Columbia Family Law Center

I worked very hard to save enough money to hire representation for my divorce. Every month, I received little if any info or representation but every month I kept getting bill after bill after bill. On the day of mediation when my ex's lawyer offered first proposal, I looked over at my lawyer, Christine Holman, for advice as this was the first time I had ever been through anything like this, and she looked lost. In retrospect, I don't think she was actually lost, I just don't think she either cared what outcome was or didn't have enough experience to advise me on best course forward. As you can imagine, this is a very messed up day in someone's life and I wasn't all there, so I was looking (and paying $$$$!!!!) for sound legal advice. She said take first offer and on that advice of my counsel, I did. I lost my kids, my house (ex-wife) wasn't even on loan, my pension, my VA home loan, my GI Bill, child support.... it keeps going. I stressed and stressed and stressed none of numerous times I didn't want to shell out tens of thousands more dollars to just keep losing. I was met with a whole host of promises..... unfortunately, none of them happened. Every month I received bills (felt like every 2 weeks) for thousands of dollars while actually accomplishing nothing!!! I saved and saved to try to get some justice, hoping and praying I could get something back for my 26 years of service to this country. All I got in the end was bills again totaling in the tens of thousands of dollars over the course of months with zero wins on my end! Not ONE win!! I was just a bill every month after promise after promise. Save your time, energy, money and sanity.... Find another law firm. Christina Holman and the Columbia Law Center will NOT fight for you!! You are just a credit in their bank account every month!! I fear now in retrospect that this may be a re- issue as when I hired them, they were Clement Law Center and now they have changed their name... I'm assuming to outrun all the negative reviews. Find another lawyer or you could lose everything you ever loved or worked for and pay in the tens of thousands to do so, just like me!!! Now all I have is anger and resentment!

I'm hoping I won't have to update this later lol. I was referred to this firm through my job's legal aid. Gisell, my attorney, and Alyssa, my paralegal, have been wonderful so far. Gisell represented me for a contempt hearing recently and was able to successfully argue why I shouldn't be held in contempt by the court. Having represented myself in a rather hostile coparenting situation for the last three years, I must say her professionalism, knowledge of my case, and preparedness to speak on my behalf in less than a week was so appreciated and made me eager to continue to work with her. I think it's been easy so far because I have kept evidence like texts and emails that she can submit as exhibits and I try to keep as much emotion out of my submissions as possible and stick to the facts. Her and Alyssa's edits come fairly quickly for my review and approval and they add more legal language and structure, a key piece I would miss as a self represented party. I'm feeling confident she'll be able to help me in my modification request. She really is great!

Very personal thats all i can say helped me get my daughter back into my life.

During my difficult divorce Ms. Luna was undoubtedly a very supportive team member. She navigated through difficult situations with a lot of sensitivity, and tactfully helped me understand the process. She was very detailed oriented in her work to the point that even the judge was impressed, and she made sure I understood all of my options but most importantly, she offered the upmost clarity if there were any confusion at all because, I’m not proficient in all the legal terminology. Mr. Kolke’s high level of professionalism expertise and knowledge provided me with a sense of confidence and relief, knowing that he was truly committed to working in my best interest. Last but not least Ms.Lai who I met at the end of my proceedings is a very tenacious articulate eloquent and graceful attorney, who displayed a great deal of empathy towards me and my case. The legal team at Columbia was very effective in handling my divorce as it has been one of the most emotionally challenging experiences of my life. If you go through this process know that you definitely want them on your side.

Highly satisfied with the service they provided. Very knowledgeable and kind,they explained everything in detail. I would definitely use them again. Matt Paris

The worst. Divorce from 2020-2022 finalized in 2024 when I walked away from it all. Good luck and I hope this helps you. Grant it I've only been divorced once but I don't think it could have gone any worse. Desmond is not someone I would recommend to represent as an attorney for a divorce. I am a male and my experience with him was pathetic at best. A couple dozen of unanswered emails, and unused pertinent information that would have been beneficial to my case. Failed to send me a zoom meeting for a pre-trial. Calls me while I am on vacation and asks if I were going to join the meeting. I had to rush to my hotel and join the zoom meeting. His paralegal even charged me a small amount when she needed to review my case when they decided to change paralegals on me. The OC sent an email to Des explaining to him that I need to stay out of the home of my ex, that is her primary residence. I explained that I had not been in her residence for two months. They sent the letter two months later, the next thing I know we are in trial and I am ordered to pay $1500 of my exes lawyer fees because I had not stayed out of her house. They had zero proof of me being in her house subsequent to the first or second letter sent to Des. Des just did not look at the evidence and the lack thereof evidence to defend me. Des told me that was his fault and it was his responsibility to contact OC. Des never contacted OC. I wanted to have GAL or counselor to talk to my kids about the living situation, the OC opposed it and Des did not fight for the GAL or a counselor. He gave up and let the ex win that request. Even the Judge called out the fact that no GAL or counselor was used and he has nothing to go on from the children's perspective. I provided Des information about how my kids felt regarding the living situation, Des did not use it. It fell on def ears again. I was forced to get a CMA for my home, Des never used it as an exhibit and used a made up value of my home that he submitted a value to OC and to the courts resulting in $45K more than the value of my home. I asked for a mistrial, he never pursued it. Had multiple reschedules and when I asked Des, he said it was the OC requesting the rescheduling. I reached out to my ex asking why is her lawyer making all these reschedules, she informed me that it was my lawyer. In my opinion, they were working together to gather as much money from "us" as they could. I wish I would had fired him. I spent around $60k on my divorce only to be told by Des, in my 25years, that was the second worse ruling I've ever had. I had to ask for pre-trial conference with Des after our first trial date. Des was totally unprepared for my case. Had he used the information from the emails I sent him, things would have turned out better for me. I feel Des has become complacent in the divorce world for men and doesn't really care. He got his $60K (ish) from me and moved on. Months later I did receive an email or phone call stating that the judge Leroy McCollough and or his bailiff failed to send Des the final judgement / ruling and it was way past the appeal date. Maybe true, but I have my doubts because of past behavior. He said he would still try and appeal it for me. He did try, cost me another $1700 for their time. I did back out of the appeal, I felt I would have lost even more. He is good at knowing the law, he is good talker, I believe it may have been an hour of free phone call time during the almost 2 year divorce process. Des is a nice guy, he just lost his passion. The one thing I remember most about why I would never recommend him as a divorce lawyer to anyone that outweighs all the above.. My daughter wrote him a letter to be read in the courts and used as an exhibit (I never read the letter), well, he lost the letter that she wrote. Rick S

Although my son’s child custody case is still in the process, I cannot help writing this review for Mr. Kolke and his team. I talked with about ten law firms in the Seattle area. I finally chose Mr. Kolke for many reasons. Mr. Kolke is one of the few who has the hands-on of Hague Convention child abduction litigation and UCCJEA jurisdiction disputes experience. His law firm has staff who can answer the phone on Sunday. Ms. Tyler called me in Monday morning after she took in my case on the Sunday. Mr. Kolke called me almost immediately after he knew all the facts. Meanwhile Mr. Kolke gave me an incredible discount on the attorney fee because I am a veteran. My case is already messed up by the opposing party. I should say Mr. Kolke is very strategic in handling my case. His paralegal, Ms. Hageman, is very responsive to my requests. I would recommend Mr. Kolke and his team to anyone who needs family attorney’s help in the Seattle.

Christina and Alyssa were wonderful. Patient and detail oriented, they were there for me when I needed it the most. Thank you Clement Law!! Robin Phillips

I warmly recommend Bruce Clement’s services. He was informative, efficient, professional, and extremely helpful. He clarified complex legal concepts into clear and understandable information. My experience was pleasant, but most importantly, it allowed to make an informed decision with confidence.

Christina Holman was smart, efficient and compassionate in her handling of my separation issues. I would highly recommend her in family matters.

When we had a minor issue to settle, we called Clement Law Center. Bruce Clement gave 100% of his attention to us and provided a solution that was effective, professional, and affordable. I highly recommend Clement Law for all your legal needs.

All about the money, used Bruce in a custody case and all they did was milk out the money for the case, he always smelled of alcohol and was eaten alive by a free lawyer, then once they found out the money was getting low left me high and dry after spending over 10K with them even charged me $300 plus to give my paperwrk to my new lawyer. save your money and look into another attorney. (new lawyer cost me about 3 thousand and even drove to eastern washington)