Reviews

I just wrapped my divorce process and worked with Janel Ostrem at Seattle Divorce Services for it. I am incredibly pleased with the outcome, the representation I received, and the entire process along the way. We settled via mediation, and Janel was able to flex on both collaborative style and, when it was needed, being litigious. She was incredibly efficient, which was great in that it kept my costs down. Best, though, she was able to get me and keep me focused on the right 'bigger picture' issues, which at times was a challenge for me in getting caught up in the moment and the immediate issue or argument at hand. In the end, that was critical in getting me to a positive, cost-effective settlement. I highly recommend Janel and SDS and would be happy to share more of my experiences if it would be helpful to anyone evaluating and choosing a divorce lawyer.

Jennifer was a Godsend! I contacted her for a Domestic issue and it couldn't of yielded better results! But it's more than that. She took the necessary steps to be MINDFUL of my time as well as expenses. It should be noted that she is fighter and can hold her weight even in the Federal court circuit. I would recommend her any day! WORTH EVERY CENT SPENT!! THANKS AGAIN #keepYOUoutOFjailJEN!

My daughter was so lucky to find Jennifer Horwitz to represent her. She is very professional and also extremely dedicated and caring. She was always available when we needed her. She made a very stressful time in our lives a lot easier to cope with. We liked the fact that she handles everything herself instead of other people doing her work. She would find answers to any questions that arose. We would highly recommend Jennifer to anyone that needs an attorney in her field.

We hired Jennifer to represent me after an unfortunate incident led to me being arrested and having domestic violence charges filed against me. I am so glad that we went with Jennifer. From day one, she worked tirelessly to represent me and to help to present the mitigating factors to the prosecutor. This incident was a direct result of my mental health issues and Jennifer was so compassionate during this difficult time and also very supportive of my treatment. I was also dealing with potential damage to my professional licensure, and Jennifer connected me with knowledgeable attorneys who were able to advise me how to handle this situation with minimal damage to my career. I was always impressed with how quickly Jennifer responded to my inquiries. Her expertise made this difficult process as smooth as possible. When presented with difficult decisions, Jennifer always took my input into account and was understanding when I had to make certain decisions to continue to protect my mental health and my healing from this issue. I am so thankful that we hired Jennifer to represent me as I could not have asked for an attorney who was more knowledgeable, skilled, compassionate, and trustworthy. I would highly recommend her to anyone who finds themselves in this difficult situation.

Jennifer expertly advised us on a complicated criminal case involving my teen son being assaulted by his Mom, who is a schoolteacher and martial arts expert. She ethically represented my son, coordinated with our family attorney and my son is now safe, happy and healthy living in our home.

I'm an attorney, practicing in business law, estate planning and probate. When I got divorced, I thought it was important to obtain quality legal representation for two reasons. First, I do not practice family law. Second, I do not think it's wise for an attorney to represent herself. I know many family law attorneys in Seattle. I chose to work with Mike Fancher at Seattle Divorce Services. I received excellent representation, good customer service, and high quality legal advice. I highly recommend this firm.

My attorney made me feel comfortable and determined in her office while I breastfed my newborn, whom I was fighting for from August-November in 2013, but I felt she did not adequately search for information and evidence that supported my case. The attorney also skipped key elements to my argument while she spoke for me in court, but adamantly stifled me from speaking on my own behalf, to correct her, in front of the judge which the opposing council did for her which ultimately cost me. While I don't entirely blame the attorney, as I was made to feel pressured by my cases' third-party-payor to have an attorney, she was only one step above a paralegal in the way of coming into court with me and standing in on my behalf when proceedings were done. In the end she excused herself from my case as she assumed the case was far from over but my third-party-payor was falling behind on replenishing the retainer, (which he's still paying off to this day in 2017) Ultimately I wish I had stuck with the paralegal I sought advice from in the beginning before everything went south. Had I done things my way instead of how my attorney at SEATTLE DIVORCE SERVICES and third-party-payor, the case would have been open and shut within two months. The only thing I'm grateful for is not having to retrieve my own docs, fill them out, and file them with the court myself.

Jennifer on two occasions has been successful in getting domestic violence charges against me dropped. When I very unluckily got a second charge on me I knew immediately that I was going to go to her for a second time. She is a very experienced attorney who commands respect in the courtroom. Most of the times in court my case would be the first called due to her diligence. She covers all aspects and has genuine concern for her clients. She will listen to you and devise a game plan that will be well thought out and will keep you updated on any new details. If you need a lifesaver Jennifer is as close as it gets. I do not throw five stars around lightly but in this case if I could give her ten I would. You can count on her do do everything possible to fix your situation.

I hired Jennifer because a false allegation was brought against me that resulted in two problems. First, there was a criminal investigation to see if charges should be filed against me, and then the lady accusing me petitioned for a domestic violence protection order. What caught my eye about Jennifer was her extensive experience on top of her Law degree from Harvard. Impressive as that may sound, it really translated in to smart representation. Jennifer quickly understood my situation, absorbed the facts, and laid out a plan for interviewing witnesses, contacting police officers, and finally contacting the prosecuting attorney. Jennifer effectively blended her domestic violence and criminal experience so that in the end no charges were filed and no protection order was granted because the police, prosecutor and judge presiding over the protection order case felt the allegation had not been proved. From this brilliant outcome I strongly suggest using Jennifer for your defense needs.

I started my divorce in October. I thought that a firm or agency that specialized would be very effective so I presented myself at SDS and asked to be represented. My wife had her own house but she chose to stay in mine against my will. The SDS lawyer had one good idea and that was to create a separation agreement which had my wife sign the agreement, would have ended the ordeal. But, my wife didn't sign and that in my opinion, was the last useful thing the lawyer did except for removing herself from the case after I had spent 9 painful months while forced to live with my wife. Of course, during this period SDS continued to bill me every time I emailed a question to the lawyer. Sometimes I was billed for just asking them if they had received a document from the court. In my opinion, the worst part of getting divorced is finding a lawyer that you trust and who defends you. My recommendation is to not just to assume that a specialized firm will represent you well. Ask anybody who has any experience with divorce who from their experience that you might hire for the best results and I think you will have much better results than just assuming a specialist will represent you well.

I was going through a divorce when I was charged with a domestic violence case. I originally hired the firm that was working on my divorce but after the first court appearance I realized I needed better support. I contacted Jennifer through her web site and she immediately contacted me. After our initial consultation I was immediately impressed with the dialog we had and the depth of understanding she had. My case was especially complex because it also tied into the divorce case because the outcome of the this case was closely tied to the amount of custody I received. Jennifer conducted investigations and reviewed every angle. and worked with my divorce attorney every step of the way to make sure these cases lined up. It was extremely important that the outcome of this case line up with the divorce case because of the custody of my son. Ultimately the case was dismissed and Jennifer was their every step of the way making it better to deal with. Jennifer’s professionalism and knowledge was greatly appreciated