Goldberg Jones - Divorce for Men - San Diego, California

bilal S.

Hi All,
I'm a former client of this law firm, my case just concluded after 2 years and 4 months. This law firm was the first to represent me from January 2023- July 2023.

I will attempt to give an over view of my case and why I don't recommend this law firm.

Case story: I married an immigrant in September 2019 and filed for a divorce on January 2023. My case involved issues such as sponsoring an immigrant through the i-864 form mainly through spousal support, Domestic violence allegations, fees request, and separate a child support/ custody battle.

My Attorney Ralph Santoro was presented as an individual who went through a divorce himself, and an experienced lawyer. Personally what I required from him simply was a settlement/divorce and a fair custody percentage distribution. He advised at the time according to what was happening during the case, when he was a month into the case, my former spouse filed a DVRO against me which initially failed in presentation of documentation, but later was corrected once she hired her own attorney through which she was granted a restraining order.

Ralph presented an option of pursuing a counter DVRO based on an argument/fight I had from a year prior. Through that I was also able to get a restraining order and get my child back temporarily as a primary custodian. This was a challenging process since our parties had to serve documents to my former spouse when she was living in a Airbnb I paid for. My family members served the documents to my spouse at a public facility outside the airbnb and then I was able to get SDPD involved (this was a 6-7 hour wait near the Airbnb). Through this process I was able to get temporarily custody of my daughter and then proceeded to have other items of the case handled.

Why am hesitant to recommend this place is because the $30K+ I paid primarily was in fighting off a DV case, which were dismissed and nothing got solved related to the actual settlement or divorce once Mr. Santoro filed a Substitution for attorney form. Also every time suggestions I recommend for custody, settlement, cultural matters, and finances, he usually would mention " Your welcome to substitute me if you don’t like what I have to say". This was challenging for me and I believe restricted what input I had on this case.

Many times I was billed for emails related to issues not related to actual settlement and more of items outside the realm of the actual dissolution. It was frustrating, and when I inquired about these emails or fell short of the retainer, it was "well I can't continue your case unless you replenish the retainer". Multiple times I paid in hopes that we would come to a resolution after our DV trial, eventually I exhausted my funds and when we were approaching a RFO in July 2023, Mr. Santoro is was like, "sorry I can't help you, your funds have exhausted".

I eventually went to court alone once Mr. Santoro filed the substation of attorney form, had to deal with the opposing counsel, which was challenging, lost most of the custody of my child, paid immigration fees, and paid other fees which could have been avoided had he stayed. I eventually had to figure out a way to get representation later in the year since I was having difficulty in representing myself.

This firm prides itself as a "top divorce firm for Men" I don’t believe that to be the case unless you have endless resources to spend on the lawyers and fill the full retainer amount every time. Their accounting department gave no level of flexibility for payment options, and gave endless supply of fund to my attorney who would endlessly send emails or work without any restrains to what actually needed to be completed.

I firmly believe this is a business first and client second firm, if you are tight on funds this is not the place to go. They will find ways to prolong your case and make money first before settling, at least this has been my experience.

neil K.

Conor Gallagher was a great attorney. He kept me informed throughout the entire case and made the whole process easy to understand. So glad I chose Goldberg & Jones to help navigate this situation.

Janna S.

Alexandria Loveless assisted me with my divorce and she was incredibly knowledgeable and answered all the questions I had. Highly highly recommend this firm, not only for men, but women too! 5*

Zach P.

I reached out to Goldberg Jones Divorce for Men for some last minute questions before meeting with a mediator. I really did not expect much or even someone to get back to me right away for that matter. Within one hour, however, I got a call from attorney Zephyr Hill and he was extremely helpful and answered all my questions and even some follow up via email. He did this all last minute and as part of a free consultation. Pretty remarkable. I will definitely be retaining his services going forward. Thank you!

luis B.

I had the pleasure of working with a great team at Goldberg Jones. My attorney Alexis Scott made everything simple and ensured all my questions were answered. She completed everything in minimal time and made everything seamless. I worked with her to amend my divorce decree for adjustment of my alimony requirements. I really wish I would have went to them to handle my initial divorce because it may have prevented the work on the back end. The outcome was the best case scenario I could have imagined. Word of advice seek legal counsel from the beginning because the cost of an attorney is worth its value and can save you more than the amount spent on an attorney. Thanks again to Alexis and her team at Goldberg Jones.

Jordan M.

I was very pleased with Goldberg/Jones and the services of Michael Steiner as my attorney. I also commend that of Mr. Steiner’ legal and admin team during the whole process. In the event of Mr. Steiner being unavailable for other cases or events that prevented him from being immediately available when I reached out, his team was a great liaison between us to keep questions answered and processes moving forward. Michael was always quick to get back to me and was well informed of my inquiry with answers ready.
It was a very long and stressful journey, but Michael provided great insight on my steps moving forward and built a great case and argument to proceed with getting my children in a happier, safer and more stable environment where they can thrive and grow! Thank you so much for representing me and keeping me informed and directing the case in the direction it needed to go!

Bryan S.

Wow!!! looking for a lawyer that is experienced, knowledgeable and great in the court room. Look no further then Alexis Scott. she helped me with my civil harassment restraining order case and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better. great communication and ensures you are ready come court date. Her time was highly appreciated and worth every minute. Thank you Ms. Scott I couldn’t have done it without you. you made my life so much easier and less stressful!!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

William M.

Michael Steiner is the best lawyer I have ever used. My wife's lawyer tried to pull fast one by telling my lawyer we were going to court to set a trail date, then showed up fully prepared with a group of witnesses and demanded the trail occur that day. Michael with 30 minutes of notice had to take on an entire day long trail on the spot. He discredited every witness she had and made her witnesses fully discredit all of her testimonies. He then had 2 days to prepare my entire restraining order. He annihilated her lawyer. He is the best cross examiner you have ever seen and his attention to detail is incredible. His closing states seal the deal. Keep in mind getting a restraining order is an extremely difficult thing to get. He requested a one year restraining order, when he was done the judge issued a two year restraining order, allowed me to keep my dog and allowed me to be the sole occupant of my house. He is the one you are looking for. Like the one you see in the movies.