Denise Lee Dirks

Denise and her team represented me for about two years in a very long and complex child custody battle. She was forthright about her expectations, honest about what was realistic, and did not overpromise anything that she could not deliver on. From the get go, Denise and her team had a great strate...gy for the numerous court appearances they attended from child custody, child support, contempt trial, and a move away trial. The best part is we were successful and prevailed in all those cases. This has now allowed me to continue to have equal parenting time with my daughter, which is what I have always desired. I highly recommend Denise for any of your child custody/visitation needs because of her trustworthiness and professionalism. Most importantly, she cares for her clients beyond just doing her job.

I was referred to the office of Denise L Dirks in August by an agency. Due to the contract between them I had a free one hour consultation. During that time frame Denise seemed to be very aggressive and made me feel great about the child custody case! I explained the situation and Denise said that sh...e would have to bring in her associate attorney to help work on the case with her. When I asked Denise how she felt about my chances of custody she said, "We will 100% win in mediation." She came in on a limited scope to file an emergency Ex-Parte Request for Order (RFO) and explained that this was the best method and I would get my daughter back right away. When I asked about the cost of the retainer she said, "oh let me see we have to do this paperwork and that" then I heard her say quietly to her associate attorney, Pal, "What do you think? $3,500? It's going to be $3,500 up front." This seemed like a lot of money for a little bit of paperwork that I could do myself. Let me state that she did tell me that I could do the paperwork myself but I may not have the legal understanding to validate my reasoning for the order and that they could. So ignorantly I decided to hire Denise with the understanding that I was retaining her. Wrong. The only attorney I dealt with was her associate attorney, Pal. He was very nice and answered my questions the best that he could. Every document that Pal would send over for me to review, I had to make grammatical corrections. I had to tell him multiple times what to put in the document and within the RFO he constantly referred to my daughter as my son. So many errors that I had to fix and send back. What was ridiculous was that I was charged for the emails back with the corrections they made. I'm being charged for your errors that you should've fixed yourself prior? I was becoming more irritated because after a week of retaining them nothing was filed on my case. I called multiple times and asked for Denise but the receptionist always said, "I'm sorry but Ms. Dirks it out of the office." I said that I was calling to talk with her and I needed questions answered. I was referred back to Pal. Which at the time was frustrating because to my understanding, he wasn't the lead on this case. It wasn't until the day before my court date I learned that Pal was going to be by himself and Denise wasn't going to be there. The day prior to the court hearing I spoke with a different attorney who asked if my current attorney had prepped me on the case, what to say and if we talked about the weak points in my case. I answered no. When I told her the price I paid for the RFO she was fathomed at that amount and that it was not necessary. Here is where the real let down begins. On the day of my court hearing, Pal and I go in and our case starts, the judge is already irritated because nothing about my case shows an emergency and that my daughter should be brought to me immediately. My ex's attorney caught on to the judges attitude and used it to his favor agreeing stating that, "Your Honor, we shouldn't even be here. This could've waited" Her attorney wiped the floor with Pal. Pal, although a really nice guy, stumbled over his words, couldn't articulate a reason for an emergency order, and let the other attorney silence him on multiple occasions. Needless to say we lost the RFO and suffered negative repercussions. The judge ordered that I am not allowed to go pick up my daughter from her mothers and bring her to me. Pal told me afterwards that the judge made up his mind before the case and we were not going to win. A week later I got a bill from Dirk's office. Out of my $3,500, I'm getting $536 back. Thanks, Dirks and Pal. When I saw the bill break down, I was billed for every email (sorta understandable although if was to fix your mistakes) and on top of it Denise only reviewed my case once. I should've done more research on her and seen how bad they are. I am now retaining someone else. $3,500 completely wasted

This is the worst attorney ever. Save your money because she will take it all and then some. She promised me that my case would cost less than $5,000, as long as there was no custody battle. However, she wanted the $5,000 retainer just in case. My ex and I never had a custody battle as we agreed ...50/50 from day one and it never changed. In fact, Denise spent less than 30 minutes with me. When we went to court for that 30 minutes, she brought the wrong file. She really upset the judge because she was unprepared. The judge was very irritated with Denise and he accepted the opposing attorney's recommendation for child support because of his irritation. I immediately told Denise that I no longer needed her services. I got another hearing 6 months later and on my own, I got the child support reduced by $600/month. Note, there was no change in circumstances. Denise clearly being unprepared cost me $3,600. She also sent me a letter stating that I used up all the $5,000 retainer. For 30 minutes...really! Her letter also stated that I needed to give her another $125 so she could write the other attorney stating that she would no longer be my attorney. This was 6-months after I let her go. I called Ms. Stephens, the opposing attorney and she told me that the case was finished and that Denise was using a tactic to charge more money. I made an appointment with Denise to discuss the charges. Denise charged $4,000 for her preparation and 30 minute court appearance. Which, she was unprepared and showed up to court with the wrong client file. She also charged another $1,000 for copies. She told me she would waive the $125 for the closeout letter. Ridiculous...2-months later, I received a bill from Denise for $125. I called her and she stated that the letter is necessary and she said she never waived the $125. I refused to give her another penny. 4 years later, Denise sent me a small claims court order. She was suing me for $125 plus $525 for interest and late fees. I immediately called the state board and filed a complaint. Denise called me and told me to read my contract with her. She said, I could bill you forever. About 3-weeks later an assistant of hers called me and stated they were waiving the $125 and all interest charges and late fees. She is only after your money. Denise will make you feel great when you first walk through her doors but as soon as she has your money...the quality goes out the window with no repercussions on her end.