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Stephen Mays

The Mays Law Firm / Mays, Henderson-Harvey

24 years of experience
Criminal Law, Divorce, Domestic Violence ...
Florida

Client Reviews

Nikki W. May 10, 2020

Mr. Mays represented me as the respondent in a divorce and double custody battle. I filed for Mr. Mays to no longer represent me after mediation. This was my first marriage, first divorce. I knew nothing about the law and my rights and blindly trusted my attorney without question. I had temporary supervised visitation because of an addiction issue that I went to treatment for. I was a stay at home mom, The down payment of our house was paid by my family and we had just sold the car I came into the marriage with and my ex was holding the money. I feel Mr. Mays knew my ex or his attorney or had bad feelings towards addiction issues because the information he gave me was so wrong and lacked so much information and options that it had to be for a reason outside of basic law knowledge. He did not tell me we could request my ex be responsible my lawyers fees since i was a stay at home mom. Once we went to mediation he said we could sit in separate rooms. At the time my ex was still trying to use my daughter as a pawn and it was still close to the first hearing we had when I went into detox and left my biological son with him. When I got out of detox he had changed the locks on the house, was hiding my son from me and refusing to allow me to see my child. That situation, lasted almost 6 weeks because my ex was a sargant with BCSO. That was why I had to get an attorney in the first place. He basically kidnapped my child and illegally evicted me from my home, When I would come to the house his cop friends would show up and threaten to arrest me for domestic disturbance, This was also information that me Mays chose to not bring up to the judge at any time. I was so emotionally broken I was grateful to not have to be in the room he would negotiate terms in my best interest (I thought) and come back to me with their terms and his suggestions. I sat in a room alone. My ex, his attorney, my attorney and the mediator were in another room. My lawyer suggested I sign everything over because i would not be able to handle it financially and to not disrupt my daughters life. Regarding assets I left the marriage with my ex paying 1 outstanding medical bill for my daughter, my clothes and marital jewelry. He did not tell me that with my name being on the deed I could ask for a buy out for the home, he did not tell me that i was entitled to the money that was being held for my car or any money at all, He gave me no options and made it seem like if I did anything outside of this suggestion I would lose it all again but also displace my daughter and damage my ex and my credit. Basically because we were married less than 2 years I wasnt entitled to anything. When I left treatment and we went to custody court the judge wanted to give me 90n days supervised visitation at the home by my ex or his mother 3 days a week for 2 hours so that I would have time to get back on my feet. What my attorney did not mention is my childs caregiver was 90% blind and physically disabled. When he went through the custody paperwork he moved very quickly, he made it seem like there were no other options and any fight would be hopeless. He said nothing changed our custody paperwork; it is exactly as the judge ordered it. This was a lie. It was my permanent custody agreement. At the divorce hearing the judge said the second our paperwork was filed I needed to reopen the custody paperwork and think about filing a misrepresentation complaint against mr mays. I chose not to at the time because as long as I wasnt fighting my ex because now that this was in place he left me see my daughter as much as I wanted as long as he needed me to and we were getting along. 9.5 yrs later the agreement is the same and he isnt even allowing me the 6 hrs a week. I would like mr mays to represent me to right this situation or find someone that will do it pro bono. I spoke to an attorney a couple years ago. She said never had she seen supervised visitation as a permanent custody. It was always meant to be a stepping stone to eventually having a regular visitation schedule.

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Biography

Stephen has been a resident of Brevard County for over 20 years. He has seen this county change from an orange grove field to the booming cities we see now. Stephen attended most of his schooling here in Brevard, including Tropical Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Junior High and Merritt Island High School. Stephen is also a graduate of Stetson University and Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville.

Through out his career, Stephen has dedicated himself to helping those who are lost in the legal system. From his time spent working in Legal Aid, working at the Public Defenders office in Jacksonville in the Repeat Offenders Court and as a prosecutor here in Brevard County, Stephen has seen how most individuals are confused and caught up in the legal system. Stephen realized early in his career that the legal system is more about “the people” then it is the law.

“Attorneys deal with people, not just law books. People have fears, stress and confusion when dealing with legal problems. It’s my job to aggressively defend my clients, and help them understand what is going on with their case and how it is affecting their lives.”

Stephen has dedicated himself to the aggressive representation of numerous clients who have been accused of murder, capital sexual battery, serious violent felonies, and misdemeanor offenses. He is an experienced trial attorney.

Practice Areas

Criminal Law: Criminal Appeals, Drug Crimes, Expungement, Fraud, Gun Crimes, Internet Crimes, Sex Crimes, Theft, Violent Crimes

Divorce: Collaborative Law, Contested Divorce, Military Divorce, Property Division, Same Sex Divorce, Spousal Support & Alimony, Uncontested Divorce

Domestic Violence: Domestic Violence Criminal Defense, Domestic Violence Restraining Orders, Victims Rights , Victims Rights

DUI & DWI

Family Law: Adoption, Child Custody, Child Support, Father's Rights, Guardianship & Conservatorship, Paternity, Prenups & Marital Agreements, Restraining Orders, Same Sex Family Law

Traffic Tickets: Suspended License

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

Florida
Since 2000

Federal Circuit
Since 2007

Professional Experience

Lawyer: The Mays Law Firm / Mays, Henderson-Harvey; 2005 - Current; Handling criminal defense both state and federal, divorce, child custody and DCF dependency matters.