My name is Michele Smith and I was sued by my former husband for the 22nd time in Hendricks County for a change of parenting time. Because the judge was not familiar with the case, he appointed a VERY YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED ATTORNEY named Melissa L. Sauer.
To start with, her phone system did not work. Her Mother was also an attorney, supposedly next door to her office in Danville, Indiana, so I occasionally had to contact her Mother because her phone system was down and could not take messages at a critical time in my case. Instead of fixing the phones, I was griped at for leaving a message on her mother's answering machine more than one time. I was talked to like I was some kind of simpleton and did not have a brain. For the record, I have two undergraduate degrees, and two graduate degrees, one of them from Cornell University. So I am not your classical simpleton who needs to be talked down to when you are so unprofessional yourself that you cannot even leave a voice mail for supposedly a professional person with a law degree from Indiana University for God's sake.
Although Melissa Sauer was ORDERED BY THE HONORABLE JUDGE JEFFREY V. BOLES to be my children's GUARDIAN AD LITEM, she never even bothered to call my children on the telephone or interview them in person. She made all of her decisions off of medical, school, and other reports. I FEEL THE LACK OF CONCERN FOR QUALITATIVE INFORMATION HINDERED HER JUDGEMENT. My children were fundamentally shocked that this woman never bothered even to pick up the phone and tell them who she was and what she was doing. No letter, no call, no visit, just a bunch of documentation. I thought it was when you balance qualitative and quantitative information that you reach a balanced conclusion.
This counselor obviously HAS NO CREDIBLE EXPERIENCE with cases involving psychiatry. She was ineffective as a GAL because of her sheer ignorance of routine psychiatry procedures. For example, she actually thinks that a person who suffers from depression checks in with their psychiatrist once per week. If you actually bothered to pick up the phone and talk to a psychiatrist you would find out that people do not see a psychiatrist once per day or once per week unless they are in an acute care situation.
This counselor was provided information regarding a substantiated and very serious CPS case on or around June 15, 2014. Even though it was a horrific complaint, she declined to get involved, citing "the money". She only withdrew from the case when the Hon. Judge Jeffrey V. Boles asked the attorneys to notify her that there was a CPS case which was substantiated. Then she drafted some correspondence saying she knew that I could not afford an attorney. Well of course, you cannot afford an attorney after you have been sued 22 times in less than 18 years. Especially when the last go around you had to hire 3 lawyers just to keep the visitation arrangements the same.
After paying this incredibly naive and inexperienced lawyer more than $2,500.00 of my own money, I had to prepare for a different legal case. I was respectful to her and I approached her to provide a letter and a comprehensive total for her bills. She actually charged $50.00 to type a letter. Wow I hope you enjoyed all the steak dinners on my account and on my children's accounts.
It would be my advice, if you have this woman for a Guardian Ad Litem, you need to petition the courts to modify the appointment and find someone who has more experience, more personal integrity, and who actually cares about children. She is in it for the money and that's all she cares about. She doesn't care what is best for your children. She doesn't care about what is best for your family. She cares about what is best for her and her bottom line.
Melissa L. Sauer, if you are reading this, you absolutely stink!
Melissa L. Sauer, Attorney at Law Reviews
My name is Michele Smith and I was sued by my former husband for the 22nd time in Hendricks County for a change of parenting time. Because the judge was not familiar with the case, he appointed a VERY YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED ATTORNEY named Melissa L. Sauer.
To start with, her phone system did not work. Her Mother was also an attorney, supposedly next door to her office in Danville, Indiana, so I occasionally had to contact her Mother because her phone system was down and could not take messages at a critical time in my case. Instead of fixing the phones, I was griped at for leaving a message on her mother's answering machine more than one time. I was talked to like I was some kind of simpleton and did not have a brain. For the record, I have two undergraduate degrees, and two graduate degrees, one of them from Cornell University. So I am not your classical simpleton who needs to be talked down to when you are so unprofessional yourself that you cannot even leave a voice mail for supposedly a professional person with a law degree from Indiana University for God's sake.
Although Melissa Sauer was ORDERED BY THE HONORABLE JUDGE JEFFREY V. BOLES to be my children's GUARDIAN AD LITEM, she never even bothered to call my children on the telephone or interview them in person. She made all of her decisions off of medical, school, and other reports. I FEEL THE LACK OF CONCERN FOR QUALITATIVE INFORMATION HINDERED HER JUDGEMENT. My children were fundamentally shocked that this woman never bothered even to pick up the phone and tell them who she was and what she was doing. No letter, no call, no visit, just a bunch of documentation. I thought it was when you balance qualitative and quantitative information that you reach a balanced conclusion.
This counselor obviously HAS NO CREDIBLE EXPERIENCE with cases involving psychiatry. She was ineffective as a GAL because of her sheer ignorance of routine psychiatry procedures. For example, she actually thinks that a person who suffers from depression checks in with their psychiatrist once per week. If you actually bothered to pick up the phone and talk to a psychiatrist you would find out that people do not see a psychiatrist once per day or once per week unless they are in an acute care situation.
This counselor was provided information regarding a substantiated and very serious CPS case on or around June 15, 2014. Even though it was a horrific complaint, she declined to get involved, citing "the money". She only withdrew from the case when the Hon. Judge Jeffrey V. Boles asked the attorneys to notify her that there was a CPS case which was substantiated. Then she drafted some correspondence saying she knew that I could not afford an attorney. Well of course, you cannot afford an attorney after you have been sued 22 times in less than 18 years. Especially when the last go around you had to hire 3 lawyers just to keep the visitation arrangements the same.
After paying this incredibly naive and inexperienced lawyer more than $2,500.00 of my own money, I had to prepare for a different legal case. I was respectful to her and I approached her to provide a letter and a comprehensive total for her bills. She actually charged $50.00 to type a letter. Wow I hope you enjoyed all the steak dinners on my account and on my children's accounts.
It would be my advice, if you have this woman for a Guardian Ad Litem, you need to petition the courts to modify the appointment and find someone who has more experience, more personal integrity, and who actually cares about children. She is in it for the money and that's all she cares about. She doesn't care what is best for your children. She doesn't care about what is best for your family. She cares about what is best for her and her bottom line.
Melissa L. Sauer, if you are reading this, you absolutely stink!