This law OFFICE is HORRIBLE and cost a very close friend of mine a lot of money, not to mention that we feel she was extremely over charged. More on that later.
The biggest problem here is that Heather Cullen doesn't do the work, or at least didn't in this case. She gave it to Valerie Murphy, another lawyer in her office who is completely incompetent. My friend met with Heather and was never told that someone else would be doing all the work. Valerie Murphy was useless in court, she was clearly intimidated by the opposing counsel to the point where she was shaking when trying to question the petitioner, it was a joke. We had someone who literally wrote out a list of questions for Valerie to ask him and she couldn't do it. She dropped the ball in an earlier hearing as well which cost my friend over $500 per month in temporary support if not more because she screwed up and told the judge he had $2000 less income than he actually did. I can honestly say that we feel she was ripped off by Heather because she did none of the work and she had a completely horrible lawyer handle it. There is no way Heather could have believed Valerie was a good lawyer in my opinion.
My friend's case is very complicated, her ex has a very cash heavy business and I can honestly say that I feel the Heather Cullen Law office probably cost her a hundred thousand dollars or more in support and community property that she should be receiving. Hopefully her new lawyer will be able to salvage this somehow. It is so frustrating that it makes me really angry every time I think about how incompetent Valerie Murphy was in court. It was a joke, completely and utterly pathetic. It is very sad that she allowed someone so incompetent to handle something so important. These lawyers literally hold the future of their clients in their hands, especially when it is a woman who didn't work for an entire 20 year marriage. Her screw ups could have huge consequences that could cause hardships for her and her kids for many years to come.
Now, back to the issue with the billing. We definitely feel something wasn't right with the billing issues. She was already billed over $25,000 after only a few hearings. I definitely understand that things can add up, but this was excessive. We had a friend who did TONS of work for them preparing exhibits and literally writing out a script for Valerie to use (which she didn't because she was shaking and nervous). After the last hearing she tried to call Heather over and over because she was so upset at how terrible Valerie was and she didn't get a call back. Heather finally got around to calling back only when trying to collect an additional $12,000. Her new lawyer said she shouldn't have been charged more than $5000 based upon what she has seen with her case so far. She will be challenging the billing in court and we are looking into how we can get her reported to the Bar Association.
I debated writing this review for weeks now, first because I was worried about writing a bad review of a lawyer who could sue me and cost me a fortune trying to defend a frivolous lawsuit. However, there is no merit because everything here is 100% accurate based upon my recollection and it is an OPINION. Also, I know I am doing the right thing by writing this review. I waited over a month before writing it so I wasn't writing it with very raw emotions, although it is still very maddening to think about. In the end, I felt it was important to warn anyone who might be looking into using this law office or Valerie Murphy. Hopefully it will save someone else the heartache and money that Heather Cullen Law Office has cost my friend.
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