Danielle M. DeFranco

A proud Ohio native, Danielle DeFranco is a senior attorney at Barrows Firm, overseeing the group’s estate-planning and probate practice.

Danielle began her legal journey with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at the University of Miami, Florida and began clerking for a prominent personal injury firm in Cleveland, Ohio during her summers. Following graduation from Miami, Danielle returned home to Cleveland to attend Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and Cleveland State University, where she earned her Juris Doctorate and Masters in Business Administration Degrees simultaneously. While at Cleveland State, Danielle clerked for the prestigious labor and employment law firm of Faulkner, Muskovitz and Phillips, LLP. After graduation from law school, Danielle joined Ritzler, Coughlin and Swansinger, Ltd. where she gained a broad base of experience in corporate law, business litigation, labor and employment law, and insurance defense.

From there, Danielle’s path led her to the Eighth District Court of Appeals for the State of Ohio, where she spent much of her career working for The Honorable Ann Dyke and The Honorable Kenneth Rocco. During her time as a judicial attorney, she provided legal support to the Judges in the adjudication of complex state appellate issues, including recommendation of the disposition of cases. She also extensively researched, analyzed, and interpreted state and federal law, statutes, and codes pertaining to both criminal and civil matters, as well as reviewed, advised, and drafted both judicial orders and opinions.

Following her time with the Court, Danielle stepped away from her legal career to embrace a new role — one as full-time mom to Tommy, Francesca, Christopher, and Gabriella, her four children.

Once the kids started school — presenting an opportunity for her to return to the profession she loves — Danielle transitioned back to the law in a private firm. She practiced labor and employment law at Faulkner, Hoffman, and Phillips, LLC until the DeFranco family left the cold of northern Ohio for their new adventure in Southlake, Texas.

She first joined Barrows in 2021, providing extensive and broad legal assistance in divorce, paternity, custody, child support, alimony, enforcement, modification, and debt and asset distribution cases. She’s thrilled to be able to now focus her attention on the estate-planning and probate cases handled by the firm.