Reviews

Nathan was courteous, a great listener, and very efficient. I appreciated how straightforward and frank he was, and he understood complexities of my case, and provided some options and information I wouldn't otherwise have known. He was prompt & responsive. I felt like I could trust his transparency, and he made a pathetic situation more doable.

I contacted Nathan Cliber on the recommendation of a few friends who had recently used him to help with their divorces, and found in him a lawyer who truly cares not only about my well-being, but that of my former spouse as well. I felt like we were partners in the process, working together to come to a fair outcome for both parties. Nathan is humble, responsive, and thoughtful in his communication. He actually cares about not wasting his clients' money, and would be very frank about costs. He's also just a nice guy. When you're spending a lot of time with your lawyer, you want them to be someone with humor and integrity, and Nathan has that in spades. Since first working with Nathan, I have recommended him to multiple friends, and would work with him again without hesitation. He's one of the good ones, and helped me make the best out of a really difficult situation.

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.

Came into the office for consultation, not knowing my next steps. I had filed a variety divorce documentation to the court, but as an amateur I really did not have any idea what I was doing. Nathan quickly assessed my confusion and provided effective guidance and was able give me an estimation and time line for resolution. Upon hiring, he quickly communicated the next steps and provided effective dialogue through conclusion to all parties involved in the process.

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.

Recently, I struggled through the most traumatic ordeal of my life--my former husband developed a severe and sudden mental illness. After unsuccessfully trying to get him help, I finally turned to legal representation, because on my own, I didn't know where to begin. I asked a group of friends (via a private facebook group we all share to talk about lady stuff) who they might recommend to help offer guidance. *Eight* people suggested Nathan. From the very beginning, he listened with non-judgement and empathy; he immediately began to advocate for my family's wellbeing--helping me to choose a path that would help maintain my son's and my safety. He also went out of his way to help mitigate my legal expenses, which almost seems counterintuitive, but is also very much in line with his character. For instance, when I needed to obtain a protection order, Nathan explained how I could file with the court for free using non-profit-funded DV advocates. He explained that he'd be happy to help, but that the advocates were very helpful and offered the service for free. I have so much respect for his willingness to sacrifice his own earning potential in order to suggest what was best for *me.* Plenty of people wouldn't have cared that I was a single mom trying to get my career started, but with Nathan, I clearly wasn't just another client. At each step in the process, Nathan offered a number of potential strategies, detailing the risks/benefits of each. He was strongly invested in helping me obtain the best outcome for my family. I'm naturally a bit of an... optimist, I guess, and I needed an advocate who could be risk averse on my behalf. Nathan helped me make good choices at a time when I was far too traumatized to try to be my own advocate. He was definitely helping me to think about things pragmatically and proved to be a very strong legal advocate, in additional to being empathetic and ethical. It helped so much, knowing that my interests were taken care of by a civil professional who could also be a firm advocate when needed. He's exactly what I wanted in an attorney, as it turned out! This is the first time I've ever needed to hire a lawyer, and honestly, I hope it's one of the last (though it doesn't seem likely. So I'll end by saying that I'll count myself very lucky if my next attorney is as talented However, I'll be very luck , I hope that they're half as talented as Nathan.

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.

I needed legal help for something very difficult and in the balance was the most precious being in my life, my wee daughter. I walked into Nathan's office because I needed help with my Domestic Violence Protection Order, DV PO for short, for all of those who are not fluent in legalese. I had consulted three non profits and the outlook was grim. I was not a woman who would allow my situation to elevate to the point where I was hospitalized. Proving and working with my situation was compound fed by my having fled my home state. Nathan did not give me a prognosis of roses and honey, but made me aware of alternatives that others had otherwise overlooked. He was the individual perfect for the job. He would take the time to research what he didn't know and made all efforts to provide the best legal advice possible. I was also greTful for his accommodation of difficult family members and working with me through my choppy financial circumstances. If I had money for Christmas Cards I would of sent him one. Next year and the years after he is on my list. Thank you Nathan! I don't really think 'great' in every language will sufficiently describe his work and efforts, it just is not good enough.

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 came to Nathan when other possibilities had been exhausted and I needed a lawyer. The nature of my case was extreme. The other side was willing to stop at nothing to see they got their way and was using the courts in an, at best, questionable manner. There was an enormous amount of work to be done. Nathan's knowledge and diligent planning and execution, throughout the year or so my case went on, secured full custody of my child with protections in place. This gave us a buffer from the other party's harassing behavior. We are forever grateful to Nathan and his team!