If you want to hire the worst and most incompetant family law attorney in Chicago hire Jonathan Merel and his team of the most incompetant attorneys. Read the real Yelp reviews and you will see Jonathan Merel is rude and does not care about his clients. He hires the most inexperienced attorneys that don't know their a** from a hole in the ground. He has someone tell you everything you want to hear then the hammer drops and all he does is bill bill bill!!!!!!
He is condescending especially to minorities and is insensitive. If you are saying Ok that's fine as long as he is good in court then the answer is RUN. He will not only screw up your case but he will put you in a worse position then when you started. Oh and this all comes at a cost of him over and double billing you for his time. If you don't believe me here are some of his "glowing" Yelp reviews.
One review from Yelp said, "This attorney took a straight forward, uncomplicated divorce that could have been settled quickly and turned it into a complicated disaster because he attempted to milk as much money out of this case as he could. They continuously filed unnecessary motions then withdrew them on the day of court, which increased their legal fees (to prep and show up to court) and dragged things out far longer than necessary. The inexperience of these attorneys made a mess of absolutely everything. Michael Levy in that office is particularly inexperienced and unprofessional, most recently showing up 35 minutes late to court.
The filtered, "unrecommended" reviews match my experience much more accurately than these highly rated reviews, you should take the time to read those before moving forward with hiring Merel. As others have mentioned they are far more concerned with their own payment than anything else."
Another Yelper said, "The only reason this lawyer got 1 Star is because there was not a zero star or a negative star. Stay away from this lawyer. HE in not any good and definitely will not help you if your spouse ends up having to pay his attorney fees. His alliance is with whomever gives him the money. Another point you should note is the exorbitant interest he charges for not being able to pay the bills on time even after I changed attorneys. He was the only attorney to charge interest of the numerous attorneys I talked with. I'm not even sure it is legal to charge interest and even if it is, his interest is like credit cards with high interest.
This divorce lawyer, Jonathan Merel, told me he was knowledgeable and experienced in Lake County Divorce Law. Not even close. JMerel informed me he would be able to hold meetings for Lake County, IL divorce at his Skokie office. He was never available to meet with me in 3 months.
My ex-husband (still married then) changed the locks to the house where we were both joint owners. I went to the police department and they offered to escort me back to my house with a locksmith so I could change the locks back. Jonathan Merel told me not to do anything yet and that we should do it legally. Bull s**t! It was another way for him to charge more for his services. At court he gave away my rights to my house because my husband's attorney gave him $5,000 in attorney fees. He gave away my rights as long as he was paid off by my husband's attorney.
When it came to filling out the financial affidavits, he had his paralegal call me. She basically told me it did not have to be accurate and that I should just give a BALLPARK FIGURES. I found out with my next attorney that it had to be accurate down to the penny.
Really, if he charges $250/hour, which is $100 less than most other attorneys, you will pay him more in the end. The way to find a good attorney is go through friends who have had good experiences. Stay away for this inferior attorney. He lied to me and he looked out for what was good for him and not his clients.
Text me ([email protected]) anytime with your phone number and I will tell you all about Jonathan Merel. He should get a negative 1 million not the 1 star I gave him, which was my only choice.
It has been 2.5 years since my divorce and I can't stop thinking what a thief this lawyer is!"
I say, run, run, run away from this firm and their highly inexperienced and disgraceful attorneys. They should all be disbarred!!
Law Offices of Jonathan Merel, P.C. Reviews
If you want to hire the worst and most incompetant family law attorney in Chicago hire Jonathan Merel and his team of the most incompetant attorneys. Read the real Yelp reviews and you will see Jonathan Merel is rude and does not care about his clients. He hires the most inexperienced attorneys that don't know their a** from a hole in the ground. He has someone tell you everything you want to hear then the hammer drops and all he does is bill bill bill!!!!!!
He is condescending especially to minorities and is insensitive. If you are saying Ok that's fine as long as he is good in court then the answer is RUN. He will not only screw up your case but he will put you in a worse position then when you started. Oh and this all comes at a cost of him over and double billing you for his time. If you don't believe me here are some of his "glowing" Yelp reviews.
One review from Yelp said, "This attorney took a straight forward, uncomplicated divorce that could have been settled quickly and turned it into a complicated disaster because he attempted to milk as much money out of this case as he could. They continuously filed unnecessary motions then withdrew them on the day of court, which increased their legal fees (to prep and show up to court) and dragged things out far longer than necessary. The inexperience of these attorneys made a mess of absolutely everything. Michael Levy in that office is particularly inexperienced and unprofessional, most recently showing up 35 minutes late to court.
The filtered, "unrecommended" reviews match my experience much more accurately than these highly rated reviews, you should take the time to read those before moving forward with hiring Merel. As others have mentioned they are far more concerned with their own payment than anything else."
Another Yelper said, "The only reason this lawyer got 1 Star is because there was not a zero star or a negative star. Stay away from this lawyer. HE in not any good and definitely will not help you if your spouse ends up having to pay his attorney fees. His alliance is with whomever gives him the money. Another point you should note is the exorbitant interest he charges for not being able to pay the bills on time even after I changed attorneys. He was the only attorney to charge interest of the numerous attorneys I talked with. I'm not even sure it is legal to charge interest and even if it is, his interest is like credit cards with high interest.
This divorce lawyer, Jonathan Merel, told me he was knowledgeable and experienced in Lake County Divorce Law. Not even close. JMerel informed me he would be able to hold meetings for Lake County, IL divorce at his Skokie office. He was never available to meet with me in 3 months.
My ex-husband (still married then) changed the locks to the house where we were both joint owners. I went to the police department and they offered to escort me back to my house with a locksmith so I could change the locks back. Jonathan Merel told me not to do anything yet and that we should do it legally. Bull s**t! It was another way for him to charge more for his services. At court he gave away my rights to my house because my husband's attorney gave him $5,000 in attorney fees. He gave away my rights as long as he was paid off by my husband's attorney.
When it came to filling out the financial affidavits, he had his paralegal call me. She basically told me it did not have to be accurate and that I should just give a BALLPARK FIGURES. I found out with my next attorney that it had to be accurate down to the penny.
Really, if he charges $250/hour, which is $100 less than most other attorneys, you will pay him more in the end. The way to find a good attorney is go through friends who have had good experiences. Stay away for this inferior attorney. He lied to me and he looked out for what was good for him and not his clients.
Text me ([email protected]) anytime with your phone number and I will tell you all about Jonathan Merel. He should get a negative 1 million not the 1 star I gave him, which was my only choice.
It has been 2.5 years since my divorce and I can't stop thinking what a thief this lawyer is!"
I say, run, run, run away from this firm and their highly inexperienced and disgraceful attorneys. They should all be disbarred!!