Deanna Lynn Whitley

First, Cait, Ms. Whitley’s partner, is an extraordinary and giving person. She has a heart of gold and I couldn’t have made it through my brutal divorce without her. I cannot say the same for Ms. Whitley. From the beginning she belittled me for being emotional and weak, during a time when, yes..., I absolutely felt emotional and weak. But I didn’t deserve to be yelled at, hung up on, and made to feel even more wretched. Aside from that, the main problem was lack of preparation and communication. I could have done a bulk of that preparation, but her one job was to guide me and let me know what she needed in order to win my case. I know now what I needed to do but, having never gone though this experience before, I didn’t know then. That’s her job. That’s what she gets paid for and that didn’t happen.

Ms. Whitley talks a good game at the initial consultation. She promised a quick resolution but unfortunately that was not the case. I cannot put into words the pain and suffering my children and I endured while my case was needlessly dragged out. Communication is very poor at best and when I finally ...did speak with her, she was rude and condescending. I had to make repeated calls and send multiple emails over long periods of time to get a response. I eventually fired her for proving to be ineffective counsel for me. I do not recommend this attorney. A complete waste of money and time.

Mrs. Whitley came very highly recommended and the initial consultation went well. However, from there I was extremely disappointed in the level of engagement, attention to detail of the staff, and lack of responses to my inquiries. I was billed for items and then caught all kinds of mistakes when the... items were sent to me to review, and then billed for the corrections to be made. Weeks would go by and I would send several emails requesting an update and would receive no response. In addition, mistakes were made in my case that resulted in extending the timeline by several months and in an impact to additional compensation that I was owed from the other party that was missed. This lack of support resulted in an already traumatic situation feeling so much more stressful, which is the opposite of what I expected from an attorney with the rates that the Whitley Law Firm charges.

I hired this lawyer to represent me. We created a game plan, but then it was never followed. The very basis of a lawyer is to fight a legal battle on their client's behalf and I did not get that. I was sent to the wrong location for a mediation session, then my lawyer was late and it was not even... her it was her associate lawyer. From my point of view she was only reactive and showed no real proactive measures in my case. It as a divorce with Custody battle. I do not feel that she represented by best interest. The opposing counsel kept scheduling hearings and I would not find out until the day before at like 5:30 or 6 at night; then I was told not to come to most of them or I sat outside while it happened. In the end, we had a hearing that was scheduled by opposing attorney, and I again did not find out until late the day before. I had another important engagement with work the following day when the hearing was scheduled, so my attorney told me they would postpone. About 11 am that day I received and email stating my divorce was final and it was not favorable for me. I did not care about money or stuff, I only wanted equal time with my children and equal responsibility for my children.

I am a Soldier in the ARMY and have never felt more disrespected in my life. I asked for someone to help me get visitation for my daughter this was November 2011. They asked for 5,000.00 up front. For that money I got the run around for a year nothing happened. So, after a year I get upset and ask to... have a trial that I had to demand. At the trail we agreed on everything. Ms. Whitley rep. me so I thought everything was taken care of. Going into the 4th month now and nothing has been done. : (