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Even though Angela Neave no longer works at Barry Finkel, PA, this review of her work on AVVO could be of interest to anyone researching the firm.

Run away as fast as you can

Posted by a Divorce client, 12 months ago. Flag

Overall rating

 Poor

Trustworthy

 Poor

Responsive

 Poor

Knowledgeable

 Poor

Kept me informed

 Poor

• I do not recommend Angela Neave.
• I used Angela 1-3 years ago.
• Angela handled my Divorce / Separation matter.
• I have previously worked with 6-10 lawyers.

Failure to communicate, overbills, entire office is incompetent, failure to return important calls and emails, failure to report important information that can help your case. Does not have the fire in the belly you want and need in an attorney. More worried about not offending judges delicate egos and other attorney, than fighting for you and your case. Just remember they work with these people everyday, and don't want to step on anyone's toes, but you and you case will go away. I would not be taking the time to write this if it wasn't true. I would not use or recommend Angela R. Neave or anyone in the Barry I Finkel firm that she works for.

LOL at The Bar

A man woke up in a hospital bed and called for his doctor. "Give it to me straight. How long have I got?" The physician replied that he doubted that the man would survive the night. The man then said, "Call for my lawyer." When the lawyer arrived, the man asked for his physician to stand on one side of the bed, while the lawyer stood on the other. The man then laid back and closed his eyes. When he remained silent for several minutes, the physician asked what he had in mind. The man replied "Jesus died with a thief on either side. I just thought I'd check out the same way."

Why don't lawyers go to the beach? Cats keep trying to bury them

What do you have when you have ten lawyers buried up to their necks in sand? Not enough sand

What do male lawyers and sperm have in common?
Only one in two million do any real work

What do lawyers and sperm have in common?
One in 3,000,000 has a chance of becoming a human being.

A lawyer died and arrived at the pearly gates of heaven. He said to St. Peter, "I am surprised I died so young. I was very active and always ate well. I'm only 50 years old!" St. Peter looked at his book and looked back down at the lawyer. "Fifty years old? According to your billing records, you're 83."

Where can you find a good lawyer? In the cemetery

Why does California have the most lawyers and New Jersey the most toxic waste dumps? New Jersey had first choice

What do you call 100 lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean? A good start

What does a lawyer get when you give him Viagra? Taller

What do you throw to a drowning lawyer? His partners

Know how copper wire was invented? Two lawyers were fighting over a penny

Why does the bar prohibit sex between lawyers and their clients? To prevent clients from being billed twice for essentially the same service

You have my number, Barry.

I was having lunch with my ex-husband, Jim, when he began to chuckle. While I sipped my dirty martini and waited for his spasms of laughter to subside he mumbled that he had a funny story to tell me about Barry Finkel.
It seems that a friend/client of Finkel had asked Jim to influence me to take this blog down.
Well, it was my turn to erupt into delighted laughter. "Sure," I replied. "I'll take it down." Someday.
All of Life is a Negotiation. You have my number, Barry.

Prenuptial Agreements

Here is a link to a televised interview with Barry Finkel discussing the value of a prenuptial agreements on You Tube.  Barry Finkel discusses prenuptial agreements.
Barry Finkel advocates that all couples headed down the aisle should protect their assests by having such a contract prior to matrimony to avoid the time and aggravation of divorce proceedings.
Barry cites that about 50% of all marriages end in divorce, but if 100% of all marriages start with a legally drawn prenuptial agreement, then that is double the business for family law attorneys.  What a nice way to drum up more business!  Go Barry!

Birds of a Feather

When your attorney hires your opponent's attorney, you know that vultures of a feather really do stick together. My divorce attorney, (Barry Finkel of Fort Lauderdale, FL) recently hired my ex-husband's attorney to represent him in a lawsuit. I find it ironic. Did Finkel admire my husband's attorney that much?

People: do your homework when choosing an attorney to represent you. In a divorce case emotions run high for the Plaintiff and the Defendant, but to your attorney, you are nothing but a paycheck. Nothing should happen so quickly that you don't take a deep breathe and use your intellect to make decisions that protect your interest. Don't pay for legal services in advance. Finkel took a large "retainer" and only showed billable hours for 1/2 the advance. Then, he refused to refund the balance or perform any legal services for "post-judgement" work. He blamed me for not reading his Terms of Representation, but could not present me with a signed document, because I neither received nor signed it. That was the first of a series of sloppy errors in my case.

My advice is: DO NOT FEEL PRESSURED TO SIGN ANY PAPERWORK THAT YOU HAVE NOT THOROUGHLY READ AND SLEPT ON. If your attorney has taken a retainer, it's likely that they want to wrap it up quickly and move on. Unless a lawyer sees a goldmine at the end of the tunnel, they may pressure you to take the first deal that is on the table, because it is less work.

My attorney met with my ex-husband, his attorney and a mediator out of my presence. MORE ADVICE: NEVER let a discussion occur about your property and finances when you are not in the room. It was another way to double the time (and double the bill) when they have to repeat their conversations.

Even vultures nurture their nest eggs. Keep your money. Represent yourself and you won't feel victimized.

More Bad Review for Finkel's performance.

A quick look-in on a lawyer rating site showed that 2 of the 5 posts were DISSATISFIED with Finkel's performance in their divorce cases. Both lack of attention to detail and over-billing were cited.
If you are considering using Finkel to represent such an important transition in your life, look for a lawyer with consistently positive ratings. Finkel may not be the man for you. He turned out to be inadequate for me - and my case was a comparatively simple one.

Why did an Insurance Company file a case against Finkel?

In Dec 2008, First Protective Insurance Company filed a case against Barry and Susan Finkel to resolve a dispute of Contract and Indebtedness.
When you have attorneys (who as members of the bar, take an oath to uphold the law) clogging the system with their own personal disputes, how can they focus on their own case load?
Court records are public documents, so anyone seeking legal advice should thoroughly research their attorney to be certain that they do respect their own contracts.