Konstantinos Dean Kantaras

DO NOT HIRE THIS FIRM——Over approximately 16 months, I paid this firm $70k in legal fees, not including professionals they recommended & needed, including an accountant, bringing me to nearly $100k. After all of that, my divorce is still not resolved & I am being held hostage by the circumstances of ...my divorce. I hired this firm because of Dean Kantaras. Dean presented himself very strongly during the consultation, but after I retained the firm, my case was immediately & largely handled by associates. During those 16 months, I went through 6 different associates. The firm has a revolving door with associates. There was no clear timeline or plan for how my goals would be accomplished or my case brought to resolution. The turnover was incredibly disruptive. Each transition meant another attorney becoming familiar with an already complicated case, & mistakes, delays & lack of continuity cost me additional time & loads of money. The billing was relentless. Employees have billable-time expectations & in my experience, my retainer & repeated thousands of dollars in replenishments were depleted without tangible progress remotely proportional to what I was spending so they can bill time. What disturbed me most was what happened before important events. When I specifically requested Dean—the attorney I believed I had hired—for a significant hearing, mediation or critical event, I was told substantial additional replenishments were required for him to participate. If I didn’t pay thousands that day or the next, I would get the associate instead. After the problems I had already experienced with associates’s mistakes, I felt I had very little choice. In my opinion, this felt like blackmail. When your children, home, finances & future are involved, you are extraordinarily vulnerable. What finally destroyed my confidence involved what should have been the resolution of my case. My ex & I worked out an agreement. I notified Dean on Thursday. Dean called & gave me the plan: send everything Friday morning so the agreement could be drafted & signed Friday. Friday came & went without it being completed. It was pushed to Monday. With every delay, I worried the agreement would unravel—& my ex’s demands did begin changing, which will cost me thousands in my final settlement. Monday arrived for the settlement conference. Despite my communications requesting the agreement to review, it was not ready. Opposing showed up, everyone prepared to review & sign, but the document wasn’t ready. Dean himself rescheduled the conference for the following day. The next day, everyone showed up & Dean did not appear. I received no advance explanation & even his staff appeared unaware he wasn’t coming. This was supposed to finalize my settlement. Everyone showed & he did not. The settlement was canceled. When I expressed how upset I was, instead of the accountability I expected, Dean stated it was my fault & put it back onto me—even though I had followed the timeline & instructions he gave me. During this same period, I discovered through billing that work had been performed relating to a lien on my home, something I had not expected or understood was being pursued in that manner. I was also billed by multiple people for settlement conferences where either the contract wasn’t ready or Dean simply didn’t show. Eventually, I instructed the firm to cease all work, yet I continued receiving billing afterward. This experience has been financially & emotionally exhausting. Family-law clients are making decisions during one of the most vulnerable periods of their lives. Before hiring this firm, know what my experience was, understand how much it can cost & read the other reviews. Nearly $100k spent including related professionals, $70k to this firm, six associates, 16 months & my divorce is still unresolved. I would never hire this firm again & I would never recommend it to anyone.

I retained Dean Kantaras of Kantaras Law for a high-conflict divorce, custody, property, and domestic violence injunction matter involving my two young children. I hired the firm because Dean Kantaras is marketed as a board-certified family law attorney who understands preparation, fathers’ rights, a...nd complex family law litigation. And insisted he would be handling my case personally. My actual experience was the opposite. Over the course of the representation, I had approximately five different attorneys and five different paralegals involved in my case over the course of approximately one year leading to trial. Dean and Stephanie, then Jeremy Simons then Kris Kaylor then Joanna then back to Jeremy and lastly Scott as far as attorneys. Dean and Stephanie did not show to trial as I was ensured. Communication was extremely poor and meetings cancelled last minute or just no showed and not rescheduled. I repeatedly had to chase the firm for updates, answers, strategy, filings, and basic direction. I often felt abandoned during the most important moments of my case. The firm failed to properly prepare my case for trial. Critical witnesses were not called. Critical exhibits were not admitted or used. Motions I repeatedly asked about were not timely or properly filed. I repeatedly raised issues about the domestic violence injunction, false allegations, evidence, witnesses, and trial preparation, those issues were not handled competently. The result was catastrophic. I lost all contact with my children, lost parental decision-making rights, lost educational rights, lost property, lost financial stability, and was left with a permanent domestic violence injunction that I and would have been impossible and believe should have been challenged more aggressively and timely. I have not had contact with my children 7 and 4 since October. The emotional, financial, and physical toll on me and my children has been unbearable. The billing was also shocking. The total billing and lien-related claims exceeded $900,000. Dean Kantaras pursued charging liens against me, including a stipulated charging lien for hundreds of thousands of dollars. I contend that I was pressured to sign lien-related documents on the eve of trial or Dean told me he would not be at trial, and I am now challenging those fees and liens. One disturbing parts of my experience was that my trial attorney quit at the end of trial before closing submissions were completed. Dean Kantaras did not personally try my case. I expected a prepared, coordinated trial team. Instead, I experienced confusion, lack of preparation, poor communication, and what I believe were serious failures that affected the outcome of my case. I also had concerns about confidentiality and professionalism. There were times when my case was discussed by phone in inappropriate settings, including on speaker while non-law-firm family members were present. I did not feel my case was treated with the seriousness, privacy, or urgency it deserved. This case involved my children, my home, my livelihood, my reputation, and my future. I trusted Dean and Kantaras Law at the most vulnerable time in my life. In my opinion, that trust was misplaced. I would strongly caution anyone considering this firm to carefully review all fee agreements, charging lien language, billing practices, communication expectations, trial staffing, and exactly who will appear in court before hiring them. Ask hard questions in writing. Get every promise in writing. Review every invoice. Do not assume that a board-certified attorney’s marketing or media appearances reflect the actual experience you will receive as a client. Based on my experience, I would never recommend Kantaras Law unless you want to roll the dice on losing everything and then some. I welcome anyone to look up my case or any journalist to contact me.

My experience with this firm during my divorce was disappointing enough that I eventually decided to end the representation. Communication often felt inconsistent, and I frequently had to reach out myself to get updates about my case. I was hoping for clearer explanations and more proactive guidan...ce during what is obviously a very stressful process. After terminating the representation, I raised several questions about billing and asked for clarification on certain charges. From my perspective, those concerns were not meaningfully reviewed or addressed, which left me frustrated. I also attended a mediation at his Tampa office related to my divorce and left feeling very disappointed with the overall experience. After spending a significant amount on legal representation throughout the case, I expected a more attentive and professional interaction. During the mediation, the attorney was present but did not acknowledge me directly, which felt dismissive given the circumstances and the amount of time and money already invested in the process. Communication throughout my case also felt inconsistent, and I often had to follow up myself to get updates or clarification. After I eventually terminated the representation, I raised several questions about billing and asked for clarification on certain charges. From my perspective, those concerns were not meaningfully reviewed or addressed. Based on my personal experience, I would not choose to work with this firm again.