Deana Balahtsis

My Aunt and I found Deana through reviews online after being extremely dissatisfied with the attorney we had hired to represent me in my case for child support and primary custody. Our first meeting with her really opened our eyes, and knowing my child's future was on the line, we put our deposit dow...n that day. Deana set realistic expectations for how long the matter would take, which was disappointing, but accurate. The difference between Deana and the "other guy" in court is that she's more experienced, more aggressive and smarter. Outside of court she's a loving mother just like me, and called me the first weekend my daughter was away to see how I was doing. If you have already been to family court, you know how the most minor, ridiculous, things can throw your case back for months. There has been more than one instance in which Deana has refeused to charge me for her time. Deana will use every dollar honestly to fight for you and your child.

It was about 12 years ago that I had met Deana in the family court building in Queens, NY. I was a young mother, full time student, and working as a bar tender to earn a living to support myself and my son. I had been given a court appointed attorney who seemed so disinterested in the well being of m...y son. Our prep time for court was all of five minutes and her agenda seemed to be to wrap my case up as quickly as possible. As I sat in despair on a bench in the court house this woman came and sat next to me for a break and something inside had urged me to ask her if she was an attorney. Just as I began to lose hope Deana assured me that she could help me and she did just that. Well needless to say I have recently found myself in another custody battle. Deana and her associate Merilda have provided me with comfort and knowledge of what's going on every step of the way. I came back to seek her out as my attorney because I know that she is a force to be reckoned with. She is knowledgeable beyond anything that I have witnessed and handles everything professionally as it's thrown at her. With God and Deana on my side I am confident that this will become another well deserved victory. What makes it even sweeter is that she is not just fighting for the win but truly for what's best for my son. With Deana by my side I can walk into the court room with confidence instead of fear. I highly recommend her to anyone who is seeking a fighter, an honest representative, a strategist and a wealth of knowledge. Deana is amazing! She's worth every dollar spent.

Our experience with attorneys and the court system has been nothing short of disappointing. 2 years ago we experienced the courts bias against fathers. From the judge, law guardian and therapists. We hired an attorney who was more concerned with my credit card number, and it's expiration date, rat...her than issues concerning my 13 year old daughter. She took a back seat and allowed things to unfold in the hearings. These hearings unfortunately, are exclusive to the attorneys, judge and law guardian (Supreme Court). We never had the opportunity to see our atttorney in action, as the matter never went to trial. Fast forward to now and my daughter once again wants out of her mother's house with the same complaints and then some. Skepticism immediately set in, but we do whatever it takes for our kids, right? Deana came highly recommended and from the get go we informed her of our lack of trust in attorneys and the system, but we needed to get custody. She set up a meeting on a weekend, because time was of the essence. She reassured us that she will work tirelessly to gain the upper hand. Still didn't buy into it, until I witnessed her work for myself. She took the case to Family Court, and I stood right next to her and listened to her speak on my behalf. The passion, decisiveness, and her matter of fact way of speaking was impressive. Every thought and detail we spoke about before standing in front of the judge was expressed. With our new attorney, new judge, new law guardian it was a totally different world. It felt like the system was working the way it's supposed to. My daughter was able to freely express herself without fear or retribution. Deana set the wheels of justice in motion for us. She is the catalyst that has allowed my daughter to be in a place where she can be a normal teenager. My wife and I thank her for her dedication, and admire her passion as our attorney.

Hiring Ms. Balahstsis to represent me in a complex case was hands down the best decision I could have made. Throughout my trial she was knowledgeable, hard working and persistent. Ms. Balahstsis was mindful of my dollars and always put the interest of my child first. Ms. Balahstsis came highly recomm...ended by one of the top firms in the city that I could not afford to hire and I was grateful she took on my case. She is excellent at what she does.

Deana is a lawyers lawyer! She handled the trial of my miserable, two year divorce, taking over from another attorney. What a breath of fresh air she brought me. Knowledgeable, persuasive she made mince meat of the opposing side during the actual trial. As the trial date drew ever closer, she had ...no problem in spending Saturdays and Sundays locked up in prep meetings with me in her office. In the end she brought the trial to an end within two days. The other side finally gave up! Thank you Deana, if only I had met you in the beginning before I spent a fortune of dollars and my soul on another attorney that never had my interests in mind.