Stearns-Montgomery & Proctor

"Dominic Jones, Harolyn and the their entire team were excellent to work with during my stressful time. They were timely with communication and would recommend to anyone in need of their expertise."

"Same story here as everyone else - we hired this firm for an adoption completely uncontested. We were quoted one price and as soon as we signed and paid they started charging us for everything under the sun, except for actually getting our daughter adopted. We eventually fired them and moved on to a different lawyer and they are STILL trying to bill us. We are filing a complaint with them to the bar, please do the same if you’re reading this and share our experience."

"There isn't much good to say about this firm. I initially hired them for an uncontested divorce, was quoted a certain amount for total fees and told that it would only go up if my husband put up a fight. He and I have been able to come to an affable agreement on everything throughout the divorce process, but in spite of this, I was given large amounts of unnecessary paperwork and charged far more than I was initially told I would be paying. They pretty much charge you every time they so much as blink. Communication is next to impossible due to the ridiculous fees, so I was more or less left on my own to muddle through a process which I had no idea how to go about doing, thereby completing defeating the purpose of hiring an attorney in the first place. Finally, after having to pay more than DOUBLE the amount I was initially quoted, I'd had enough and decided to move on to a different attorney who is more upfront/truthful about their fees. Unfortunately, the process has taken unnecessarily long due once again to the fact that I am unable to communicate with them without getting charged, and since I am pretty much living just above the poverty line, paying thousands of dollars for them to be completely unhelpful is not an option. Thankfully, (hopefully), the process is finally almost done and I will finally be free of this awful place. I highly recommend looking elsewhere for an attorney. Judging by other reviews left on their page, I am not the only one who has had an unpleasant experience with this firm."

"Please avoid this firm. I wish I had read more of the reviews before I bought in to the rhetoric. I was looking forward to adopting my daughter and bringing her into the family but this firm made this a truly horrific experience. The initial consultation is a charge but in my naivety I was unaware most firms have done away with this. No matter because they were great and personable when trying to secure my business... However after I put my money down the responsiveness changed. Phone calls are ignored and if you ask questions by email you will be billed arbitrarily for each email. The initial payment (as they assure) will cover the entire adoption process as long as things aren't contested and no issues arise. Thats where they get you. Many times through this process they missed documentation that I was supposed to have and scheduled my court date anyway (Which had to be cancelled). Now, I'm a layman which is why I wanted a lawyer to make sure everything was done right so missing documents should've been noticed by my lawyer. They weren't and that benefits SM&P because they can charge you for every little thing when it goes wrong. I was once charged $400 for two emails and a phone call. You will see other reviews with similar charges like I experienced. Towards the end I was once again stuck due to their negligence and for over a week they would not return my calls but the billing department wasn't afraid to keep reaching out. I plead with anyone looking to adopt to look for a flat rate firm. I would suggest Lila Bradley with Claiborne Fox Bradley Goldman. I switched to them after finally giving up on SM&P. Would you believe that after I switched SM&P is still trying to bill me for things? I have seen others contact the Bar about them and I am considering the same if they don't drop the current erroneous charges. However if you can avoid it all together then do so. Don't get stuck in my position. AVOID SM&P!"

"One of the worst law firms I have had the displeasure of working with. We were so excited to work with them so my husband could adopt my son. That quickly faded when what we were quoted during the consultation doubled. Every time we got an email they wanted more money. We were charged if they talked to each other or opened an email. Heck I’m surprised we weren’t charged for them breathing. They sent my husband to a fingerprinting facility that he of course had to pay for but they couldn’t get a result. They of course charged every time they called the place for a follow-up. They said we wouldn’t need a home check… they were wrong. Another $250 to have someone walk our house and say it was okay. Really? Then court day finally arrives and we were told to arrive 15 minutes early… our lawyer was late. Our after adoption instructions on how to obtain a new birth certificate were basically figure it out yourself. Thanks for charging me to send an email telling me that. Thankfully the state was easier to work with. This firm is beyond awful and money hungry. They ruined the experience for us and made us regret ever contacting them. Find anyone else, this firm only cares about money."