Reviews

Rashidah may be a fine lawyer if nothing goes awry during your closing process. She seems to do an extraordinary volume of closings, based on how often she or her office tells you she is unavailable due to being tied up in a closing. But if something goes awry during your process of buying a home, seek legal advice elsewhere, because she either has little to offer, or lacks the interest in imparting it. In my experience, as a first time buyer where many things did go awry, her advice to my legal questions was typically: (long pause, after offering no advice) …let me know what you want to do. In my experience, she did woefully little due diligence, ignored many red flags, and told me those worrisome red flags were typical and would be fine (hint: they weren’t). I had the misfortune of having a delayed closing that coincided with the holiday season, during which she disappeared without letting me know when she might be back. E-mailing your lawyer in the middle of a deal to get generic out of office replies with no idea of when they would be back, with the clock ticking, added an enormous amount of stress to an already enormously stressful process. Perhaps the timing was wrong, perhaps the majority of deals go off without a hitch. But you don’t know how things will play out going into a sale, so why take the chance? Stay away.

Rashidah made me feel like I was her only client. She must be so busy and yet she always returned my calls and emails same day. She is a calm and pleasant person to talk to and puts you at ease. She explains everything and helps you to understand the documents before you sign, no matter how many questions. Her service cost exactly what she said it would. Everything she did was quick and efficient. My closing date was April 1 2020 right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic (I had signed my contract in December, but you know how long co-ops take). The seller's lawyer didn't come to the closing in person due to social distancing. Rashidah handled everything, since it was just signatures on documents that had already been prepared. She brought hand sanitizer and a mask and extra pens, and made sure that the seller's attorney called him on Zoom before we started so he could be virtually present. She brought all his paperwork and mine, and we had what my realtor called the smoothest and fastest closing she'd ever seen. We signed everything on my new kitchen counters. I already knew that Rashidah was reliable and excellent at what she does, but I learned at my closing that she is also flexible and has even the unexpected issues handled.

Note: The address given for this office is out of date; they've move a few doors away. Rashidah is an excellent attorney and very easy to work with and get along with. She's handled several transactions for us and will be doing more; I consider her our go-to attorney. She's a real estate specialist but they also do ordinary wills, trusts and estates. She excels at responsiveness. She has not been in practice all that long, and as a result, there are obscure things she does not know. But for most people this is not a concern. Highly recommended.