Daphne D. Edwards

I hired this firm in 2019 and may have just as well flushed $12,000.00 Communication was beyond terrible. Would call repeatedly and not get any response for days and days. Postponed my hearing date because nothing had been prepared 2 days before court, my concerns were ignored and I was being charg...ed for both Melanie and Daphne completing the same tasks and thousands of dollars for drafting a full order on a proposed settlement offer with terms I not only didn't agree to, settlement had never even been mentioned to me! At one point I received an email from Melanie "scolding" me with an attachment of the email she received from the mediator and opposing counsel stating that "your client never showed up for the scheduled appointment (and the other party drove 3 hours)" and I had to send back to her the email she had sent me weeks before telling me specifically that I had already completed my part and did not need to attend that meeting. Child custody hearings are stressful and terrifying situations even when you are in a favorable position. It's your CHILD and their wellbeing at stake! And I was being ignored, dismissed and felt not only completely unsupported and in the dark about what to expect in court, but a little bullied by my own attorneys. They were demanding another $5000 on top of the $11,500 I had already paid and we still did not even have any of the discovery documents from the other party yet... and I decided I could be unprepared and scared for free. I hired a different attorney 4 days before court and when she requested my file from Daphne's office, there was literally nothing in it to support my case except the few documents I submitted with discovery information. By the Grace of God, My new attorney was amazing. within 48 hours of meeting her she had reviewed the courts file and the details of my case, discussed her strategie with me , called and interviewed my witnesses, and provided me with a list of questions I needed to be prepared to answer and the organized documents for me to refer to. She was lazer sharp during litigation for two full days in court, and the judge ruled in our favor. ....all of that legitimate work and it cost me (slightly) less than what I had already paid Daphne. I'm sure there will be a snide response to this review, as there was to the others who seemed to have at least a similar experience to mine. My sincerest advice is do not take a chance with this firm. The stakes are too high when it comes to our kids.

I consulted with several attorneys before ultimately hiring Daphne for a very high conflict custody case, with a history of Domestic Violence. Initially, I felt very supported and at ease with Daphne on my case, but that quickly took a turn. Daphne became impossible to work with. Not only did I feel ...bullied by my ex husband and his attorneys, I felt bullied by Daphne as well. During the temporary order phase, Daphne continuously pushed me to give into the demands of opposing counsel, saying it would make me look better later on. When the health and wellness being of your 2 year old is at stake, you don’t ’give in’. Also, when you are in an unsafe situation, giving in is not an option. She went to chambers multiple times, or got word about my case, often at the beginning of a week, and would not send an email until the end of the day on a Friday, leaving me upset and confused with no answers or explanations. Opposing counsel would often change things in our temporary order, and Daphne would say things like “the judge wanted that anyway”. When attempting to draft an order; she argued with me continuously, and often times sent me an order with the incorrect information (like the wrong name/age of my child- clearly copy and pasted from another order) or other things of that nature. She would get outwardly angry when I would ask her to adjust something, and at one point she said I am changing this and then I am done. I am done with you, opposing counsel and this entire case. My fiancé and I were asked for thousands of dollars on demand after our initial deposit was made, and often with an unrealistic time frame. At one point we stood outside the courthouse and were told “I need more money by Thursday” (on a Tuesday), and she went so far as to tell us to sell a car in order to pay her. She would call my fiancé’s phone on weekends and leave messages demanding money, saying she had not heard from me. She emailed myself and my fiancé once over money, and in doing so she sent an entire email thread between the two of them about a case he hired her for years prior. This was honestly the worst situation I could have dealt with, and hiring Daphne made it impossible on a level that I could never imagine. Please think twice before spending your money with Daphne.

Initially, I had a good experience with Daphne; however, after I pointed out an error in her billing, she no longer had time for me. She didn't do any work on my case for over a month. Instead, she revised our contract. She would not continue working on my case unless I signed the new contract and ga...ve an additional retainer, even though plenty of money was left from the original retainer.

Met with Ms. Edwards in person to discuss filing a foreign custody order. Sent all documents to Ms. Edwards prior to our consultation for her review so she can discuss the filing of NC petition for visitation. Paid for a consultation and her retainer fee for which she stated was "research". Ms. Ed...wards either had no interest in working with us or she was simply not qualified in this area of law. Ms. Edwards was not prepared in our consultation. We requested Ms. Edwards to file a NC Petition for visitation and she said "I told you it cannot be done because our case remains in our home state which is not correct and we have proven so. We insisted on a refund for the retainer and received it promptly after we indicated that we would contact the NC Bar Association. Ms. Edwards was very rude in her communication to us and refused to listen to information other lawyers provided to us. We knew Ms. Edwards was wrong and indeed she was. Since this encounter we indeed secured another attorney in the NC area that has no problem working with us and believes we have a solid case.

Daphne was truly spectacular in helping me get a divorce when I was out of the country. She did everything she could to help me and went above and beyond even helping me to save money. She fought for my rights and I won't hesitate to have her again in the future if needed. Thank you so much for every...thing! You have made my life easier in so many ways!