Schank & Associates

By the time I contacted Christian Schank & Associates, my divorce case had been going on for SEVEN years. I had just found out my previous attorney had a drinking problem and was not representing due to her "illness. I thought Christian Schank and Assoc. would be that law firm. First things first though- I had to pay the retainer fee, ($4000 if memory serves). This business is all about billable hours! Before paying the retainer, I made sure they knew how old and complicated my case was. I was assured there was nothing they couldn't handle and they would put their best man on it. My assigned attorney was Jason Sherlock. In speaking with Jason over the phone, he definitely knows family law. He described himself as a 'troubleshooter' for difficult divorce cases. I would never actually meet the man. The first attorney who represented me, and that I would actually meet, was Kim Ma. Kim was very knowledgeable in the office, but presenting my case before a judge, she seemed to lose her way. My ex law firm promptly set about the task of the usual (unscrupulous) lawyer tricks to gain the upper hand before the judge: obfuscate the issues, attack my character, general perfidious behavior. Kim was unable to keep up. I had already lost in a hearing that Kim represented me that cost me $2500 in attorney fees to my ex. I had lost confidence in Kim. I asked Jason (via phone) to actually represent me. Jason assigned a guy by the name of Michael Hulshof. Jason assured me Michael would be working directly through him so I would be getting the very best representation for my case. Plus, Jason would be coming down from Sacramento for the big trial. nThe morning of the big trial I arrived at Michael Hulshof's office only to be told we would need to ask for a continuance. I was told by Michael, Jason was unable to make it down from Sacramento due to an ex parte hearing he was required to attend. I told Michael this would be a disaster as the judge was already tired of my case dragging on. By the time we got into court, things went from bad to worse. Once court was in session, Michael DID ask for the continuance. Michael stated he was unprepared for trial and Jason was unable to attend court due to his wife's difficult pregnancy. That's right, the reason Jason was unable to attend had changed in the time it took us to walk over to the courthouse. Someone was lying. What's worse, the judge DENIED Michael's request for a continuance. I was about to endure a multi-day trial I had waited for, for almost nine years- and did not have proper representation! It would be a financial bloodbath for me. The big issue was my ex-wife didn't want to work. She was looking for a way to get additional spousal support (alimony) out of me. Trouble was, she earned more than I did for most of our marriage. When she was injured on the job, she had UNLIMITED vocational rehabilitation (i.e. FREE education) to train her for employment elsewhere. Michael said nothing about that and allowed her to claim, not only she couldn't currently work, but also claim that she would NEVER be able to work again ever in her life. (For me that would mean a lifetime of spousal support.) Throughout the trial my ex was allowed to claim whatever she wanted to benefit her position. Since there was no opposition by Michael, the judge granted all of it. In fact, in my 73 page final judgment, it states no less than 7 times: "Based on the evidence, which was undisputed?.". 'Undisputed' because for all intents and purposes, I was unrepresented. Michael's feckless, performance in court resulted in my child support doubling, spousal support tripling. When it was all over with, Michael wouldn't even speak to me. I was expected to read, interpret, and sign the judgment without legal counsel. I never heard from Jason after the trail. The laws offices of Christian Schank & Assoc. dropped me as a client within days of my signing the Judgment.