Free Consultation
$0 first 30 minutes
I have been involved in the legal field since 1998, when I began my career as a receptionist at Wendy L. Aikin, P.A. I've worked in various areas over the years, including three years at Gray-Robinson, P.A., and a year at Egan, Lev & Siwica, P.A. However, my passion and the majority of my experience are in family law. I opened my private practice in 2010 and have chosen to focus my solely on family law, with a particular focus on children's issues.
I have always had a passion for advocating for children, victims and the disadvantaged. Prior to becoming an attorney, I volunteered with Junior Achievements, in classrooms, as a youth group advisor for teens, and various other volunteer children's activities. During my legal carrer, I have served through the Orange County Bar's Legal Aid Society as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem, as well as being a teen court volunteer. I serve on various committees through the Orange County Bar as well as the Florida Bar, and am a member of the Central Florida Family Law American Inns of Court, which is an invitation-only organization which extends membership invitiations only to practitioners who exhibit a high level of integrity and professionalsm.
I attempt to resolve matters with minimal litigation and expense to clients, and consider it critical to conduct business in an ethical and professional manner. However, I will not hesitate to take matters to the courtroom if the circumstances warrant it. Since we are a small solo practice law firm, you will have direct contact with the attorney on a regular basis, and you can be assured that your case will be handled with care, compassion and efficiency.
Free Consultation
$0 first 30 minutes
Quickly connect with top attorneys through our legal directory to get help with your legal issue.
Chat with a live agent who can match you with the right attorney for your legal needs.
Chat withState: Florida
Acquired: 2008
No misconduct found
1801 N. Econlockhatchee Trail, #679414, Orlando, FL, 32867-2612
9 Client Reviews
Showing 1 - 2 of 2 reviews | Divorce & Separation
Posted by Isabel | May 18, 2015 | Divorce & Separation
Total and Complete Scam!
Do not waste your money on this attorney. She is going through a lot of personal and medical issues and will only take your retainer for personal gain. I was referred to her by another attorney office, whom supposed to collect part of the retainer in case Ms. Mangan was not available. It is even ment...
I regret you had a negative experience with my representation. It is true I have been dealing with extensive medical issues, evidenced by your comment that I'm "always in the hospital." I dread going to hospitals, and do so only when necessary to keep myself alive. Prior to becoming ill, I received only glowing reviews. Further, the few recent negative reviews to which you refer, all refer to my health condition. I am dealing with a very rare disease that took over two years of medical appointments with numerous specialists to finally be diagnosed, and the disease is an autoimmune condition that may be terminal if treatment is not immediate and successful. For this reason, referring attorneys have been kind enough not to enforce referral fee clauses. Due to my health, I've been transparent with my clients, and cooperated with the few clients who chose to find alternate counsel, transferring their files to the new counsel. Most clients stayed with me and accepted the delays in order to benefit from the quality of my work. I absolutely disagree that I have ever taken a retainer without earning it. Even when I was not ill, if I worked on a case and completed it without doing enough work to justify keeping the retainer, I have been known to refund portions of retainers, even when they were non-refundable. Further, since I became ill, I stopped taking cases, despite needing the income, as I felt this was the only appropriate thing to do until my current cases were caught up and my health was back in order. As a further effort to minimize the impact of my health on my clients, I began providing my personal cell phone number in the event I was at medical appointments or ill, and not able to be reached on my office phone. Unfortunately, a few clients took advantage of this by texting excessively and calling at all hours, including evenings and weekends. While I often take the calls if able, if this becomes excessive, I limit the calls absent an emergency, and usually return calls within 24 business hours. Due to the backlog caused by my health, I have been forced to prioritize my time and have had to make working on files a priority over administrative tasks, such as billing. This has resulted in clients receiving my services despite their retainers being used and no new payments made. While most clients have appreciated this, it is unfortunate that when finally asked to replenish a retainer for trial, a very common practice, one client might accuse me of not doing work on the case, despite a court record reflecting my presence at various proceedings, and extensive correspondence I've had with the client and opposing counsel. While I have worked with clients as to payment, due to the circumstances, I cannot simply represent clients at trial without payment. Of note, the only negative reviews I have received were immediately after my informing said clients I could no longer represent them, even when the reasons were, in addition to non-payment, clients' repetitive refusal to follow my advice or the court's orders, resulting in negative impact to their own cases. Finally, I am a family law attorney and work primarily on divorces and child custody cases. These cases often involve highly emotional issues for clients, including infidelity, fear of losing their children, domestic violence, and embarrassment about financial issues. I often share my own life experiences with clients who are having a difficult time, in an effort to make sure they know I understand what they are going through. Most clients have thanked me for my openness and willingness to exceed my responsibilities by showing genuine concern for their well-being, rather than coldly doing my job, without regard for the very real and difficult emotional toll the process takes on clients. While I regret that you consider your experience a negative one, I won't apologize for caring. The day I stop caring is the day I will stop practicing law.
Posted by anonymous | October 22, 2014 | Divorce & Separation
Worst attorney I have dealt with!!!!!!
Gladys is a awful lawyer! Do not take your time, money and legal issues with her. She was a BIG waste of time and money I have ever spent on an attorney. I hired her to represent me for a divorce and she was unresponsive, hard to get a hold of ( takes weeks to get back to you) and on top of it did ab...
I'm sorry to hear you were disappointed by your experience with my firm. While I am not able to address most of your concerns specifically, as I am careful to respect attorney/client privilege, I will respond vaguely to your concerns. First, If a person is not satisfied with his/her attorney, he/she should not wait more than three years to resolve the issues. If speaking directly with the attorney does not help, a client should immediately seek counsel he/she is satisfied with. Generally speaking, if a client does not feel a case is progressing, some common causes are: if the client doesn't provide me with the information I need in a timely manner (some clients have taken a year or more); if the client has me tending to other cases or matters instead of the one I was initially hired for (which I am usually kind enough to try to include, rather than force an additional retainer for each separate case); client's information fluctuates, so that the information has to keep being changed, as in a case where a client changes employment status or positions, or otherwise changes his/her income. While absent circumstances such as the above, there should be no reason for delay, I will acknowledge that I personally have, indeed, had to deal with extensive medical issues which have caused some delays. I have, however, been open and honest with my clients in this regard at all times, including offering to assist in transferring the case to another attorney if their matter was urgent and they so desired. I have also stopped taking on new clients, as my health continues to be at issue, and the matter has been referred to a research hospital. While I was also honest with my clients when I filed for a divorce, because I am a family law attorney and thought my clients would appreciate that I'm gaining additional personal experience that will help me to better understand their positions, my divorce has been largely amicable, as has been relayed to my clients, and has not been a source of delay in any client's proceedings. Regarding your concern about knowing how to schedule mediation, while no special knowledge as an attorney is required to schedule one, I can tell you that each department has its own procedures for scheduling. For example, one county here allows you to coordinate a date with the opposing side and then call to coordinate it. Another county, however, requires you to leave a message, and returns your call within a few days. If that county wants more information prior to scheduling, rather than return a call, they often send a letter stating what information they want, and no mediation is scheduled until those things are complied with. I assure you, if there was any delay in scheduling mediation, it was due to one of these circumstances, and I'm sure I would have made that clear to any client. Finally, with regard to my software program, I would very happily confirm that I did offer several clients the opportunity to try a new software program I had, which allowed them to directly access the financial program I use to enter information for my review. This allows clients more control and knowledge over what information is being entered, helps them organize the same, allows them to ask questions, and allows me to review what they have entered so that I can clarify information and/or make corrections prior to finalizing actual documents for filing. Most clients who used this feature appreciated the opportunity, and if any client had stated they did not wish to use it, I certainly would not have asked them to. I often try to avail myself of and/or recommend software programs and any other tools which will help my clients and their cases. This is usually an asset to the firm and to the respective clients. I regret that you felt burdened by the opportunity to try the software. Again, if you have additional or specific questions regarding your case, I am happy to answer them directly.
"I highly endorse Attorney Gladys Smith-Mangan. She honestly cares about her clients and their problems, and will do everything in her power to make things right for them. If I ever came across a family law case that I didn't want to handle myself, I'd refer it to her."
"I highly recommend and endorse Mrs. DeJesus Smith-Mangan for all your Family Law needs; she is definitely the attorney you want in your side."
"I endorse this lawyer. Attorney Smith-Mangan cares for each one of her clients. She is passionate and researches every detail. I am honored to call her my colleague as well as my friend."
"I endorse this lawyer. She has the knowledge and experience handling a variety of issues. While a caring and compassionate in her approach; she is also a very strong and zealous advocate for her clients."
"Gladys is able to help her clients not only clarify and articulate their goals, but to work productively toward achieving them. She is always courteous and respectful, but at the same time she knows how to keep conversations on track and as brief as possible, something that is essential in the practice of family law."
Family lawyer
Family lawyer
Unknown lawyer
Unknown lawyer
Business lawyer
Criminal defense lawyer
Real estate lawyer
Family lawyer
Family lawyer
Family lawyer
Criminal defense lawyer
2012
Pro Bono Award, Orange County Legal Aid Society
2011
Pro Bono Award, Legal Aid Society of Orange County
2010
Oustanding Pro Bono Award, Orange County Legal Aid Society
2009
Pro Bono Award, Legal Aid Society of Orange County
2010 - Present
Owner/Attorney, DeJesus Smith-Mangan, P.A.
2006 - 2010
Associate Attorney/Law Clerk/Paralegal, LaGamba Law Firm, P.L.
2004 - 2005
Paralegal, Rotech, Inc.
2003 - 2004
Law Clerk, Egan, Lev & Siwica, P.A.
2000 - 2003
Legal Secretary, Gray Robinson, P.A.
1998 - 1999
Receptionist/Scheduling Secretary, Wendy L. Aikin, P.A.
2012 - Present
Central Florida Family Law American Inn of CourtAssociate Member
2012 - Present
Central Florida Association for Women LawyersMember
2012 - Present
Orange County Bar Association, Professionalism CommitteeMember
2010 - Present
Orange County Bar Legal Aid Society, Guardian ad Litem ProgramGuardian ad Litem
2009 - Present
Orange County Bar AssociationMember
2009 - Present
Orange County Bar Association, Family Law SectionMember
2008 - Present
Florida Bar, Family Law SectionMember
2008 - Present
Florida BarMember
2005
JD - Juris Doctor
1998
BA - Bachelor of Arts
2012
Attorney Ethics
2010
English
Spanish
Legal Answers