Great experience with this firm

I had a great experience with Cordell and Cordell. My attorney was knowledgeable, responsive and handled the other side appropriately and did a great job in court.

Kevin and his team at Cordell & Cordell were excellent. They are extremely professional and provided great results. I highly recommend them.

Go elsewhere. A lack of representation. A seeming lack of knowledge on current practices. It was only after doing my own research, AFTER mediation, that I discovered the latter. I listed out my concerns on a follow-up call with Kevin. He ended his list of responses with the words "I didn't tell you to sign it'. Really? Does this sound like a person who offered counseling during mitigation or had an interest in representing me? From that point forward, all he did was offer long explanations through email to "cover himself". A few examples of lack of representation: (1) Used only my current W-2 for wages opposed to an average of 2-3 years which would have made my income lower, (2) Offered no counseling on life insurance as part of mediation. I ended up signing for a 10-year policy opposed to what standard practice normally provides [4 yrs] based on my situation. The policy was also for 2 1/2 times the amount in standard practice. The arbitrator even mentioned this in a follow-up meeting. Can you imagine that for 10 years someone might be out there hoping that you die so they can get a windfall of cash? (3) Made claims that he didn't see how I would pay alimony since my ex offered/showed no "need' in the Financial Affidavit, but minutes into the arbitration, the mediator corrected him on the point that I would at some level. (4) Left some of my ex's assets out of the division of assets calculation including a Pension fund. AFTER mitigation, he researched and determined that the bulk was prior to marriage. I also had a 401(k) where the bulk was prior to marriage. Mine was included. (5) Errors in the mitigation memo that allowed my ex to reap advantage. An example: Put %'s for the home. My ex to get 75% of equity, yes 75%, with me at 25%. The house sold for $25k more than the estimate used in the calculation. By using % 's instead of values, my ex- got 75% of the add'l $25k when it should have been 50/50. Needless to say, by doing this here and in other areas, there was not a 50/50 split of assets at the end of everything. (6) I was asked to pay an amount of my ex' attorney fees. After mediation, i asked my 'counsel' what % of my ex's fees did I pay. He basically said that he didn't know. This tells me that opposing counsel just threw out an amount, or amounts, and they picked one. This is one time when a % would have been nice. (7) My 'counsel' was out of Fulton county. My case was in Gwinnett county. He had no knowledge of practices in Gwinnett and no familiarity with judges. In mediation, he relied on opposing counsel to tell him his chances on a case at trial. Really? (8) A division of home furniture came up at the end of mediation when I, not him, brought up that I wanted any sale to be split 50/50. My ex's attorney raised her voice in the small meeting room objecting to it. My 'counsel' did an amazing thing. He lowered his head like a child scolded by his parent/teacher. I just looked at him. Instead of addressing opposing counsel, he addressed his comments to me stating that he thought I had everything. No effort to my ex's counsel to defend me. Opposing counsel had no problem adding a final bullet that said my ex gets all furniture in the home. That could have easily said to split 50/50 but I had no one arguing my point. I could go on about going through 2 other attorneys at this firm to get to the 3rd [Sr Attny??] and those situations, but I hope that I give enough here to readers to go elsewhere. In the end, my case dragged out for approximately a year for someone who does not have a diverse amount of assets. It resulted in several thousand in fees for what I perceive as nothing more than processing paperwork for me. My big error was believing that my 'counsel' would represent me. I sat back in a room where I had no allies and signed away much more than I should have done. My advice: upfront research and don't sign if you are not comfortable. If you make my mistake, you might get the response that I did from my 'counsel'.