Daniel Martin Copeland

My dissolution of marriage was fully contested by opposing counsel from the beginning of the process to the final decree. My case was complicated due to more than one property to divide, high debt to be paid off, and time sharing considerations. Mr. and Mrs. Copeland explained up front and were ho...nest on the terms and conditions the judge/court would and would not accept and they both went the extra mile to ensure that the assets were divided correctly, a plan in place to pay off the debt, and the time sharing needs were addressed in my favor. I recommend Mr. Copeland because he understands family law and provides solid family advice and recommendations to protect me and my family.

I am very satisfied with Daniel Copeland’s representation in my Divorce proceeding. During the initial phone discussion, Dan wanted to hear all of my concerns and expectations. After I finished, he explained the process and provided (what turned out to be) realistic recommendations. Dan also expl...ained his fee structure during and the invoices were exactly what I expected. I selected Dan because it was apparent that he listened to me and set reasonable expectations on the initial call. Where other attorneys that I interviewed, were more concerned about how long we were talking. As we moved through the proceedings, Dan explained what was going to happen in the preparation meetings. His comments and instructions were on target at each step. For instance; when the Judge said we had to use a Mediator, Dan suggested that we utilize a Professional Mediator because they would help us to reach an amicable settlement quicker. Both parties agreed to go with the Professional Mediator. And Dan was correct, we resolved the outstanding issues and finalized the agreement in one meeting. Which, I believe significantly shortening the Divorce process and reduced the overall cost. His staff reviewed my records and provided conscience documents that summarized the situation correctly and we used these documents in the preparation meetings and in court. Dan and his staff paid meticulously attention to every detail of my case. I highly recommend Dan Copeland.

Mr. Copeland had been my atty of record for several years. He did get an income deduction order written on my behalf, but failed to realize that only a few months later it was negated by other orders after the state prosecuted on my behalf for large delinquencies. Additionally, he never mentioned t...o me that new legislation was put into place that would not longer permit support deductions to be taken as he had worded the order. He was supposed to have filed a petition for reimbursement of un-reimbursed medical expenses for my special needs son. He never filed that. Mr. Copeland did bring to my attention that it was necessary to petition the court to determine the amount of extended support my special needs son would continue to get (it was already ordered that he would get extended support, but no amount had been determined) and that it must be filed prior to his 18th birthday in May 2015. Mr. Copeland had a hearing set, but missed so many other pieces of the process that the June 2015 hearing wound up being cancelled at the last minute (and AFTER I had booked my last minute flight). Fortunately, I was able to hire Shane Herbert from Combs/Greene, who was able to salvage the Petition (otherwise I would have lost the option to request extended support for my son) and Mr. Herbert helped us to settle in mediation so that we did not even have to have a hearing. Mr. Herbert did a great job at coordinating out of state expert witnesses and making sure that the method of payment on the continued support would not put my son's disability benefits in jeopardy in Virginia. These were two of many issues that Mr. Copeland seemed not to be able to understand and navigate, I called Mr. Copeland's office on many occasions to let him know of my questions and concerns, he refused to return my calls for months at a time and made many feeble excuses for his lack of effort when he would give me the courtesy of a return call. Mr. Copeland spoke as though he was going to ferociously fight to win my case. In reality, he never stepped up to the plate to help me at all. My $$ was wasted and my legal matter was a catastrophe. I would not recommend him to anyone that needed help with a Family Law matter.