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Deborah Laraine Matern
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3.0
Avvo rating
6 Reviews
Top review highlights
AI generated excerpts from the customers reviews
Pros
1
Straight-forward and to the point approach
“Ms. Matern is very straight forward and doesn't sugar coat anything. She gets down to the point and her main goal is to do anything she can with the up most respect for her client.”
2
Knowledgeable and experienced in handling divorce and custody cases
“She is highly qualified and knows her stuff. I would recommend her to anyone going through a divorce or custody matter.”
3
Provides clear direction and explains options in understandable language
“I found that Ms. Matern provided clear direction and explained my options in a manner that someone not well-versed in legalese could understand.”
Cons
1
Difficulty in reaching the attorney and poor responsiveness
“It is almost impossible to get this attorney on the phone! When you finally get to talk to her, she is condescending and rude.”
2
Lack of preparation and organization in court appearances
“When we went to court, she seemed scattered and unprepared. The judge corrected her several times on correct procedure.”
3
Inconsistent communication and contradictory information
“She often contradicted herself during conversations making it difficult to get a clear idea of what to expect, what my options were and how she intended to handle my case.”
All reviews
07 Feb, 2017 by Anoyomous
Ms. Matern is by far the BEST attorney that I could of hired to handle a very difficult time in my life. She is very competent, efficient and very experienced with advice and her expertise. She is highly qualified and knows her stuff. I would recommend her to anyone going through a divorce or custody matter.
18 Aug, 2016 by Anonymous
Ms. Matern is very straight forward and doesn't sugar coat anything. She gets down to the point and her main goal is to do anything she can with the up most respect for her client. She was absolutely wonderful for my divorce case. I recommend her to everyone I know. If you chose Ms. Matern make sure you understand and can handle that she tells it to you straight. I absolutely would use her again if need be!!
13 Apr, 2016 by Will
I was very surprised to read the negative Client Reviews for Deborah Matern, although after reading the verbiage in the reviews, I’m suspicious that they may have been written by the same person. My experience with the Matern Team could not have been more positive. I found Ms. Matern to be professional, informative, reasonably priced, knowledgeable, and driven to resolve my case in a manner that was in my best interest and definitively NOT most profitable for her.
I think that when we pay for a service, societally we have come to expect a “How may we help you?!” and a service-with-a-smile attitude from service providers. Unfortunately, that is an unrealistic expectation when it comes to matters of law. It is standard practice for clients to be billed by the minute and generic platitudes and niceties are expensive and unproductive. I found Ms. Matern to be very pleasant but also very direct and to the point, which I appreciated because at the end of the day that saves me money. If you want to be disingenuously greeted and asked about your day, I suggest you go to Starbucks.
The other reviews also mentioned “exorbitant billing”. My answer to that is that competent legal representation is very expensive. I researched other firms before deciding on the Matern Firm and I can tell you that comparatively she is very reasonably priced. Where many other firms bill the attorney’s work, phone consultations, etc in 15 minute blocks and always round up, Deborah Matern bills in 6 minute increments. This may seem tedious and unimportant but when it comes to your out of pocket money the benefits of her billing-style add up quickly. In fact, Ms. Matern often referred me to her paralegal and office staff in matters of less importance as a cost-saving technique, as her paralegal billing occurs at a reduced rate, not to be dismissive or because she was unreachable.
Another common expectation of service providers is that you explain your problem and they fix it; much like leaving a car with a mechanic. Again, that was not a realistic approach in my case and in legal matters in general. I found that Ms. Matern provided clear direction and explained my options in a manner that someone not well-versed in legalese could understand. It wasn’t always what I wanted to hear but it was an honest evaluation of my situation and in retrospect, I appreciated the clarity she provided. I don’t believe legal representation is intended to be a drive-thru dry-cleaning drop off type situation. It is very much a collaborative process that I found Deborah Matern to be exceptionally proficient at.
My case and legal issues in general, can be extremely confusing and uncomfortable in the best of situations. I appreciate the effort the Matern Team put into making the process as efficient, comfortable, understandable, and as timely as could be expected. I would highly recommend retaining Deborah Matern as legal representation were you ever in need of an attorney you can trust to make your priorities her own and help resolve your situation as fairly and reasonably as possible.
09 Jan, 2016 by Anonymous
I racked up exorbitant bills and it was for nothing. Everytime I reached Ms.Matern she was rude and condescending. I had to give her the same details on multiple occasions and even in the courtroom. She was unprepared and knew nothing about my case. I was very disappointed in her services and ended up having to part ways, which was fine by me. I just wish I would have known what a poor lawyer she was before the thousands of dollars was spent on my case.
29 Apr, 2015 by Anonymous
It is almost impossible to get this attorney on the phone! When you finally get to talk to her, she is condescending and rude. She acted put out that I asked for advice or requested an update on my case. We discussed certain aspects of my case repeatedly because when I brought them up, she acted like we had never discussed it. I really wonder if she takes notes or studies her cases at all.
When we went to court, she seemed scattered and unprepared. The judge corrected her several times on correct procedure. For example, she attempted to alter the initial decree by pen and turn it in on our first court visit. The judge advised my attorney all forms must be submitted electronically. She seemed surprised at this. What a frustrating experience!
She showed a complete lack of compassion or concern for how her lack of urgency and callous actions affected my life. She often contradicted herself during conversations making it difficult to get a clear idea of what to expect, what my options were and how she intended to handle my case.
Forms provided by her office were often scanned in and crooked on the page instead of being Word or Excel documents. This required the client to print the document, hand write his/her responses and return the document so her assistant could type it up. Very unprofessional looking forms! It would have been so much easier if these were in a Word or Excel format. The forms also required the same information be provided on multiple forms. What a waste of time.
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