Dalma Catherine Grandjean

I hired Dalma Grandjean a few years ago to help me with a custody case for my son. His father took me to court to gain custody of him when he was 12 years old. His father was an alcoholic, so I did not want my son to live with his father, because he was very abusive when he was drunk. In fact, my son's father had DUIs on his record, and family members, as well as acquaintances, readily acknowledged he had a drinking problem and would become violent when drunk. She and her company took over $8,000 from me in only three months and I didn't even get the opportunity to have a hearing or to speak in front of the judge. Little did I know, Dalma Grandjean didn't care about the wellbeing of my son, but she absolutely cared about taking my money. After originally taking my case, she handed me over to one of her other lawyers in her firm; I had to explain my case to him and was charged for doing so. I shouldn't have been charged, since it was her responsibility to do the explaining of my case to her employees, not me. When I originally spoke to Dalma about my case, I was told I needed to deposit $2500 as a retainer and she rapidly withdrew each $2500 I deposited with her firm. Again, over $8,000 total in a matter of three months. In those three months, I was not defended and my son was turned over to his father for interim custody. My son was eager to live with his father, because he did not have rules and he wanted to see what it would be like without them. He did not understand the abuse and destructiveness of alcoholism, because I made sure he was never around his father when he was inebriated; I did this to protect him from being killed in an accident or mentally/physically abused. Aren't parents supposed to protect their children? Because Dalma Grandjean took my case and did not take it seriously, my son has suffered many consequences from it. (While raising my son for twelve years, I took him to church every Sunday and raised him to live a life that honored God; the judge was surprised that my son requested he still go to church with me when he lived with his father and she was shocked that he was so polite and smart. The judge also commented before giving my son's father custody, she didn't like many twelve year olds, but she loved my son.) While my son lived with his father, he quit going to church, he fell behind two years in school, of which he has never recovered from, he acquired a drinking problem, and he is not disciplined, due to the lack of boundaries and guidance that comes to be expected when living with someone who is an alcoholic. My son was 12 when he left me to live with his father and returned to live with me when he was 16, but by then he had already been exposed to the lifestyle and was hardened by it. Many nights while living with his father, he stayed with friends because his father was intoxicated, and he was scared to come home; so basically, for much of the time he lived with his father, his friends raised him. It took a while for my son to come back to live with me, because I had rules, but he decided at the age of 16, that it would be best to live with me, after his father beat him in an alcoholic rage. I do not recommend Dalma Grandjean to anyone.