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Daniel Joseph Dodson
About Daniel
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Chat withLicenses
Licensed in Missouri for 38 years
State: Missouri
Acquired: 1987
No misconduct found
Location
Law Offices of Daniel Joseph Dodson
315 Marshall St, Jefferson City, MO, 65101-3316
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Daniel Joseph Dodson's Reviews
Avvo Review Score
16 Client Reviews
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Practice Areas
Showing 1 - 5 of 16 reviews
Posted by LuAnn | June 17, 2025 | Hired Attorney | Criminal Defense
Lifesaver
Dan represented my (x) husband & myself back in 1996. My husband was charged with attempted murder & I was charged with a class C felony. These charges were not true. We lived in a small town in NE Missouri. The case was big news there. Things looked bleak. The day of our preliminary hearing ne...
Posted by Ryan | August 07, 2024 | Hired Attorney
Made the impossible possible
Mr. Dodson is a master of his craft. He is very professional and is straight to the point. I am forever grateful for his help.
Posted by anonymous | March 08, 2024 | Hired Attorney | Criminal Defense
B.S
We hired this attorney to represent my son. Mr. Dodson was not available to update my family, nor my incarcerated son. He ignored my emails spoke very sparsely , maybe a few times to me and other son, that was putting up an enormous amount of money. We had no idea what he spent it on. My incarcerated...
Daniel Dodson
Replied last March 16, 2024For a slightly more complete, and slightly less dishonest (and anonymous), version of Cynthia's malarkey, please see her post from Nov. 2. Cynthia and her family hired me to represent her son in a serious federal case, involving a co-defendant shooting at federal agents, and likely carrying 20 years or more in prison. From the outset, the federal prosecutor on the case told me that more charges were coming, involving alleged plans to shoot up the Mexican border, and to shoot federal border agents if necessary. Now that the new charges have finally been filed, the client faces multiple life sentences. From the beginning, and across multiple jail visits and phone calls, I told the client that the original fee would not be enough to cover the complexity and the huge number of reports involved with the new charges. When they were filed, I quoted a new fee, and he seemed to think his family could and would pay the new fee. From experience, I knew that they might choose not to. This situation likely has much more to do with his mental state than anything I did. The client and I discussed the strategy I had developed for his case. I had already received enough reports that I could have spent all of the original fee reading them, but that would not have benefitted my client if he ended up with a different lawyer. I read just enough to get the gist of the case and develop a plan. When Cynthia and the rest of the client's family chose not to come up with the additional fee, the client was cooperative in asking that I be allowed to withdraw from representation. At the court hearing for my withdrawal, the judge was surprised to hear that I did not claim to have read all of the reports, as I easily could have (and as, in the judge's assessment, most other lawyers would have), and therefore intended to return more than two-thirds of the original fee (Cynthia included mention of the return of fees in her original complaint, but not this time, for some reason) to the client. Cynthia and the client's brother did contact me on several occasions by phone and email, mostly complaining about jail conditions, how slowly the federal system moves, and how much the client missed his family, and of course protesting his innocence. I kept the client fully informed, but I did not waste very much of his money directly responding to his mother's dramatic and repetitive complaints. I spoke to his brother by phone a couple of times. This is a very complex and serious case, for which I had developed an outside-the-box strategy. After the hearing in which I was allowed to withdraw from the case, I stayed after and spoke with the judge about the fact that I believe my former client has a legitimate defense. I think that might have influenced his decision to appoint what appears to me to be a more experienced and capable lawyer (recently relocated from the east coast, well experienced, and looking to build a practice) than some of the other lawyers who take appointed cases. I have spoken with him about the strategies and insights I developed, and remain available to confer with him if needed. But I still wish I had this case, and not just because I feel confident about my plan of defense. The prosecutor on this case used to be a state prosecutor in Springfield, and we tried a serious sex offense case against each other a few years back. That client's original lawyer (a heavy hitter in Springfield) said the guy was guilty and the case couldn't be won. Both my co-counsel and the experienced court reporter who took down depositions of the complaining witnesses in that case thought I couldn't win. But I did win, and this prosecutor knows I mean business. That can be a significant advantage, and I think the client understood this. The rest of this client's life is at stake, and I don't think he deserves what they are trying to do to him.. Too bad his family didn't come through for him, and now wants to blame me for his situation.
Posted by Cynthia | November 02, 2023 | Hired Attorney | Criminal Defense
Unsatisfactory
We hired this attorney to represent my son. Mr. Dodson was not available to update my family, nor my incarcerated son. He ignored my emails spoke very sparsely , maybe 2 times to me and other son, that was putting up an enormous amount of money. We had no idea what he spent it on. My incarcerated s...
Daniel Dodson
Replied last March 18, 2024Please see my response to Cynthia's similar complaint posted on March 8, 2024. I would add that they have a pretty good idea of "what I spent it on" based on my itemized bill. She is correct that I returned more than two-thirds of the fee.
Posted by Jamie | October 26, 2021 | Ethics & Professional Responsibility
Wish I started here...
I was referred to another attorney initially to help with what I understood was a fairly simple legal matter to address. Unfortunately, the previous attorney disappeared after receiving payment not understanding where the legal matter concluded. I contacted Daniel Dodson's office and at first, it d...
Daniel Joseph Dodson's Lawyer Endorsements
"Dan has an amazing legal mind and will fight and advocate with all of his strength. A great mentor, friend, and colleague who has a passion for the law and gets results."
Daniel Viets
Criminal defense lawyer
Experience
Honors
2018
Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
2018
Client Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
Associations
2005 - Present
Missouri Association of Criminal Defense LawyersBoard of Directors
2004 - Present
National Association of Criminal Defense LawyersBoard of Directors
2000 - 2004
National Association of Criminal Defense LawyersPublic Affairs Director
Education
1987
University of Illinois
JD - Juris Doctor
1983
University of Missouri, Columbia
Bachelor of Journalism
Languages
English