Graves & Swanson, LLC 707 Southwest Washington Street, Portland, OR 97205

"CJ Graves, is very knowledgeable attorney and he is very professional. Next to him I felt calm and confident that I am well taken care of, and that with his help I will win. I am forever grateful for all the help and support he provided. I would highly recommend him to anybody that needs help!"

"If you are considering hiring C.J. Graves as your lawyer, I’d like to share my troubling experience working with him on a parenting plan modification which would result in a child support modification. Now, keep in mind, I have sole legal custody of my son. Unfortunately, C.J. satisfied all of the opposing party's requests for the provisions in the new supplemental judgement. Nothing we discussed and initially agreed between parties when we “settled” out of court was included in the judgement, except for the 50/50 that I agreed to. The opposing party submitted the judgement that they drafted as final. C.J. submitted the response which was disregarded by Judge Bailey and he signed the opposing parties draft as final. This did not include ANY of the agreed upon/revised provisions that we discussed. C.J. found out about this, called me and emailed me and said he wasn’t happy with the new judgment. However, he signed it without my knowledge and approval. From there, he was not able to discuss the damaging and inaccurate statements with opposing counsel. Not only did the child support modification not include the private health insurance I pay for my son, he also allowed the opposing party to include close to $800 in health care related expenses. He flat out told me he would get this fixed. That never happened. He didn’t even get the other party to agree to edit the start date that the new parenting plan started. This resulted in a 3-month retro for the other party- which was a lie. Either C.J. lacks knowledge of basic information on how to modify a child support payment and/or the ability to properly represent a client. How are basic, fundamental, and true facts not incorporated in a new judgement when you have a lawyer representing you and these were specific things I had to ask him to change? It appears that C.J. was very helpful in allowing the other party to achieve what they wanted. So, in essence, C.J. did not negotiate ANYTHING on my behalf. He did not do the work that I paid him for (negotiating and representing me) because the judgement says it all. This resulted in an inaccurate monthly child support payment, and C.J. knew it. There are additional factors that are influencing my rating and decision which I prefer to leave outside of this review. However, one of the most outstanding is his response time. I would not hear from him for 2 weeks, if not more. Part of his communications said that we shouldn’t “push it” or “upset them in any way,” if we wanted them to agree to consider changing anything (to the true information). This was concerning to me because C.J. constantly told me that the opposing counsel didn’t call him back or reply to his emails. His inability to communicate with opposing counsel set me back and put me in a very compromised position. C.J. was hired to negotiate and represent me. Unfortunately, I lost more than what rights I went in with, and he is very aware of this. At minimum to have the health care expense I pay for my son included in the child support calculator. I have always maintained health insurance for my son. Uninterrupted medical coverage. The lack of timely communication left me wondering for weeks if anything was happening and or going to change. He also made deceiving promises about outcomes that were valid and realistic. I walked out losing and 100% unsatisfied. This was a clear-cut case, and C.J. did not do his job. I truly felt neglected and that my case was not a priority for C.J. He was not able to achieve anything for me and the final judgement contained clauses that were never agreed upon. He was not able to negotiate anything for me. He even stated that in his conversations with opposing counsel, “We simply could not reach a resolution as to the issues”. Simply put, the other party was able to create a judgement that included everything they wanted (that was not agreed upon) and C.J. had no power to negotiate it."

"Graves and Swanson rescued me, fought for me, and guided me with kindness, generosity, and intelligent professionalism. I can’t recommend them enough. Not that anyone wishes for the need of a lawyer- but if or when you do need one, it’s nice to have people fighting for you and that you can trust to have your back. Graves and Swanson are those people."

"Truly incredible people to work with. Highly recommend. I first met with Graves and Swanson in 2018 when I was at the end of my rope. I spent over a year looking for an attorney to represent my family in an uphill battle. From the beginning, they both validated our concerns, offered multiple options on how to proceed and fought tirelessly to bring to light the injustices of our case. In addition to this, they helped us seek legislative changes, supporting us and advising us how to make the most change with our tragic story, on my request. Our case threw many curveballs, which they handled honestly and with integrity, even when the reality was difficult for our family to hear. While our case is over, Graves and Swanson will always remain a trusted part of our family."

"I have known CJ and Jackie for quite some time now. I am a lawyer as well. Our practice areas are complementary. I’ve had occasion to ask their thoughts on questions relating to clients. I’ve also had occasion to help them with issues in my practice area. Their dedication to their clients, clear focus on achieving the client’s goals and obvious professionalism are a credit to the profession and a service to their clients. If their practice fits a need you have you should definitely consult them. I am pleased to recommend them without hesitation."