Reviews

I am shocked by the below review. I have worked with Colleen on my high conflict case for nearly 8 years (initial divorce and subsequent modifications). She has been nothing but a fierce advocate and her attention to detail is unmatched. She knows numbers off the top of her head, is incredibly effective, and her courtroom skills are unmatched. We have been to Court numerous times and she has been able to predict the result with great accuracy each time. She is also incredibly responsive and has great bedside manner. She understands that the law is not always fair, but uses that knowledge to ensure her clients are getting the best result for a reasonable price. I would highly recommend her to anyone!

Perhaps she was too busy or burnt out, but we will have to live with the consequences of her lack of adequate attention and advocacy for decades. The next round of attorneys I interviewed to deal with the aftermath were shocked with the work in my case and the one I hired made sure anyone consulting on the case understood that it was not their work. She might be great with amicable cases, but her work resulted in great burden at the hands of a high conflict ex. I hope it’s a one-off, but that doesn’t help us.

Mrs. Haddow is an absolutely amazing attorney. I cannot say enough positive things about her professionalism; support for me as a client; her knowledge of how to navigate complex legal issues; her desire to always be fair and balanced, and most importantly her honesty. She helped me successfully navigate an exceptionally complex custody case. Mrs. Haddow always made me feel like she was there to help me through a very stressful time in my life. I highly recommend her as an attorney. She is an exceptional lawyer with impeccable integrity and an overall exceptional person.

Bottom Line - Colleen Haddow is the BEST attorney I could have ever wished for --my only regret is that I didn't start with her from the beginning. Ms. Colleen Haddow came as a recommendation from my previous law firm following failed mediation in a highly complex, contentious, and financially draining divorce and custody case. The opposing counsel - whose professional reputation precedes her as a person devoid of ethics and civility, made finding a willing, capable, and affordable replacement daunting. Colleen personally and immediately took my call for an intake interview. When I opened by informing her of who opposing counsel was, she simply laughed with complete confidence, accepted my case, and immediately got my case moving on the right track. Unlike opposing counsel in this case, Colleen is a legal professional with impeccable integrity and ethics; but not to be confused with someone who submits to bully tactics or shies away from confrontation in or out of the courtroom. In contrast, Ms. Haddow is emotionally intelligent and well versed in the rules of the court to effectively persuade and, if need be, compel cooperation from even the most difficult of personalities. In doing so, she also remained a steadfast, approachable, and responsive attorney (often responding to me within minutes), who consistently addressed my concerns, provided objective perspective, and gave absolute sound guidance amidst the evolving challenges within the case. In short, she kept me sane and grounded in arguably the most stressful and emotionally draining period of my life. In addition to her superior soft skills, Colleen also demonstrated unmatched expertise and experience in distilling and framing the key issues of my case (fully explaining the legalities), to include those I hadn't initially seen, understood, or considered. She proved invaluable in interpreting and exposing financial information, indiscretions, and activities. She was also proactive, strategic, anticipatory, and prepared always and on all fronts. I am convinced that she and her abilities alone are the REASON that ultimately resulted in my case outcome far surpassing my initial expectations from failed mediation, and resulting in a final settlement that exceeded my best-case scenario in court (albeit that she was fully prepared and willing to execute). Colleen saved me thousands in legal expenses, but more importantly, she helped me overcome a series of short-term losses in exchange for an overwhelming long-term gain in my journey to a new and better life. In the strongest terms possible, I highly recommend Colleen Haddow for all family litigation.

Hired Colleen to handle a difficult divorce that was headed for litigation when attempts with previous representation to settle the case failed. Colleen was effective, calm, and responsive the entire time, and handled the slings and arrows thrown by opposing counsel and the opposing party with skill and strength. She is absolutely the best there is.

Colleen came recommended to me without hesitation from another esteemed family law attorney cited in USA Today as a top attorney in the DC area. I am so thankful for the recommendation and that I took this attorney's advice to retain Colleen. Colleen helped me navigate my separation and prepared me for trial with calculated wisdom, grace, and finesse. Ultimately yielding to a judge to decide what is best for the ones who matter most is excruciatingly hard; Colleen's command of the law, intimate knowledge of the details of my case and her execution in court were phenomenal. Her attention to detail, personal commitment to excellence and outstanding professionalism allowed a judge to clearly see the case before him. After custody, we were able to settle final terms in mediation. Again, Colleen ensured I was well prepared and that all the details were understood, disclosed, and terms fair and reasonable to bring my divorce to a close. I would not hesitate to recommend Colleen to anyone looking for an attorney with whom they can openly dialogue, solicit advice, and pay exceptional value for an elite standard of service. I tried one attorney before Colleen, witnessed and endured what the attorney on opposing counsel brought forth both in court and mediation, and am so thankful that I had Colleen with me to finalize what has been the most difficult time in my life. The results were truly unparalleled.

I hired Ms. Colleen Haddow in April 2019, about 7 months after the start of my separation. My ex and I had originally agreed to have an amicable divorce, but that did not last long. I discovered that my ex decided to hire a named-attorney in Fairfax to fight for primary custody of our child, (who, incredibly, was nearly 18 years old at the time) and for an unequal share of our retirement assets. I remember the second guessing that I had immediately after I committed to hiring my attorney. Will she work hard for me? Will she be successful? Will I be able to retain my share of my 30+ years of assets? The answer to all three of these is an unequivocal and emphatic – Yes! Ms. Haddow is a terrific divorce attorney for many reasons. She is incredibly responsive. Many times, I would email her after hours mostly to ask questions in order to allay my angst and she always responded promptly. She knows the judges and the courts in Alexandria, Fairfax, and presumably many others exceptionally well. Her legal skills are outstanding. Most importantly, she is sensitive to the traumatic emotions, fears, and uncertainties that her clients are experiencing, and she knows how to calm them and instill confidence. As a result, I found myself at peace during the times that my ex introduced chaos. As our divorce was finalized Spring 2020, she proved quite successful in navigating the added complexities and obstacles caused by COVID. As for results, I could not be more pleased. Custody was set at 50% and I actually ended up with significantly more than 50% of the assets due to Ms. Haddow’s knowledge and attentiveness to the financials being negotiated in the Marital Settlement Agreement. It’s not enough to know the law; it also important to understand critical aspects of finances, market adjustments, tax law (401ks treated different than taxable accounts), etc. Ms. Haddow delivered exceptional results. I highly recommend Ms. Haddow to anyone seeking a divorce attorney. I am confident that she will represent your interests as if they were her own.

Colleen Haddow represented me through a very difficult, lengthy divorce case. She is extremely professional and always had my best interests at heart. She was available and always responded very quickly to my questions and concerns. She represented me excellently. I would recommend Ms. Haddow to anyone looking for a divorce attorney.

I hired Colleen the day after what was probably the worst day of my life--a mediation with a retired Fairfax County judge who, to my shock, quickly took my wife's side without even bothering to hear all of my side of the story and proposed settlement terms that were even worse than what my soon-to-be-fired lawyer had told me would be the worst-case outcome. The next day I fired that lawyer and hired Colleen. It was like going from flying coach on Aeroflot to flying first class on Lufthansa (but for coach prices!). From the day Colleen took over my case, things only got better for me. One year later, everything was finished (no trial) and the settlement I got was superb. Colleen is a fantastic divorce lawyer for many reasons. Her legal skills are outstanding. Moreover, she understands that people in the midst of a divorce are going through an extremely difficult experience emotionally, and so she knows that a big part of her job is not just writing pleadings and arguing motions but preventing clients from panicking or growing despondent. Her "bedside manner" is pitch-perfect. Another key asset of Colleen's is that she is very familiar with all the Fairfax County judges--she knows what they like, and they know that she is a trustworthy practitioner. My ex-wife's lawyer was based in DC and didn't know a lot of the Fairfax County judges; during the one contested hearing that took place, my ex-wife's lawyer annoyed the judge by behaving in a way that Colleen, who had been before this judge many times, knew not to act. Needless to say, Colleen was the victor that day. I strongly recommend Colleen to anyone who needs a divorce lawyer.

I retained Colleen in 2012 for what I hoped would be a relatively fast, amicable divorce. Oh, how wrong I was.... Two years, 1 4Hr pendente lite hearing, 4 trial dates, 1 bankruptcy (not mine), 4 lawyer changes on my ex-wifes part, 3 days of depositions, 2 days of actual trial, 1 appeal/cross-appeal, and a published finding from the Virginia Court of Appeals later, I was finally divorced. The final result? I retained 100% of assets, owed no spousal support, paid my ex's COBRA for 18 months, and she owes me $15k. To provide some context, there was a lot of complexity in my divorce. For example, my company defers part of my annual bonus and a portion of that deferral is held in stock, is that treated as income or an asset during the divorce? In each year (past and future) my income changed structurally, e.g., what is deferred, how it is held, when it vests, how much discretion I have over it, etc. To the untrained eye (or judge) it could appear that all this complexity was engineered to hide either the truth or assets. The challenge was twofold, how to explain my assets and income to the court, and how to craft a proposed settlement that would stand the test of time as my income fluctuated and evolved. Colleen was able to do both, and do so in an environment that could probably be classified as a hostile workplace. When we finally walked into court, we walked in completely prepared for any eventuality. Our exhibit binder was 4 inches thick and had over a hundred separate documents. She presented the case clearly, and professionally and got all of our key points across without getting lost in the detail. While the trial was spread over two days, our case in chief was presented in about 90 minutes, using only 30 or so of those many exhibits. Everything she and the team at CCWV did, was done right the first time, and checked twice anyway. I always felt like my case had the right level of attention both at the strategy level and in details (and divorce is won or lost in the details). The length of my case, and its numerous filings, were driven almost completely by our opponent seeking delay, or attempting to win in the drafting stage, what they had not won in court. Colleen responded to each developments in the case, but she didn't use it as an excuse to run up the billable hours, or divert us from our core goals. If I needed further validation of my decision to hire Colleen, it came earlier this year in the form of the published opinion of 3 judges from the Virginia Court of Appeals. My ex challenged every aspect of our case (8 appeals). Every appeal was denied. On my cross appeal, I won. The key issue (that Colleen had pointed out during the trail) hinged on my wife's response to my original petition, way back in 2012. A small thing that she paid attention to before anyone thought it was important, that my wife's (also highly regarded) council missed. Excellence is just doing the whole job, every day. She did that, and I am thankful for it every day.