region, VA
Outstanding service from a true professional! Among the best in the entire State of Virginia.
Experienced, Intelligent and Aggressive
Mr. Pilgreen is smooth as butter when it comes to family law matters and I highly recommend him for your legal representation. He and his staff's attention to detail is spot on, and provided excellence in case direction and preparation so that I could stay focused on my life and protect myself. And protect myself from family and potential future impacts of their weaponization of the system. He does not sugarcoat the hard truths or provide a lot of useless 'empty fluff' . J Emmette Pilgreen IV knew the direct route to a positive outcome. I would use him again and again - but hopefully we will not need a lawyer ever again! Thank you Pilgreen Team for just the right amount of emotional support but more importantly - thanks for the comprehensive and thorough understanding of my legal woe and for delivering the winning approach.
Mr. Pilgreen represented me in a guardianship and conservatorship case that also required removing rights from an existing power of attorney. He and his office made a difficult process easy and removed the stress.
Took the money but didnt followed through with the paper work, did 1/2 way and now said it my responsibility to file with the court. If i have to go to court to file, why do i need to pay you 5 times more then what the court cost for? Take thw advantage of the wife that dont speak much english. Took $500 and told her that to take care of the deed, but did not followed through then now saying that all they di is filled. Then we have to go to the court ourself to record it. If somene read this review pleade do yourself a favor RUN
Mr. Nguyen: You were the adverse party so your frustration is understandable. A final decree was entered in your Wife's favor against you. You never paid this firm anything because we represented your wife against you and clearly you are unhappy with what we did to you through litigation.
Mr. Pilgreen and his staff was simply amazing. They made my divorce easy and painless. Joy was amazing with answering questions and keeping me updated on the process. Thank you both so very much!
I have received nothing but the best help from Mr. Pilgreen's office. Joy has been amazing with communication and helping me understand everything. Mr. Pilgreen has always been very helpful during all meetings with him. Both him and Joy are very knowledgeable and as a result has made this very hard and troubling time feel a lot more manageable. Thank you both.
Mr. Pilgreen handled a few custody hearings on my behalf, and was very professional, blunt, and to the point, I will definitely seek his assistance again in the future if the need ever arises.
Thank you for the kind words.
Mr. Pilgreen comes in to court not knowing the details of his case frequently. I had to remind him of crucial details constantly and even needed to be corrected on the charges I faced. He is very often late or very close to the start time. I've smelled alcohol strongly on his breath on 2 separate occasions while representing me in court. He influenced me to take bad deals, ridiculed me and was down right disrespectful to my mother. I hired him for a custody situation and criminal charges. Even while I questioned that decison to hire him for both I felt I had explained my situation very well. He should be able to understand and represent me well. He never got past trying to speak over me and listen to me instead of himself talk. He's a decent salesman and has a good amount of reputation in Roanoke for Family Court that is carrying him. I assume from Lutins. As things piled up his inadequate work began to really show. Hire a better lawyer, save yourself being ridiculed and poorly represented. Criminal or Family Law
Thanks Jason!
Thanks Terry! It was a pleasure working with you through this difficult period.
I debated on leaving this review for some time now, but the time seems right. We inquired about Mr. Pilgreen after searching vigorously for lawyers in the Roanoke area, (we were not from the area and the case was taking place within the city). Going based on word of mouth, this was the guy to help our unorthodox custody case. It should have been a sign when our initial meeting had never been scheduled and we only found this out the day of, after we traveled over an hour to get there. So we had to schedule a month out, again, time of the essence! The initial consultation seemed promising, however the price of representation being $3,500 was eye opening. We were under the assumption this was a retainer and the hours would be billed off this payment. We were wrong. Not only did we only have all of 45 minutes face to face with Mr Pilgreen before our hearing, he was almost an hour late to our meeting and walked us out early! 3 days we had before our court hearing, THE WEEKEND! We gave him everything possible to make our case and he ended up getting in an argument with the judge. We lost everything due to this representation. The final blow was when we called about our “retainer” to be told that was a flat fee for the first and only court hearing. If we wanted anymore time with him, it would “be an extra fee”. Save yourself if you’re looking for reliable and cordial representation in Roanoke VA!!
GS:<br><br>You were not the client of the firm and you were not present during the trial preparation or the extended trial. You are correct that the custody case was unorthodox, namely it was our client (a nonparent) seeking to take custody of a child from its biological parent. This requires overcoming the “parental presumption” rule (i.e., a parent who is not unfit has preference over a nonparent seeking custody). Our client had already filed for custody and had a rapidly approaching court date when we were hired. The “parental presumption” rule was discussed at length with our client and the we had a lengthy meeting to prepare our client for court.<br><br>After an afternoon trial, the Court ruled that our client (the nonparent) had provided excellent care and was objectively the better custodian; however, the court ruled that the “parental presumption” required custody be returned to the parent because she was no longer unfit and the parental presumption had not yet been severed by a court order. The court based its decision primarily on the testimony of the Department of Social Services Social Worker who had temporarily placed the child with our client while the parent obtained services. The Social Worker from the Department of Social Services testified that the parent had followed her recommendations; the parent was now fit and could provide for her child; and Social Worker recommended placement with the parent (the other party).<br><br>We argued aggressively with the court (this is exactly what lawyers do) on behalf of our client that the temporary social services placement with a nonparent severed the parental presumption, and would enable the court to place custody with our client. The court ruled that absent a court order, the parental presumption remains intact and directed that custody return to the parent over the nonparent. However, the Court went on to rule that if our client appealed the case for a new trial, our client would maintain custody until the Circuit Court ruled on this issue. Our client chose not to appeal the case.<br><br>While we and our client were disappointed in the court’s ruling, we extensively litigated and argued the case. If there is any confusion on the ruling, our client is welcome to make an appointment to discuss the ruling in detail, and discuss options at this time.
I am so thankful for Mr. Pilgreen. He creatively got me through a rough divorce. The team promptly kept me up to date on everything that was going on. Joy was wonderful to work with too. 10/10 recommend for divorce needs!
Thank you Sarah, it was a pleasure helping you through this difficult time.
Katie at the front desk was very helpful she is an amazing secretary and Because of her I am certain I will be using this law firm and retaining them for my future legal matters thank you Katie you were very helpful
Well it's been since 2015 and I'm still regretting ever meeting Pilgreen. Lutins would've been the better choice Pilgreen dropped the ball and left me holding the blame Still paying dearly with no end in sight. If you think he's such a great lawyer you better think again
Joe,<br>I'm sorry to hear of your experience from 2015. I will gladly meet with you at no charge to review the current status and discuss possible solutions for you. Many factors change in seven years so even you prefer not to return here, you should consult with a lawyer for a review of the current status.
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