Reviews

Extremely knowledgeable, compassionate, and truly working to make a difference in this world. I would give them 10 stars if I could.

If you are considering hiring C.J. Graves as your lawyer, I’d like to share my troubling experience working with him on a parenting plan modification which would result in a child support modification. Now, keep in mind, I have sole legal custody of my son. Unfortunately, C.J. satisfied all of the opposing party's requests for the provisions in the new supplemental judgement. Nothing we discussed and initially agreed between parties when we “settled” out of court was included in the judgement, except for the 50/50 that I agreed to. The opposing party submitted the judgement that they drafted as final. C.J. submitted the response which was disregarded by Judge Bailey and he signed the opposing parties draft as final. This did not include ANY of the agreed upon/revised provisions that we discussed. C.J. found out about this, called me and emailed me and said he wasn’t happy with the new judgment. However, he signed it without my knowledge and approval. From there, he was not able to discuss the damaging and inaccurate statements with opposing counsel. Not only did the child support modification not include the private health insurance I pay for my son, he also allowed the opposing party to include close to $800 in health care related expenses. He flat out told me he would get this fixed. That never happened. He didn’t even get the other party to agree to edit the start date that the new parenting plan started. This resulted in a 3-month retro for the other party- which was a lie. Either C.J. lacks knowledge of basic information on how to modify a child support payment and/or the ability to properly represent a client. How are basic, fundamental, and true facts not incorporated in a new judgement when you have a lawyer representing you and these were specific things I had to ask him to change? It appears that C.J. was very helpful in allowing the other party to achieve what they wanted. So, in essence, C.J. did not negotiate ANYTHING on my behalf. He did not do the work that I paid him for (negotiating and representing me) because the judgement says it all. This resulted in an inaccurate monthly child support payment, and C.J. knew it. There are additional factors that are influencing my rating and decision which I prefer to leave outside of this review. However, one of the most outstanding is his response time. I would not hear from him for 2 weeks, if not more. Part of his communications said that we shouldn’t “push it” or “upset them in any way,” if we wanted them to agree to consider changing anything (to the true information). This was concerning to me because C.J. constantly told me that the opposing counsel didn’t call him back or reply to his emails. His inability to communicate with opposing counsel set me back and put me in a very compromised position. C.J. was hired to negotiate and represent me. Unfortunately, I lost more than what rights I went in with, and he is very aware of this. At minimum to have the health care expense I pay for my son included in the child support calculator. I have always maintained health insurance for my son. Uninterrupted medical coverage. The lack of timely communication left me wondering for weeks if anything was happening and or going to change. He also made deceiving promises about outcomes that were valid and realistic. I walked out losing and 100% unsatisfied. This was a clear-cut case, and C.J. did not do his job. I truly felt neglected and that my case was not a priority for C.J. He was not able to achieve anything for me and the final judgement contained clauses that were never agreed upon. He was not able to negotiate anything for me. He even stated that in his conversations with opposing counsel, “We simply could not reach a resolution as to the issues”. Simply put, the other party was able to create a judgement that included everything they wanted (that was not agreed upon) and C.J. had no power to negotiate it.

C.J. Graves and Jaqueline Swanson-Graves are hands down the most thorough and highly educated team. They hold the bar of ethics extremely high and treated me with the upmost care and respect. I have 110% trust for the way they handled my case. C.J. Graves took my case on a Thursday, studied it over the weekend and won for me that next Tuesday. I described him as an angel with blazing swords. One could also call him a peaceful warrior, for every action, decision and advice he gave me was in the theme of being peaceful and winning without throwing mud. I am forever grateful that I had the honor of being represented by C.J. Graves.

Graves and Swanson LLC truly care about you and your legal rights. I can not express how grateful I am for the hard work that CJ put into my case. He went over and beyond in professionalism, time, and effort. This was clear through his interactions with me, documents submitted to the courts, and results. Thank you CJ and Jackie!

It was a pleasure working with CJ graves. From the very first consultation he was very thorough with all my options . He made every effort to outline the best choices in regards to assets, child support , and custody with my divorce case. It was a very great experience and I would highly recommend him.

We went to CJ regarding an employment matter with my husband's former employer. We found CJ to be very honest and straightforward regarding our concerns. He was very attentive and made certain he had the complete picture before offering his advice and suggestions. While he felt one part of our claim was valid and worth pursuing, he advised the second portion of our claim would likely not work out to our satisfaction. We greatly appreciated his honesty, as other attorneys might have been inclined to encourage us to pursue both, even knowing one would be a waste of our time and funds, so they could charge more. As of now, we intend to pursue legal action in the first half of 2017. We would strongly recommend CJ to anybody who has employment matters they need an attorney to resolve.

I cannot recommend CJ Graves enough! My divorce should have been cut and dry, but it went WAY in the opposite direction. But .... CJ planned for each outcome ahead of time. We were thrown some huge curve-balls during my legal battle and I was so relieved to hear him say "just in case that happened, I already prepared for it." I was very clueless when it came to legal terms and processes, and he was incredibly patient to explain them to me in terms I could understand. CJ knew what was most important to me and he kept his focus there the entire time. He went above and beyond in that regard. CJ also kept costs in mind while working on my case, knowing I truly wasn't in the best financial position for what was happening to me. When the papers were signed, CJ continued to support me to make sure that all the things that were supposed to happen months later, happened. He still has my back today, and I highly recommend him to anyone who finds themselves in a position like mine. I can't tell you how many times I emailed him in a panic and he brought me back down to earth. He WILL get you through it!

Mr. Graves is a very thoughtful, calm, intelligent lawyer. He immediately made me feel confident and at ease with the process that I would be going through. CJ always made sure I understood all aspects of the paperwork and was very diligent in returning calls and emails. He made sure that I understood the consequences of items I may have wanted to keep "as is" but also respected and fully supported my choices. I never felt alone, not listened to or not important. CJ is kind, soft spoken, thoroughly knowledgeable about the law, and more importantly people oriented lawyer. Don't let his quietness make you think he may be passive. He is a powerhouse and will get the work done. And at the end you will feel whole and confident to move on with your life.

CJ Graves handled my divorce case with professionalism and tact. He did what needed to be done correctly and thoroughly but also remembered the practical need to be cost efficient. He kept me informed every step of the way and I believe he got me the best result possible in my case - a fair settlement with no drama. I can't thank him enough.