Reviews

I was assigned Mrs. Austin for a Guardian ad litem and was very excited about the prospect of someone giving my child an "unbiased" voice during a custody battle. I was waiting for a meeting with her when my attorney informed me that she had already given her report. Having never met with me she determined that it would be best if my ex be granted primary custody. As soon as I found out I called her to set up a meeting which she granted only if I would agree to meet her at my ex's attorneys office (she had been showing favoritism towards her attorney because he was also a part time magistrate judge in the district she frequently worked in and she is extremely cliquish). At the meeting she informed me that there is no way a judge is going to grant custody to a man so her conclusion was that my ex should have primary custody. When pressed she said that it was also because she got a "feeling" about me and thought it would be best to give my ex custody but would not elaborate. This sort of superstitious non sense has no place in our judicial system. Then came time for mediation during which Mrs. Austin had absolutely nothing to add other than to interject something about herself from time to time. At one point during mediation Mrs. Austin excused herself and as soon as she left the room my attorney, opposing counsel and the mediator looked at each other and made remarks about Mrs. Austins lack of professionalism and questionable mental health (at times she seemed to gaze off into the distance and have to be reminded about what we were discussing). I guess maybe I should thank her for actually giving us all something to agree on. Based on the experience I endured with Mrs. Austin I feel that I can safely say that, if you are a man you stand little chance of a fair analysis and if she gets a "feeling" about you you are finished. Please stay away from this highly unprofessional and prejudicial individual and if you need a guardian ad litem please inform the court of your wishes not to use Virginia Austin. Lest you think this review is an emotional response to a recent case I will inform you that a substantial amount of time has passed since my experience with Mrs. Austin and I have worked with many attorneys since and none have managed to live down to the standard set by her.