David Starks was retained to represent me for a dissolution. Starks characterizes himself as one of the best divorce attorneys in the Western United States. For this reason, he was hired. The cost of his representation was exorbitant compared to the results. Legal documents prepared by this attorn...ey contained typos, former client’s names and personal information, and incorrect case numbers. This attorney chose to characterize his client as “douchey” in an intensely emotional setting. Legal options were not presented in a timely manner and, tactically, during mediation, he gave away my largest bargaining chip before lunch. Further, legal conclusions were reached on the basis of my gender.
Representation was so ineffectual that I had to immediately arbitrate to enforce the mediation settlement. In that arbitration and after informing Starks that I was unhappy with his representation, my ex-wife was awarded my men’s XL wetsuit - a result that leaves me questioning his advocacy. Further, inconsiderate drafting of the mediation settlement lead to unfortunate results in the subsequent arbitration.
After being a loving dad to three children for over a decade, my parenting plan is not a reflection of the time I spent with my children - there was no advocacy or explanation of a proper course of action given the objectives stated in our initial meeting. The parenting plan prepared by Starks - and McKinley Irvin - is riddled with inconsistencies and ambiguities that are either the result of incompetence or are designed to trigger the possibility of future, expensive arbitration at every holiday or unforeseen circumstance.
Last, long after the settlement was concluded, damaging personal information remained in the legal system potentially compromising not only job prospects, but relationships and rights. An experienced and thoughtful practitioner ought to follow-up, in my opinion; certainly, one of the best attorneys would. Starks did not.
All that remains, after losing everything, is debt, seeing my children once over every ten-day period, the specter of future litigation, and lingering ethical questions. I would not recommend David Starks to anyone. The purpose of this review is simply to protect and warn other consumers from selecting this attorney.