1 /5 Stacey Nickens: This review is specific to Lauren DuCharme who represented me for a divorce. Lauren had a month to prepare for our first court appearance, yet she failed to file basic motions which were necessary for the judge to hear the case. She came unprepared to arbitration when it came time to questioning my ex. She kept the whole room waiting while she tried to formulate each of her questions. When he responded with lies, she was unprepared to follow-up and draw out his deceit.
Throughout the proceedings Lauren’s failed to timely follow up on missing data. In one instance, we were trying to get text messages that would have proven that my ex was working. Since the phone company only maintains a 60-day history, timing was critical. My ex along with his attorneys did everything possible to cover up his behavior. Lauren’s lax approach resulted in critical lost in evidence. The result – I supported my husband for over a year at a cost of $100K.
My ex stole company records and passed them along to his lawyers. His attorneys passed this information along with passwords to outside third parties. This created a data breach for my company. Lauren did nothing about this. She didn’t even bring this up in arbitration which was a compliance violation related to my ex’s employment. She treated this like it was a non-issue, and told me I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Yet, when her assistant accidentally dropped off documents related to another case, they promptly fired her.
I sent Lauren over 45 affidavits and multiple emails outlining my ex’s behavior during the marriage. He abused alcohol, stole prescription drugs from family members, and physically threatened me. During the marriage, he came to work for my company. He turned out to the be the worst employee ever. When it came time for arbitration, she failed to call key witnesses including the person that took over his job. She turned in incorrect evidence, she focused on his affair (which the judge didn’t care about) rather than his drug and alcohol abuse, and she ignored critical evidence that would have supported his offensive behavior and lack of contribution to my company.
Expert witnesses were called in to put a value on the firm. I am a CPA with over 25 years’ experience. When I tried to discuss issues I had with the valuation, she completely ignored me. OC tried to increase the value of my firm by backing out expenses they claimed were personal. I gave Lauren the backup receipts and payment information proving the expenses were valid. She did not turn this in during arbitration.
I prepared a summary of my husband’s calendar showing excessive absences and spending while my husband was an employee of the company. It was a three-page document fully supported by other evidence. Lauren explained that she did not want to use this as she did not want to overwhelm the judge with too much evidence. Instead, she turned in a 77-page office calendar that I had repeatedly told her did not accurately reflect his absences. She said the judge would “get it”. I learned that judges aren’t mind readers.
I prepared documents to show that my husband’s employment cost the company of over $500K because of investments in training combined with his failure to produce a revenue stream. I also provided Lauren with evidence to support that my husband farmed out all of his operational duties to other employees or outside firms. She also did not use this evidence to prove to the judge that while my husband received a paycheck, he did nothing to earn it. In the end, the judge assumed that this had become a “family business” and awarded him a significant settlement.
I relied on Lauren’s expertise to strategize the arbitration. She assured me that we had a strong case. However, her approach failed miserably and cost me dearly. And, rather than owning up to her mistakes, she walked away and didn’t finish the job.
