Reviews
Overall rating
Anonymous
28 Apr, 2023
Mr. Kern represented me in 2021. I wanted to wait until my case was settled before speaking about my experiences, so if you have found this review too late before experiencing the same please forgive me. These are my opinions of my experiences as a client.
I met with Mr. Kern and described my situation to him. He presented himself as a competent and experienced attorney with a specialty in family law. Reading through other reviews here, it appears his specialty is adoption and I'm sure he has done good work there and has helped a lot of people. He listened to my concerns and gave some feedback, and in my limited experience and knowledge it seemed like good feedback/advice at the time. I would go on to retain Mr. Kern , a mistake I would regret.
It wasn't until about a month later when I noticed something was off. Mr. Kern often did not respond to questions via email. When he did respond the answers were sometimes vague or even non-answers.
Having now been to a successful mediation I can confidently say the mediation with Mr. Kern was a mismanaged and mishandled disaster. Despite my pleas; from my perspective Mr. Kern did little to nothing to prepare me for mediation, did not provide useful feedback on my independent preparation for it, and otherwise did not represent me or my interests during mediation.
During mediation Mr. Kern asked the mediating attorney for advice and guidance concerning the matters at hand. This is when I found out he was not as competent in this area of practice as I needed him to be, during a mediation. Mr. Kern did not advocate for me, and at some points was openly ridiculing my lack of legal knowledge in front of the mediating attorney. Please bear in mind I had begged him to prepare and educate me beforehand in the months leading up to the mediation. The mediating attorney appeared far more knowledgeable and I received my education and advice during mediation.
A week after this predictable failure of a mediation, Mr. Kern contacted me to disclose he would no longer represent me as he didn't feel as though he could reach my goals. My opinion was Mr. Kern likely knew he could not reach my goals during our initial consultation months previously. From my perspective Mr. Kern knowingly accepted a retainer from me and wrote specific actions he was responsible for in a Representation Agreement (filing of contempt charges), with no intention of ever executing the agreed upon actions. I feel this way because had he intended to do what he said he would, he would have done it, and without me begging and nagging. I contacted Mr. Kern and made it clear I was not attacking him or his character as a person, but as an attorney he did not perform anywhere near to my expectations, he failed to execute the scope of our Representation Agreement, and I felt that I was entitled to be refunded some fees. His response to this was he would not be returning any fees.
I have had time to think about this situation and how it could have worked out differently or had a better outcome. The only solution I could imagine working was to avoid Ted Kern. I have also had a lot of time to work on forgiveness and giving Mr. Kern the benefit of the doubt. In this situation I cannot give him the benefit of the doubt. He is a nice man and sells himself well, but he did not instill confidence in his abilities to me and did not perform to a level congruent with his hourly rate. When someone knowingly does some of the things Mr. Kern did (or failed to do), gets called out for them politely, and refuses to apologize or offer reparations for their actions we can deduce the issue may be related to issues of character versus a mistake made. My opinion I've developed is he is of poor character professionally. Be careful who you choose in custody matters, some attorneys are more engaged than others. In my case, he felt like controlled opposition and I was often in disbelief regarding his conduct.
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Michael
29 Jun, 2020
My wife and I retained Mr. Kern's services for a custody dispute involving a family member we had been caring for. He was patient with us the whole way, explaining what we could and could not expect. When the situation turned less contentious, he pivoted to help us with the (ultimately successful) adoption process. We have never once regretted our decision to hire Mr. Kern; he is a good, ethical lawyer, and we are so thankful for his services.
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Ember
22 Jan, 2020
Ted was there every step of the way during my divorce. It was an ugly and stressful divorce but I knew that any time I talked to Ted he would bring a well reasoned and patient response to all of my questions. He is a fighter and he will help you to make the best possible decisions during such challenging times. I will be retaining his services for many years to come.
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Johnnie
17 Jan, 2020
Mr. Kern replaced my last lawyer in my divorce. Mr. Kern came highly recommended from a friend of my family. Mr. Kern turned my divorce around. Mr. Kern Is extremely knowledgeable and honest. His trustworthiness is impregnable. Hiring Mr. Kern was the best decision I could have made and I highly recommend him to everyone.
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Jessica
27 Sep, 2018
Ted assisted our family with a potential adoption situation. He was very knowledgeable and friendly to us and the expectant mother! Very affordable and ethical! Would definitely recommend!
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Anonymous
12 Sep, 2018
Mr. Kern handled everything in a professional manner and expeditiously! My wife and I could not have been happier with the experience and working with him! I would recommend him to anyone!
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John
02 Mar, 2018
Did an awesome job in the process of adopting my step daughter. Made it very easy and very cost effective to adopt my daughter. Will recommend to anyone for adoption
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Amanda
16 Mar, 2014
MR. KERN IS THE BEST LAWYER I HAVE EVER HAD HE ANSWERS ALL MY QUESTIONS AN HE SHOWED THAT HE CARED I THANK GOD FOR BLESSING ME WITH U MR. KERN... ALSO I DO NO THAT U CANT DO EVERYTHING BUT U SURE ARE MY SUPER MAN IN THE COURT ROOM
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Denise
04 Feb, 2014
It is coming up to our second anniversary of the adoption of our daughter. My husband and I had custody of our granddaughter since she was 5 years old. Before our granddaughter reached her tweens and challenging teenage years we desired to adopt her and give her some stability that she needed. Ted Kern was very instrumental in the process. We never felt like we were in the dark or unaware of the what was going to happen next. If we had questions we felt like we could contact him and get answers. The adoption was a little tricky but Mr. Kern handled it very well. We were pleased with his professionalism mixed with a measure of friendliness that kept us comfortable. I would and have recommended him to others as a fine lawyer.
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Tina
24 Jan, 2014
I was very pleased with Mr. Kern. I have worked with many lawyers in the past, And I have to say I've never had such a good experence as I've had with Mr. Kern. If I ever had a question about any thing, I just emailed him and he was very prompt with his answers. He won my case in court, which by the way I went to another lawyer here in town before visiting Mr Kern. She told me I didnt have a chance with the case, that she could'nt help me and that no other lawyer could either. needless to say she was wrong. Thank You Mr Kern for all your had work and dedication, If I ever need another lawyer I will be contacting you.....
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