Frances V. Dunham

Similar experience to other reviewers. Frances had no problem responding to emails and phone calls right up until I gave her the retainer fee. Since then, my calls, texts, emails have gone unanswered. At this point I don’t even know if I’m getting divorced. Considering this area of law affects a pers...on’s finances, mental health, children and coparenting relationships, you would think there would be some sort of compassion. I emailed her and requested that she cease all services and refund the unused portion of the retainer fee, and she promised to get back with me over a week ago. Now I’ll have to find a new lawyer to accomplish that and finish my case so that I can move on and out of this limbo.

I was referred to Frances Dunham through a church friend and ever since I hired Frances, it's had me saying, Oh My God ever since. She claims to be accessible in her responses to other reviews. That is an absolute joke and a blatant and flat-out lie. Julia, her paralegal, was completely overwhelmed, ...overworked and probably Under Paid and took all of Frances's phone calls while Frances got to reap all of the benefits of being the overpriced attorney. My divorce took place January 19th of 2015 and ever since then it has been a horror show. On the first court date, Francis didn't even know my name. That's how involved she is with her clients. Her paralegal knew my name. During that time, Frances was running for a judge's position here in San Antonio Texas. She was so preoccupied with telling people to go vote online and passing out campaign buttons that somehow she forgot that she was in a divorce hearing that day. When all was said and done and we thought we had done everything that we needed to get and everything was taken care of, Francis never read the revised version of the divorce decree that my ex's attorney had sent over, and foolishly and irresponsibly sent me the signature page only, through email, to sign it and return it. That was the worst mistake I could have ever made. It turns out that because of Frances' negligence and inability to proofread, landed me in quite the spot. The decree was absolutely ambiguous, unclear and undefined and everything else synonymous with those words. Now, 3 attorneys later, I'm trying to just get access to my son, when I had 100%, drop down to 50%, then finally down to 25% because my ex committed fraud in court and now we're going through that now. Maybe now that she's not so preoccupied with such an important and responsible role in the judicial system, she can actually focus on things she can handle. In fact, the irony in the situation, is that when Francis lost the judge's seat, and I voted Democrat that day, her paralegal Julia, now works for my current attorney, after Francis packed up and left San Antonio. You suck Francis and if I knew how to say it in Spanish, I do that for you too. Thanks a lot for nothing. Be blessed

I have been a client of Frances Dunham for 3 years. I highly reccomend her for very complex difficult cases regarding child custody and divorce. She knows her business, 20 years experience is where it all comes from. If you have a difficult case regarding children, perhaps foster parents in cus...tody battle with biological parents or other family law matters. Frances is the absolute best at what she does! She doesn't make the the laws, She knows it, and knows how to follow it from any angle. She is strong, powerful, intelligent, compassionate, as she herself is a parent putting a $ amount to her fees in like comparing a Mercedes to Kia ...both great vehicles, which one do feel safer in if you were to crash? EXACTLY ! Would I hire again? ABSOLUTELY

I unfortunately hired Frances as an attorney back in 2011. Initially, it looked promising. I was told that my initial divorce requests were reasonable and was very disappointed in the outcome. I understand that negotiation is key in divorce cases, but negotiation was not in my favor due to this attor...ney. I felt pressured into making some of the decisions I regret making due to her advice to this very day. Her assistant is unkind and unprofessional, and I did most of the investigating in this case myself. I agree with all of the other reviews on here. Any referrals made for this attorney are questionable. Communication is nonexistent and any texts or emails sent are charged at a high rate. Since then, I have discovered that there are other attorneys out there that actually care about their clients and their situations...who do not charge for every communication sent. Do yourself a favor and avoid this attorney. You will be saving time, money, and frustration.