Nicastro Law

I want to thank Nicastro Law for the amazing job they did representing me in what could have been a really complicated divorce. They really took the time to carefully explain everything they were going to do for me and I was happy to have them on my side. Attorney Christine Nicastro was like dealing with a family member that really cared about the outcome of my situation. She was also very sympathetic to my economic situation and offered me a generous discount during the process. I was really taken back when we appeared for our hearing because she was very impressive in the court room as well. Divorces are probably the worst thing a human being could ever go through but when you have the kind of lawyers like the kind at Nicastro Law watching out for you I’m positive it was a much better experience for me than most people and in the end the outcome was much better than I expected. Thank you Nicastro Law!

Christine Nicastro is the nicest lady, so it’s not fun to write an honest review here. But you don’t pay legal fees just for someone to be nice, so here goes…
Nicastro Law uses the following techniques to extract more money from clients than necessary:
1) Low ball estimates given upfront, which you will run well over even if absolutely no complications arise and you stick with the exact plan agreed upon initially
2) Bait-​and-​switch, you initially meet with the seasoned and experienced attorney, but once you sign on with them, your case is handed over to the junior attorney and you are charged the same hourly rate (they do warn you that both attorneys will be working on your case, but it was very clear that it was just passed off.)
3) No paralegals, so you are charged the attorneys’ hourly rate for everything, including photocopying and stapling (this one is huge.)
4) You’ll end up getting into unnecessary back-​and-​forth email exchanges with the attorneys, all of which you will be charged for. This is because the junior attorney uses verbose and confusing legal jargon which you will of course then need to ask her to clarify, and because both attorneys will ask you clarifying questions about your case which they should already know the answers to from prior discussions or by looking at the paperwork they already have from you.
5) When you look at the itemized bill, you might notice that they have allotted themselves very generous amounts of time for each task. Still mostly within reason I think, but very generous.
So, despite a seemingly reasonable hourly rate, you’ll end up overpaying by a lot.
Here’s how they actually performed:
1) Relevant and correctly prepared paperwork, as near as I could tell (I’m not a lawyer).
2) They were decent advocates in front of a mediator, but when placed in front of a judge they suddenly shriveled and became meek and useless. Either there was some blood sugar issue going on, or what I think is more likely, they are much more concerned with protecting their own relationship with the judge than with representing a client’s interests well.
3) When we self-​represented at the next court date, we actually did significantly better than we had done with their help.
4) Their overall strategy of attack was confusing as hell, like, to clerks at the courthouse – not just to us.
So overall, I really wish I could go back in time and never hire them. That said, they were certainly friendly, professional, and pleasant to work with at all times.
My final advice: hire them if you need legal paperwork done and you’re willing to take the cost estimate they give you and double it. Don’t hire them for anything more complicated or important.