Diane Steinheil Vargas

This attorney was appointed to be my child’s attorney. She never bothered to get to know my child and didn’t do anything but come unprepared to court. She said she was there for the best interest of the children but how can that be when she met my child two times. She never ever mentioned to the j...udge that cps had gotten involved because the other parent had come into our home and assaulted both my child and me. When my child emailed her and went in to tell her what my ex husband had done she said there was nothing she could do. She refused to speak to me but she didn’t have a problem talking to my ex. She wasn’t prepared in court. She was at best unprofessional and when the judge said it’s up to Ms Vargas to determine what the arrangement would be for custody, I nearly fell to my knees. This woman would be the one who decides if my child must see a father that mentally, verbally and now physically abuses his child? I was scared. She had to take a picture of my son to remember who he was. Now my child just wants to talk to the judge. My child dreaded going to meet with her because he felt she wasn’t listening. She did not represent my child’s best interests in any way. She also refused to speak to me at all but had no problem speaking to my ex about the case. I feel that because she was appointed and not getting paid she put my child’s needs on the back burner to her personal cases that pay her a retainer. I still haven’t figured out why she was even involved because it was clear she couldn’t care less

I recently retained Diane to handle a modification of an existing custody order where I was really taken advantage of in terms of visitation and time with my 2 year old son. I was referred to Diane by a close friend of mine that used to work at the orange county court house , She mentioned that Diane... had a reputation for her tenacity and work ethic when it came to her cases. I am so happy to say it was all very true. One of the best decisions of my life was to retain her. She was straightforward and gave me the realistic scenarios of the possible outcomes, she was professional and honest. She didn't try to sell me like a lot of the other attorney's I had considered . In fact during our initial consultation she stated that her first priority is always going to be the best interest of the children involved and not the personal preferences of the parents. I really respected that statement because that has always been my priority since the day my son entered my life. As a result of Diane Vargas' s services I am so happy to say that I now have a significant amount of time with my son. Visitation went from only a few hours 3 days a week to about 35% joint physical and legal custody. I highly recommend Diane Vargas to anyone and everyone. She is the best and her reputation as a top tier high quality Lawyer is spot on ! Thank you so much Diane from me and my son.

She was assigned as my daughter's lawyer about five years ago. However, she did not give me her email, and certainly did not offer it to my daughter. Even though my daughter's counselor contacted her and explained the situation and progress, when we got to court Ms. Vargas said horrible things about... her in the court room. I would suggest that everyone keep his/her children away from her. She caused some irreparable damage to my daughter and to her relationship with her father. Also, when she was supposed to meet us in court, she was about one and one half hours late, I was paying my lawyer by the hour, and you can rest assured he charged me.