Law Office of Michael R. Cahill

Update April 17 2018 : I realize I updated this on Yelp, but not Google. Michael contacted me shortly after the review below, and we discussed that my experience could have been due to an unfortunate series of misunderstandings. We agreed to hit reset, and continued to work together at the previously agreed rate ($1600 + 300 + 18 recording fee). Since then, communication has been prompt, and the service delivered to date has been thorough. I'm not removing my previous review as was requested, but am leaving this update to acknowledge that the prior experience could have been an anomaly. I'll continue to update as we work through the rest of our estate paperwork. Michael has been great. The work he performed was good AND he took the time to humour all our weird crazy questions - of which we had many! We never felt rushed at his office and we feel much more confident going with Michael vs some sort of DIY option online. So, and if you want someone who in person is friendly and approachable, and whom you can ask a lot of questions for during the process, then I would definitely recommend working with Michael. --------- I was so convinced that we would be using Michael as our lawyer that I didn't even bother to request consultations with any other firm. So I am disappointed to have to be writing this review. Michael never actually produced any work for us, so I cannot speak to the quality of his work. I can however speak to the lack of professionalism I experienced. As a business founder, I've interacted with a number of lawyers in the past across a number of fields. This was (luckily?) the most disappointing experience I've had to date. We first contacted Michael by email to request a consultation. The website promises a quick turnaround, and when we didn't receive a response, we didn't think much of it and called in the following week to schedule a visit. The visit went well, we went away feeling good about our decision. Michael said he'd think about our situation and come back the next day with a quote. He told us we had a very straight forward case and that preparation of our documents would be on the lower end of his fee scale, which is typically between $1400 and $1800. 7 days later, I followed up, at which point I was informed the fees would be $1600 to prepare our estate with a $300 change fee each time. It was also going to be a $300 fee to prepare a simple contract on a separate issue. It was mid range, not low range like Michael had indicated, but no big deal. I replied to say let's proceed with the simple separate contract first as it was more time sensitive, at which point Michael communicated that he was only willing to do the simple separate contract if we were committing to doing the trust as well. Yes, I replied. He promised a first contract to review by the next day. And didn't deliver. At this point I'm not feeling great about our experience. Here's someone who has now, failed to follow up on commitments on 100% of our encounters. So I sent a message indicating as much, saying we were disappointed with our experience, is the contract ready, and if not we should part ways. His reply : He apologizes, and wishes us the best going forward. I recognize that timeliness is not a factor of quality, and many law firms have assistants that stay on top of followup. I also recognize that things can take time and don't expect a speedy turnaround. I do however, expect when dates are promised that they are delivered or otherwise properly communicated. Michael completely failed to instill confidence on this front, and furthermore demonstrated an unwillingness to work with clients when called out on that.
5 7 years ago (17-04-2018)

Mr. Cahill was excellent took his time, answered every question, all the documents were right the first time, best trust and estate lawyer my wife and I have ever met. Mike is a 10.
5 7 years ago (07-03-2018)

Michael Cahill was an excellent choice for our estate planning. He took the time to explain each and every detail and helped us choose the best options for us. We never felt rushed or like a burden, like you do with most law practices. His office was very efficient and organized. Would definitely recommend.
5 8 years ago (23-08-2017)

It was a little bit of a challenge to find the door BUT once my wife and I found it, it was all reward. We came not knowing exactly what services we needed. Michael displayed his knowledge by navigating us to the exact services, we lacked. In conversation it seemed complicate and heavy tasked, but with the provided checklist and the over the phone repeated clarifications, my wife & I easily completed this necessary task.
5 8 years ago (22-08-2017)

Michael is super knowledgable, definitely knows what he's doing. I regularly ask him for advice on everything ranging from business formation to wills and trusts and he always comes through with solid recommendations. Definitely a great attorney, recommend him to everyone I know.
5 8 years ago (31-07-2017)