Reviews

A true God send. Knowing nothing about my rights, nor what to do with the situation I was handed, Todd Spivak was suggested to me by a friend. I was against the wall and petrified due to the traumatic circumstances of being blindsided by a full on attack by my former partner. Todd was firm yet patient. He has a command presence that carries your attention and demands respect yet he speaks with the compassion of a fellow father himself. He has talked me down from issues not worth my grief and encouraged me to pursue those I though not important. Being easily available during the very challenging times of my life was priceless. I cant say enough about how his expertise has helped me over the years. Effective, Experienced, Trustworthy, Reliable, Honest, Affordable, Dependable. The list goes on... Thank you Todd Spivak. youve helped me immeasurably.

I was in search of an attorney for a custody modification. I had previously done one pro se (So I was aware of the steps of filing a petition for modification) but this time, this was a much more in depth case so I needed the help of an experienced attorney. I reached out to Todd Spivak and he was very forthcoming with information in my initial phone consultation. I met with him for a consultation and signed and deposited a lump sum for retainer to handle my case. That point there is where everything fell apart. A petition for custody modification is a very simple process and I completed it my first time myself. Mr. Spivak filed my modification. He had suggested that we could make a request in the modification to skip mediation which I agreed we should request. When I looked at the Allegheny County custody law the next day, I realized you cannot request that except for in domestic violence situations. Any custody lawyer should know this. The fact that he suggested we request it, now makes me wonder if he has done any custody cases at all. A week later I received a letter from the department of court records stating my mediation date was cancelled due to non payment of the filing fees and non filing of the scheduling order. Having contacted Mr. Spivak on Saturday regarding this letter he assured me he would get it straightened out and assured he filed and paid it. When asked he could not produce a receipt for the $250 filing fee for the initial filing and insisted it was a mess up by the department of court records. We agreed by phone on Monday he would refile for me on Tuesday. When I followed up on Tuesday, he confirmed he filed the petition but once again did not pay the $250 filing fee which is mandatory. He stated he wanted my authorization to pay it. Now in my mind, why would I tell you to re-file the modification to get the mediation date back on the schedule but not want you to pay the fee??? I'll let that slide though as maybe I should have been explicitly clear to file the petition, walk over to the cashier, pay the $250. When we talked at this point I asked if he paid the filing fee the first time, and this time he states no he didn't (which was contrary to what he stated in our prior call on Saturday, that he paid it). At this point everything clicked in my mind and I realized that the ball was dropped by him. This mistake pushed my mediation back 6.5 weeks, in a very "TIME SENSITIVE" case. There is one thing I expect from my attorney and that is complete honesty. We all make mistakes in our jobs and mess up. But when you do, you own up to it. Especially when I put down $3500 of my hard earned money initially for a retainer. At this point I obtain new legal council. I request an itemized bill from Mr. Spivak as well as a refund on what is left of my retainer. Once I receive that, I go over the itemized bill and the Initial retainer. What I find is what I am going to try to believe is only another "mistake" or oversight on my part is that my retainer refund was shorted by $105. The itemized bill with receipts came up $105 short of what was refunded to me via check. I really want to make sure that anyone that is looking for a custody lawyer, please move along and don't waste your money here. I from this point forward, will never use any legal council that is independent and not part of a larger firm. The reason I wanted to put such a long detailed review, is I don't want anyone else that is in need of legal council to make a mistake and waste money on the wrong council. With all the details I have provided, I hope anyone reading this review realizes that I am not making this up and this is a detailed accurate report of the events that transpired.

I immediately was impressed with Spivak Law Firm because of the promptness of Mr. Spivak's return phone call. Not only was he prompt, he was courteous, informative and helpful. Thank you!