Kavanagh Grumley Gorbold LLC Joliet Il review signals at a glance

I had the unfortunate opportunity to retain Chantal Host on my ongoing divorce case. If you want an attorney that’s not on your side, this is the one for you. If you want an attorney that’s in it for the money then hire Chantal today. Chantal sold me a dream during the free consultation. After I payed the $3000 retainer she was extremely difficult to get a hold of. Between two court dates and a few emails I received my first bill of $1800, more than half of my retainer, gone! After our first time meeting in court, Chantal arranged a meeting between myself, my spouse, and both attorneys where all parties verbally agreed to certain terms. I agreed to pay my spouse weekly and in turn I was going to be able to finally have parenting time with my kids. That meeting was January 21st and to this day, March 11, 2026, I’ve only been able to have my kids one weekend for parenting time. As soon as my time was denied I immediately brought this concern up to Chantal. She repeatedly told me that my parenting time was not enforceable because there is no court order but continued to hold me accountable to pay weekly child support without a court order for that either. Chantal never offered up any solutions or a plan to allow me to see my kids until I continued to press her to file anything on my behalf to allow me parenting time. Anytime I would email Chantal about any of my concerns nothing was done. She did not fight for any of my needs regarding my children, not once did she provide evidence from me regarding my spouse denying me time with my kids. She did not have my best interest or my children’s best interest in mind. Regarding the sale of my house, I used a realtor that she referred to me which was clearly her friend. The realtor was very unprofessional as well and just as good of a communicator as Chantal. Her estimated payoff was off by nearly $40,000 and so I decided not to continue working with her, I was not comfortable with how she conducted business. I decided I needed to use a realtor I could trust and Chantal accused me of conducting a backdoor deal to receive additional funds which was completely untrue and unfounded. I could have easily said the same thing about her and her friend. I was naive in the fact that I believed Chantal would help me out in my case. I asked her multiple times to have a phone call or in person meeting to discuss a case strategy and it never happened. I would ask her direct questions and bring up legitimate concerns and she would always give me the runaround. Chantal would never even say she would get back to me if she didn’t have an answer and many times she would ignore my concerns completely. Not once did Chantal return my calls even when I attempted to scheduled phone calls with her. I was able to get her on the phone twice in the two months she was retained. The only times she was responsive was when I fired her realtor friend and when I fired her. Before the last court date she filed a petition regarding parenting time and we were supposed to address outstanding concerns regarding taxes and the house, Chantal said she NEEDED be there at court to support me since the motion was already filed and instead she did nothing. She walked into court and acted as if she didn’t even know me, told the judge I fired her and that was it. And I’m sure she’s going to bill me for it. Between four court appearances, emails, and phone calls, I racked up a $3000+ bill and I’m still at square one, a bigger headache and even more debt than I was before. Very unprofessional and an inadequate communicator, she leaves much to be desired. I would strongly NOT recommend her.

Went in as a plaintiff looking for $10k in small claims court. Ended up having to pay nearly $40k by taking a heloc against my home, had to get mental health treatment as a result of this stress, and now may ultimately have to file bankruptcy afterall. How does a competent law firm allow the victim going in to ultimately lose 4x what he sought as a plaintiff? This wasn't a counter-sue either. I was 100% the victim going into this. I didnt know whether to blame the law firm or the justice system in this country, but I believe they both play a role.

I contacted Attorney Brad McCann and met with him twice. The first time he totally dropped the ball with following up, but apologized and was great at the second meeting (when I called again). However, he’s once again never followed up and has completely ghosted me after telling me he was setting up my Llc’s and trust. I am extremely disappointed at the lack of professionalism and blatant lack of respect. If you didn’t want to take me on as a client just say so!! Completely rude!

Ed Oedzes represented me with the utmost compassion and integrity in a nuanced legal matter that was proven to be unfounded and meritless. Ed’s sound council allowed me to fully understand an otherwise daunting process, as he tirelessly advocated for my best interests. While I cannot speak to this law firm as a whole, I can recommend Ed without hesitation or reservation.

Suspended license twice without notice. Terrible place

Referred to Jeff and Bryan by another lawyer! Non-Responsive to phone calls, emails, etc. Jeff kept making reasons for why he couldn’t response! Even said he had talked to the other party… come to find out… they had no clue who was representing me! Find someone else! These are not your guys!

I should have listened to the previous reviews. I ended up paying more than TWICE the amount, that’s the reason they charge hourly. Then if you dispute the fees they threaten to take you to court. My attorney showed up in a jean skirt and a nose piercing. They are so rude, hard to get a response from them, ONLY WHEN THEY ARE BILLING YOU THEY RESPOND IMMEDIATELY.

Chantal is the absolute BEST!!!! Highly recommend her if you want results.

Not only incorrectly typed up our agreed upon divorce terms, but then also ignored my phone message and email asking about the mistake. Called them again about a week later and left another message. When she called me back, I was told they weren't going to change it, despite their mistake, and that I had to file documents with the court. At least she explained the process during this call, which wasn't initially explained to me, but, during the entire call, I felt she was annoyed and not wanting to deal with the issue they created. Also was told during the call that she apologized for the mistake last week, which wasn't the case at all. Do not recommend this business.

Zero stars if possible. I should have listened to the reviews on here and I would have saved myself a ton of money, several headaches, and time. Do yourself a favor and find an attorney who actually cares about what YOU THE CLIENT wants and not what is the easiest for them. Lack of communication, unprofessional.

Absolutely horrendously rude staff, unwilling to compromise or listen to you as an individual. Will only talk via lawyers after snapping at you for trying to ask questions about something you don't understand & may be detrimental to your life. Don't expect any empathy or kindness from anyone except the lady who answers the phones. One attorney actually HUNG UP on me mid-sentence because I started having a panic attack about a legal situation I'm having trouble understanding. Instead of asking me to calm down (I was clearly starting to cry and hyperventilate), and saying her piece, she got nasty with me and hung up. Do NOT waste your money on this cold, soulless place.

Have used and/or recommended this firm several times.