests for personal property or case status, followed by a rising sense that I am going to lose any investment, monies, or property from this divorce. It was recommend that I participate in a mediation that was fruitless, redundant and didn't even move the bar forward, but seemed to empower the other side in filing needless interrogatories and burying me in paper work. I CAUTION any one looking for divorce representation to look to another attorney. I cannot in full faith and confidence recommend Carins Law, at this point in my divorce. The main reason is the lack of communication, follow-through, and client courtesy.

Joe has defended me against multiple false domestic violence protection orders having each order dismissed. As the domestic violence protection orders were being used as a weapon to gain child custody in my divorce. Joe then went on and defended me from social services Twice. Sticking by my side and working through the process with me. Joe treated me honestly, openly and with dignity as I am not a US citizen. In the end joe won custody for me and enabled me to bring my children back to the United Kingdom. I cannot recommend Joe enough, if you want a honest, fair attorney that will treat you and fight like hell for you this family attorney is the one for you.

I retained Mr. Cairns to clean up a mess from previous attorney. For several years, I got the run around. He never took the initiative when representing me in front of the judge. He took me through a second trial when it was not legally required. Ultimately, he had a secret meeting with the Judge and opposing counsel and settled on a final judgment without properly notifying me or receiving my permission. I have had to hire another attorney to attempt to fix what he did because I couldn’t not afford a $20,000 retainer to appeal. He takes on too many clients and does the bare minimum while stringing you along and robbing you.

I hired this Attorney for help with an Injunction in Pinellas County, and he took my money, but did nothing. I had to keep after him month after month, and when I made an appointment to come-in for a progress report; he would cancel; usually that same day. Finally after 12 months of waiting, we went to the Hearing; he came un-shaven, and completely un-prepared; he called me one hour before the Hearing asking if I could bring some Videos we agreed to show to the Judge with me, because he "mis-placed them". Needless to say; the Hearing was a disaster; my honest opinion; I could have had a wet towel with me, and it would have been probably just as good.

I did not have a positive experience with Mr. Cairns. I hired him to handle my divorce and paid him the retainer he requested and submitted all documents in one box including an original receipt for a Rolex watch. My documents could not be located when I asked for them back, I was told due to the office being renovated nothing could be located, and I still have never received the original Rolex receipt back after requesting it numerous times. Whenever I called the office to speak to Mr. Cairns, I was told he was with important clients or in court and would call me back. I did not receive calls back, and he was not prepared when we set up costly meetings to discuss the case, he did not advise me on anything to do with what I could expect to receive financially, I had to figure that out myself. I was charged $1000 for a mediation that took less than an hour and a half because Mr. Cairns told me, once we got there and sat down with the mediator, that he and my ex-husbands lawyer had mutually decided this mediation was unnecessary and that we could work this out ourselves. My ex and I spent the rest of the day hashing out a deal between ourselves and came up with an agreement and that cost me $1,000. Mr. Cairns also did not show up at court the day my divorce was finalized, he sent his wife even though I had never had any interaction with her. If you want someone who understands the difficulty and stress that you're going through during a divorce and treats you with respect and empathy then I highly recommend NOT hiring the Cairns Law.

I was so happy to have found Joe and his wonderful staff to help me with my divorce. From the first meeting until today's final hearing, this team was reassuring and communicative, and made the process very easy. I highly recommend Cairns Law.

I hired Joseph about a month ago for a nasty divorce which I am in the process of. She has filed false claims and with the help from Joseph we were able to have them dismissed in court. While we are still working on the divorce, I have to say he feels like more than a hired attorney. He has answered any questions, always offered his time beyond what was expected and has given honest inputs and opinions. He gives off the feeling that you are his only client with how much he seems invested in your case. Without his help thus far I feel as if this entire divorce would be out of my hands and I would be losing my daughter which is the most important part of my life. I would recommend him to any and everyone and wish I could as I feel like I owe him something for how great he has been,

Unfortunately my son will be getting a divorce. Through another referral I sent my son to Joe's firm and the kind of language my son used to describe how he was treated and the fast action taken as well as the advice were not typical of my son. He used words like "wow, he's good", "got straight down to business and I had an agreement ready to be delivered in 24 hours". He took great pains to walk him through every immediate detail and asked important questions about what he really wanted to have happen in the future. While it sounds not that uncommon, I assure you it is! If you need someone who cares and gets the job done, then Joe should be your next call.

I recently found myself in unfortunate circumstances regarding an ex-boyfriend and I needed to file an injunction against him for domestic violence. I had never dealt with any thing like this before and it was confusing, scary and a bit overwhelming. Although I asked for advice through the police dept. counseling personnel and realized I could go through steps and forms and a hearing myself, I am so glad I was not alone and Joseph Cairns was there to represent me. I was nervous about the entire process and didn’t know what was considered relevant or necessary for the court to make a decision in my favor. Joe was very patient and understanding when hearing the details of my somewhat embarrassing personal story and made me feel comfortable and reassured. When the hearing date and time arrived I was even more stressed out and nervous then I thought I’d be and thankfully Joe met me there early and was even protective before the hearing began. It was extremely comforting having him beside me in the unfamiliar atmosphere of the front of the courtroom especially with my ex standing on other side starring at me. Thanks to Joe, I feel I was so prepared that my ex must have known and what I thought would be a dramatic, horrific and even tearful display of emotion on either or both sides became a diplomatic and swift verdict. We won! I can never thank him enough because I know things would not have gone the way they did if he hadn’t been there. If I could ever offer anyone advice if they were going through a similar situation I would recommend wholeheartedly to get help from Joe. You need to have someone on your side whom is willing to fight for you and protect you. Thanks Joe (and Jarica too), I owe you!

My Family Law attorney is one of the best attorneys I have ever seen!! Every time we go to a hearing, mediation or any other court appearance, I always feel protected by someone who is willing to go to battle for my best interests and to tirelessly continue fighting for the best possible outcome for my case. Every time the Opposing Counsel (OC) sends a request for a hearing, MORE information, or some other request that is meant to intentionally aggrevate me, it's good to be able to review the documents with Joe so he can help me understand what the other side is entitled to and what they are not. Conversations with Joe always help put things in perspective so that the process is less scary. Joe Cairns with Cairns Law PA is who I'd recommend to anyone (EXCEPT MY SOON-TO-BE-EX WIFE) who is in need of assistance with family law issues. That includes divorce, child custody, child support (both initial and modifications), alimony (both initial and modifications) and even assistance with domestic violence. The experts at Cairns Law can handle it ALL.

I am a victim of domestic violence and Joe treated me like I was his only client, which i definitely wasn't! He treated me with respect and, most importantly, empathy. I feel like he became part of my family. He pretty much held my hand through everything. He really is an awesome lawyer. I recommend him 100%. He handled everything - from the injunction to the child custody to the divorce. He never made me feel like and idiot :).