| KEY |
Date |
|
C
o
m
m
u
n
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
|
|
10/8/25 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Not a good lawyer to deal with. Not transparent at all. She just keep asking for money without any meaningful updates. Did a complaint against her in the law society of Alberta, but nothing was done. And she keep charging me for funny things like storing my file, data & info at her office,,, daily charge,,, like $0.53,,, but adds up over the course of 7 years. STAY AWAY FROM THIS …
|
|
|
|
7/23/24 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
This lawyer did nothing for me. Played along with opposition. The only thing she did was send me a bill. Doesn't care about her client more worried about her reputation running along side the big dogs and wanting to be in the boys club. She is rude, doesn't listen and has total communication with opposing counsel. It doesn't matter with her because she is going to get paid especially for doing nothing . Her communication skills are 0 . She does 100 percent better
communicating with opposition by helping them and not defending you.This lawyer should not be retained for any kind of legal advice. Extremely poor lawyer should not be out there pretending to help people because she's not in it for this purpose.
|
|
|
|
3/13/23 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
I have used Collista many times over the last 15 years and not once has she disappointed me. She has an extensive knowledge of family law and always provides me solid advice. Shawna, her assistant, is a pleasure to deal with and highly organized.
|
|
|
|
6/27/22 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
**WARNING** Stay away from this one. She won't work for you. She likes helping opposing counsel. She lies, she says she sends you e-mails which she does not. Doesn't prepare you for questioning. She totally believes in no contact.One thing she did was sent her bill out on time. She is not pro active at all. She is a drama queen, and the assistant of hers is very immature and needs to grow up! She shows the general public that if this lawyer can pass the l-sat then the bar exam then so can anyone else. How difficult can it be. Collista Coles should consider taking her shingle down. A terrible lawyer and communicator, not interested in people and helping them at all. The terrible thing about lawyers like this is there is no one policing them. When you call the Law Society they tell you that there is nothing that they can do for you. So basically your out of luck! No profession should be allowed to charge hourly rates like the Law Profession does with no accountability.Very poor!
|
|
|
|
1/31/22 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Very Unethical Lawyer, why ? here's the answer. I had a questioning which is very common in family law ( discover , custody ...etc ), so My Lawyer and Myself went 15 minutes before the scheduled time on the questioning date and time to Collista's office, and the moment she saw my lawyer and myself, she acted wired, and asked us, why we are here, the questioning ( which she requested ) was cancelled, and she told my lawyer : " you were Informed ", my lawyer denied that, otherwise he'll not be there, Collista said : " I left a message with your with your assistant ". The lawyer smiled, and we left. after we left the building my lawyer told me she is 100% lying, as he never had any assistant since he started practicing law, as he is a one man show working out of his home office, in order to keep his cost down so he can accept Legal Aide Clients. My lawyer also mentioned to me some unethical lawyers like Collista like to schedule fake questioning to see how the other party will react.
|
|
|
|
8/22/21 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
All negative is true. She’s ensured I’m broke until I die. Right down to not owing back taxes, and three years later it turns out I do. I’m down a rabbit hole I can’t get out of.
|
|
|
|
11/24/20 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
Collista is incredibly efficient and great to deal with, highly recommend her - especially for volatile cases.. 10 out of 10
|
|
|
|
|
|
SYSTEM: 2 negative duplicate or disallowed ratings automatically removed |
*
|
10/17/19 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Collista is hands down the most unprofessional lawyer I have ever encountered and I have dealt with many. She acts like a child, is consistently unprepared, rude, and sends countless e mails to rack up her bill. I would not retain her if she was free. Stay away!
|
|
*
|
10/11/19 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
I felt very taken advantage of. She thinks highly of herself and pushed hard to convince me to retain her. The moment I did she virtually disappeared. Unprofessional, the only document/statement of claim she created has so many mistakes it hurt my position with my ex. I spoke with her a single time on the phone and met with her a single time in about 4 months of so called representation. She deals with vulnerable people and I feel her actions in my experience are highly concerning. I don’t have any doubt that she is a money hungry Lawyer but sadly I believe she is a bad person and if you or anyone you know is considering a family Lawyer, Collista is not going to change and become a good lawyer or a decent human being. When I told her I wasn’t happy with her representation, she turned on me instantly and claimed I was insulting her and her “staff” , I guess meaning her legal assistant...but who says “staff”?? She knew little if anything about my case and hurt me legally and personally.
|
|
|
|
5/15/19 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
If you are a woman seeking her services for a family law/divorce case *please be warned* she will not fight for you, instead she will flirt with your ex and actually have communication with him behind your back. This was recently confirmed to me by my ex. I always wondered why it felt like she was actually fighting Me and not doing/going after the things I wanted presented in court. My ex is a criminal with no provable income, however lives quite the lavish lifestyle. When I asked her to pressure him for proper income disclosure, like I provide to him by way of T4- she outright refused. On a different matter She failed to submit my affidavit to the judge prior to our schedule court date leaving the judge completely unaware of the actual situation as all he had to go on was the affidavit from the defendant(my ex). It was horrible. I ended up losing some of my parenting time to my ex, who again I might add- is a criminal. The court system is broken. Hire a good lawyer- not her.
|
|
|
|
7/20/17 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Collista knows her stuff, won't back down and provides great advice. She fought hard during my trial and helped me in getting primary custody of my children and I am so thankful to her. She's great at dealing with small issues on your behalf and relieving some of the stress at a very stressful time in your life. I would definitely recommend her to friends and family. I would care to guess a lot of the negative reviews on here arnt from her clients and are from peopLe who had to deal with her on the other side.
|
|
|
|
3/30/17 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
I appreciated all that Collista did for me in my divorce and settlement. If it were not for her taking the emotional brunt and insisting on my share of assets, I would not have come out where I did. She fought for me and won. I was not knowledgeable enough to do this on my own.
|
|
|
|
11/29/16 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
The most recent review was clearly written by Collista. Just look and the language used - it's a lawyer typing this as they just cant break out of that style of writing. Sad attempt to fix a clear trend.....
|
|
|
|
11/24/16 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Collista will review your case and will honestly assess what is fair and what your odds are in court. She is foremost reasonable with the other party but steps up and is aggressive to ensure her client's rights are represented and protected. As with any lawyer, her services are pricy so make sure you do your leg work to minimize your costs. Give plenty of notice to have the best quality for your application. She will also do a great job on short notice to file paperwork. She sets expectations high for herself and her clients. She keeps her cases clean, without the drama, to ensure your application is processed quickly and judges don't get confused/overwhelmed.
|
|
|
|
2/12/16 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
I used Ms. Coles in my divorce and then 5 years later used her in my review for continued spousal support. I thought she was ok with my divorce settlement, but as for the spousal support review it was a total waste of time and money. She communicated with me mostly through her assistant, and only 3 times by phone, other than that by email. She requested notarized documents that had to be sent across country in 2 days. In the end I got a very bad result, that was 1/2 the amount and duration, that my ex's lawyer offered without going to court. Plus I am out thousands of dollars in legal fees. She said my case was strong, and told me the offer to settle wasn't a good one. Very disappointed in the result, her lack of communication, and very little work put into my case, compared to what my ex's lawyer put it. She also, never responded to my concerns via phone or email in regards to replying to false info on my ex husbands affidavit prior to going to court to fight my case.
|
|
|
|
11/16/15 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
I would not recommend this lawyer. She did very little work, a lot of talking, and disorganized. Difficult person to work with, and the most unprofessional as well. Disappointing.
|
|
|
|
11/15/15 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Ms. Coles handled a personal injury claim for me. I need a lawyer who was tough, persistent, and aggressive. I was very upset by the whole situation and needed someone to tell me what to do. Ms. Coles delivered. I was very pleased with my settlement. If it had not been for her I would have settled out of court for 1/3 of what I received. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone, that being said I would advise future clients not to expect someone who is sweet. She is tough, but more than fair. If you need a therapist, hire one, because she isn't a hand-holder. If you want a fair settlement and no BS hire Collista.
|
|
|
|
9/25/15 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Found her to be very ignorant and snotty. Didn't seem like she wanted to deal with us and just wanted us gone. She took over our case for Michelle DiTopa. Michelle dropped the ball and Collista took over and we only met her once. She gave us the bad news in a very unprofessional way, was rude, ignorant and showed no compassion. I would NEVER recommend this firm to anyone. EVER. We lost our case and ended up in major debt.
|
|
|
|
8/31/15 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Collista represented me in a recent divorce and was fired for improper procedure and conduct in a court room.NOT RECOMMENDED
|
|
|
|
8/13/15 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
Collista did nothing for my case which cost me $8000 and in the end I proceeded with a court order of what was in place before hiring her (complete waste of time and money). she did Nothing for my case and was useless in fighting for what I needed. She likes to just push paperwork back and forth, but not fight the fight.
|
|
|
|
6/29/15 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
Ms. Coles tells you that you will have an easy case. No Problem. In reality you wait 9 years to deal with miss- placed files, wrong information and last minute court appearances. I believe Ms. Coles will say anything to get your money, drag the case on for several years and in the end settle for nothing just to get rid of you. Ms. Coles is unpleasant to deal with after the money is spent. I would not recommend her ever to anyone.
|
|
*
|
11/29/14 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Collista lies to get a retainer. She stalls the whole procedure, no action plan, no meeting to discuss a plan to divide. She did not give me the correct time for a meeting with ex and her lawyer to try to resolve things before court, 3 hours wasted, other lawyer ran the show, zero accomplished. She also hired an accountant with zero court experience. She is very RUDE, she does not return emails or calls. Clearly hates males! She lost documents several times, when they were hand delivered, and her files were a mess, nothing in binders. Next lawyer wasted 4 hours sorting through 2 boxes of papers wrapped with elastics. She wasted 3 years of my life, and charged well over $15000 for nothing. She also changed her amount to go to court from $25000 to $30000, then she quit a month before court. I paid her in full to get my files for next lawyer, and then 2 months later she is trying to charge another $800. She even charged me the fee visa charged her for being a visa client.
|
|
|
|
|
|
SYSTEM: 2 negative duplicate or disallowed ratings automatically removed |
|
|
2/16/14 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Hired this lawyer for my divorce case over a year ago and had to fire her due to incompetence and poor conduct. She dragged out my case simply to increase her fee, my husband and I were able to get another lawyer a finally settle our divorce like normal people. If you make the mistake of hiring Collista be prepared for major billing!!!!
|
|
|
|
8/4/13 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
My experience with Ms. Coles has been at times frustrating and confusing. The hurry up and wait, last minute requests for info etc etc... I have been doing this for almost 6 years and really have gotten no-where. I think she would rather represent men. And tends to drag out the case.$$$$ She I would not recommend this lawyer.
|
|
|
|
7/14/13 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Ms coles got me everything i wanted during my custody battle with my ex wife and i would not hesitate recommending her to anyone that needs the best family lawyer in edmonton. She even communicated with me while overseas via email in a very timely manner. Thanks ms coles.
|
|
|
|
11/23/11 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
I used her for my Divorce almost a year ago and cannot emphasise enough her professionalism and command of the law. I was in a bitter custody dispute with my x wife and Ms. Coles provided timely and clear counsel throughout. As a CEO of a major corporation I do not like being told that I am wrong, however, to her credit Ms. Coles was able to tell me when to take a step back and guided me through the very complicated process of a high conflict custody court battle with poise and grace. I found her to be an excellent advocate in court, diligent in her communication with me and highly effective negotiator. The invoices I was issued throughout were detailed and accurate and I would have paid twice what I did if she had asked. I am left to wonder about those posters below who clearly never had dealings with the lawyer I know as Ms. Coles. Clearly they must have been self represented parties who had the misfortune of being on the other side of a file with her. RCG.
|
|
|
|
12/1/10 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
I found her knowledgable and great with speed of divorce.....She is a team player and shoots for what you want
|
|
|
|
6/28/10 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
She stalls processes, lies to clients regarding processes made and costs more money then the divorce should ever cost! I would never refer anyone to her again! I have been waiting for a divorce and she keeps stalling...missing documents, misinformation, and the list goes on...never again would I use Ms. Coles
|
|
|
|
4/14/10 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
She has been my attorney for 6 years, and while not warm and fuzzy (not the top traits I look for in a lawyer) she is great at her job, highly organized, and came HIGHLY recommended. I will continue to use her in the future as well as recommend her to others. I enjoy her straight shooter no BS attitude. She handles herself well in a bored room, with her peers as well as with her clients. Bottom line: she's a professional and the results are there.
|
|
|
|
10/21/09 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
Very rude on the telephone and in person, her assistant is just as rude
|
|
