We have been fighting for custody for 2 years and still fo not have a court date. Our son has had bruises on his torso, a busted lip, and as of now a fractured jaw, ALL while at his father's house and Cooke still has not pushed for anything or some any of the things we've asked. Quite possibly may sue him once this is over, since I am know a member of the legal shield, in which I DO highly recommend. Cooke is a crook.

James Cooke is potentially one of the worst attorneys I have had to deal with. We went for a termination of parental rights, and it took us almost 2 years to complete through the courts, he fails to follow up, he fails to contact you regarding case times and dates until after the court date. I wouldn't go to Cooke if I were you.

I'm thankful that I was recommended from a friend to get in touch with Mr. Cooke for my case. His staff and himself included are very helpful and easy to work with. If I had to go through everything all over again, I would rehire him.

My wife and I just completed a case that stretched almost 2 years. Mr. Cooke was very honest and supportive throughout the entire process. He showed time and time again that we were not just a source of income. He cared about our case and fought for our child. I would recommend him to anyone.

Great Lawyers

Deleted due to my son being minor child.

Hiring this man was one of the worst mistakes of my life. He was rude and condescending and made sure my case was not won. I did not go to court until 8 months after I retained him because he kept allowing the date to be moved, and right after going to court for the first time I received a bill for over $6,000.00 and I had already paid $4,000.00 to retain him. This man is a liar and a crooke and you will regret hiring him. Do yourself a huge favor and hire anyone but this man.

Please go elsewhere for your custody needs. I sent my payment information in an email ( I've done this before ) the next thing I know I'm being dropped for none payment. When I confront the staff ( with the email ) I'm told it must have gotten lost and they will gladly run my card and take me back on as a client.

No thanks, I'll gladly take my business else where.

Ol' James Cooke..... So I gave him a 2 star since they did file the paperwork in a timely manner. But with paperwork aside, doing his complete job where it matters ie. in the courtroom, he did an absolute terrible job. Not only did I absolutely get destroyed in court (when I had ample evidence to win) he didn't even put up a fight, he was too worried about the judge's opinion of him and I. He just sat there while we got sh** on. While I'm sitting there losing custody of my daughter, I am obviously pretty upset, like any normal parent. Well this guy doesn't like my body language and threatens to kick my ass in the parking lot if I dont sit up straight and act accordingly. Obviously I would have broken him like Bane breaks Batman in the Dark Knight Rises, but I am too emotional to care about what he just said. So basically if you are looking for a civil attorney especially in a custody battle, I'd say look elsewhere or more directly for the love of god, DON'T USE THIS GUY!!!! Cooke is a crook.

Jim Cooke is an awesome guy and great attorney.

Mr. Cooke was my attorney in 2008 through my very rough divorce, in which was ruled as fair as possible by a judge, not my lawyer. I was much younger then and "assumed" at times that he did not really care about my case and it was hell trying to get answers, unless we were at court at times. I mean, I guess I expected him to be at my peck and call for everything little thing. It's funny to look back on. However, what I did not know is that some of the petty stuff that my ex and I would fight over, would not ever be anything a judge would hear anything about. Mr. Cooke was doing the right thing, he was letting the dust settle between my ex and I. Eventually he would hear what I needed him to know. Just because my ex and I may of had a misunderstanding, didn't mean that it wouldn't pass in a day or so and no longer matter, which was the case 85% of the time. Mr. Cooke concentrated on the Child Support and Visitation Laws and what my ex and I both wanted, had to be worked out between the attorneys, not up to the judge. Where most people go wrong, is that you have this belief (as I once did) that the more money you spend or how well known an attorney is, will ultimately land you getting exactly what you want out of your case. Well, that just is not going to happen. Judges rule on the law and their abilities to see and relate to each parties circumstances. They don't rule on "liking" one attorney over another. I say all of this because years after my custody & child support battle with my ex, I eventually got remarried. I would soon find ourselves working with another attorney in Charlotte, NC to settle the same sort of case with my new husbands ex wife. It was then that I decided to read the NC child support laws and better educate myself on what the outcome "could be". During the time working with this attorney, all of my past situations with Mr. Cooke, were replaying in my mind. He practiced very similar communication guidelines, costs were much higher than Mr.Cooke, but the practices were the same. They both pushed aside the petty stuff (although we felt they were dire emergencies at the time) and concentrated on exactly how the law was written. The Charlotte attorney had a little different situation on his hands than in my case but overall they are pretty good at being the mediator and telling you when you "will or will not" get more than what you are getting now (time wise) with your kids. Because they know what the law says and unless the other party is being unfair and trying to keep you from your kids. Unless you are unfit, you both deserve time with your kids. I came to find out that the amount of child support is based on a worksheet configured by both incomes, considering health care, daycare & any support paid to other children. If one party agrees to pay more, then of course they will allow it but the minimum you will get is based solely on a calculation. Now, as far as the other mumbo jumbo, visitation, pickups, dropoffs, he said and she said's, that is all worked out between the attorneys and the clients. You can pick and prod but eventually someone is going to have to give in here so the other party will give in there. If you want something so bad that you have to take the petty stuff before a judge, you will easily be persuaded that you "may" get even less than what you have already been given the option to settle on. So you have to ask yourself if its really worth the gamble. Long story short, in both cases, we received what was fair enough. There is no way to make 2 parties agree completely. It is almost unheard of. Mr. Cooke ultimately made me realize how stubborn I was being, at times, just because I was mad at my ex and his lawyer did the same. In the end of things, I was satisfied with his services. I have recommended him to many people. The staff is very polite and I will use them in the future, if necessary! Thanks Mr. Cooke! Tonya

I would recommend that you go else where. I'm a pretty honest person and I truly believe in what goes around, comes around!!! So I'm always trying to be fair, so what that being said, Mr Cooke was our attorney and in the beginning he was great but after a few months and our long drawn out cases we had to inquire about our large $3000 bill that followed. I guess he didn't like us asking about the bill because Mr. Cooke started working for the other side. And my friend kept him as the lawyer, but he ended up getting screwed and paying another $2000 so just like the other 1 star reports they are all true and there's other things that could be told to you about Mr. Cooke and his staff but you can only put so much on here. So like a lot of not so good things. It's a buyer beware, I wish that we would have taken these 1 star reviews more seriously!

This law firm is the most unorganized place of business that I have ever encountered. They don't do their research properly, they don't use information given to them by the client to help the client's case and they do not communicate. Cooke will go to court for you and not inform you of what happened in court, you have to track down one of his incompetent assistants and hope to receive a return call. Also to add insult to injury, they have the audacity to excuses for their unprofessional service. If you want some real results regarding your case, I suggest you look for another attorney. I do not know which was worse, his staff or him as a lawyer.

Mr Cook has been my attorney for 9 years, he has always treated me fair and fought for a fair deal. Divorce is a dirty matter all you can hope for is an equal split and if you have kids they don't get hurt. Jim Cooke is a great attorney, and his support staff is great too, they always have time to talk to me on the phone and answer me email. I came from another law firm who left me high and dry years ago way different experience. Thanks Jim and Staff

James Cooke Jr.-DO NOT HIRE!!! It was a nightmare. Extremely disorganized, catered to the other side, did not look out for my best interest, didn't file things on time, didn't keep me informed, blamed me for everything and nothing was ever his fault, and I am still dealing with the consequences of his mishandling of my case. He's all about quantity NOT QUALITY! He'll give you his email and cell number but once you give him the money good luck getting a hold of him. He blames his staff for everything and his staff blames him and you're in the middle getting screwed.