Joseph Briscoe Dane

This guy was amazing. My boyfriend was up against a 2nd strike, and some pretty serious charges. Joe Dane laid it all out on the table for him, he explained everything and what the best outcome could be. Joe Dane accomplished everything he said he would do. My boyfriend ended up dying before he was to complete his sentencing. Joe Dane then went the extra mile, on his own, and went to see the judge. The judge post-humously withdrew my boyfriend's guilty plea, and then dismissed all charges. I was so touched that he did that. Joe Dane has class, and he is a top notch lawyer. I recommend him to anyone seeking a lawyer. He truly cares, for one...but also, he knows the law, and he goes above and beyond for his clients. I can't thank him enough.

This guy was amazing. My boyfriend was up against a 2nd strike, and some pretty serious charges. Joe Dane laid it all out on the table for him, he explained everything and what the best outcome could be. Joe Dane accomplished everything he said he would do. My boyfriend ended up dying before he was to complete his sentencing. Joe Dame then went the extra mile, on his own, and went to see the judge. The judge post-humously withdrew my boyfriend's guilty plea, and then dismissed all charges. I was so touched that he did that. Joe Dane has class, and he is a top notch lawyer. I recommend him to anyone seeking a lawyer. He truly cares, for one...but also, he knows the law, and he goes above and beyond for his clients. I can't thank him enough.

I posted a set of questions at a time of personal stress and with many unknowns, and Joseph did a great job of explaining options and providing strategic direction. For that, I am forever thankful for his assistance!

After hiring 2 lawyers that either were not experienced or that were lacking integrity and professionalism, Joe Dane was my last hope and he was great!

Joe represented my son two years ago and our experience could not have been better. He was honest and told us exactly what we could expect (good, bad, and ugly). His attention to detail was second to none and he worked with integrity to get all of the facts in my sons case. The attribute that impressed me the most about Joe was his ability to understand and relate to people. He took so much time getting to know my son and building such a strong relationship with him as well as consistently keeping us, as parents, calm and relaxed. He ultimately won our case and did so gracefully. I would call on Joe Dane to represent me or any member of my family if we ever had a court-related issue again. He was beyond outstanding!

Joe Dane IS the real deal. I had a restraining order violation case. I was arrested for washing my front window of my home (violation or restraining order), which was videotaped by the person who had the restraining order on me. I thought this whole case was insane: To arrest someone for washing their windows??? The Orange County District Attorneys office disagreed. They wanted to put me in jail for 30 days (I have a perfect record. No arrests ever.) I originally hired an L.A. based attorney (Nick Van Parys) to try to get this case dismissed. That was a huge mistake, as this is an Orange County based case. Eventually, for lack of success, I fired Mr. Van Parys and decided to hire an O.C. based attorney. I turned to Avvo.com (I wasn't aware of AVVO when I hired Mr. Van Parys) to hire my next attorney. My goals were specific: * I wanted a former Sheriff (I was arrested by Orange County Sheriffs), who knew how the Sheriffs worked their game. * I wanted a former District Attorney, who knew how they worked their game. * I wanted a highly rated (AVVO 9.5 or above) Attorney. Lucky for me, Joe Dane fit the bill across the board: Ex-Sheriff, Ex-Asst District Attorney, Perfect 10 rating. The day AFTER I hired Mr. Dane, he and a private investigator HE HIRED were outside my home taking photographs of the property line, taking videos and measuring distances in relation to the restraining order guidelines. In the 8 months Mr. Van Parys worked my case, Mr. Van Parys (or anyone from his firm) came to my home ZERO times! This level of professionalism and diligence from Mr. Dane spoke volumes! Over the months, I became frustrated at the snails pace which this MISDEMEANOR case was moving. And, I expressed my displeasure to Mr. Dane on numerous occasions. Unaware to me, this wasn't the fault of Mr. Dane. The Orange County District Attorney's office assigned this case to a brand new attorney, fresh out of Law School (as they do most low-level misdemeanor cases). This new District Attorney simply would not meet with Mr. Dane to discuss my case in order to have it dismissed. The OC DA's office was clearly dragging their feet. Mr. Dane was frustrated himself at the pace the DA was moving. Eventually, Mr. Dane went to the West Court (where the case was heard) Senior Asst. District Attorney (Susie Price), who knew Mr. Dane very well and vice versa. Mr. Dane showed Mrs. Price the evidence, the facts, the videotape the complainant submitted and the 911 phone call. When Mrs. Price saw all the evidence, she knew this was a bad arrest by the OC Sheriffs department. Mrs. Price further knew there was no way the DA office would ever win this case. Especially up against a seasoned, battle-tested, brilliant lawyer like Joe Dane. Mrs. Price ordered her subordinate, the low-level DA to dismiss the case. And so it was. I know deep in my heart, had I stayed with my L.A. based attorney, who did not know Mrs. Price and did not know the Orange County Judges, I wouldn't have had the same results. I also know, had I hired a less competent attorney than Mr. Dane, I wouldn't have had the same results. You TRULY appreciate freedom, when others are threatening to take freedom away from you. Joe Dane IS your Criminal Defense Attorney if you want RESULTS!! Thank you Joe Dane!

Joe was actually my third attorney. I interviewed many attorneys but at the time really did not know what distinguished the good from the bad. They all sell themselves well. My first lawyer was well respected, high profile and very experienced. However most of the case work was handled by lower ranks of his staff and after a few months I felt it best to find someone else that could put my case higher on his priority list. My second attorney was a much better experience. He represented me through my Preliminary Hearing and did an above average job. However, I felt he wasn’t fighting for issues I felt were important. Leaving this attorney was a difficult decision. My case was fairly complicated and I was afraid another attorney would never catch up and understand the details that took this attorney nearly a year to fully comprehend. Then came Joe. I first learned of him from a case of his in published in the local paper. I then became aware of avvo (wish I had much earlier) and saw his excellent rating, reviews and endorsements. More importantly, I read his contributions and felt extremely confident he was sharp and knowledgeable. I had one concern..he had only been a defense attorney for 5 or 6 years. In my mind I ‘thought’ I needed someone that had been a defense attorney for 20+ years. However I quickly noticed he had been a prosecutor since 1996. In the end this was actually better in my opinion, as Joe was an experienced DA with great knowledge of exactly how the Orange County DAs office functions. My first meeting with Joe was time consuming and I never felt rushed. As stated my case was complicated, but Joe is a very fast learner. My case was multiple counts of the most serious felonies, that carried many years in state prison had I been convicted. Joe was honest and made me no promises. He even questioned my problems with previous attorneys to make sure hiring him was an actual benefit to me. After collecting all of the details of the case, I felt that regardless of the ultimate outcome, Joe would at least fight for me and do everything within his power to put me in the best possible position should the case go to trial. I hired him that day and left him with hundreds of pages of discovery and transcripts. Joe had one week before my first hearing and to my astonishment, he already knew 95% of the entire case and could quote page numbers of information within discovery. He simply told me..”I like to read and write”. I assure you, this is a VERY important and underrated quality to look for in a defense attorney! Working with Joe was very comfortable. When new information came in he made sure I was up to date. He took the time to stay and talk with me in the lobby after each and every court date. He legitimately seemed to care about my case and I never felt like it was just another job to him. I had several hearings after hiring Joe. Most of the hearings were regarding issues contested by the DA. Joe puts his client first and is willing to fight for what he thinks is the right move. An example of his work was a contested subpoena that required 2 additional declarations of facts. This resulted in an in-camera review by the judge which we ultimately prevailed on after 5 or 6 months of fighting for this document alone! Point being, Joe works hard to get results for each issue at hand. In the end his hard work will put you in the best possible position. After receiving all of the facts/discovery of my case the DA asked Joe if he was ready to set a trial date. Joe responded with “I am ready for motions and hearings”. My case was definitely aimed for trial. Yet, while the DA ignored flaws in their case, Joe worked relentlessly to get results that left the DA little choice, other than a full dismissal of all felony counts. I have no doubt that no matter how small the case, or if you are as unfortunate as I was to be facing a long prison sentence, that Joe fights for his clients and gives it his all.

Joe handles all of his own case work. At times I believed I would need private investigation or expert witnesses, yet Joe felt it was unnecessary and money wasted (wow, an attorney that wants to save me money?!?) What separated Joe from everyone else was his ability to listen and at times teach. I had many, many issues and discovery requests previous attorneys blew off. Joe agreed with me on almost every issue. And on the issues we disagreed on he explained the problem. He formulated a plan. Instead of focusing primarily on trial issues, or a plea (which he knew I wanted no part of), he explained to me that it is a step by step process and what needed to be done with discovery, motions and hearings. Focus on your next court date! The DA fought us on many requests and Joe held firm which even resulted in a ‘formal’ discovery request where a judge had to intervene. Thank god Joe is a writer because he wrote many motions during my case and they were all well written and thought out. I had to learn patience, however. The legal process is so slow, I feel for anyone that goes through the system. Joe also lets you work with him! What I mean is, no one should know your case better than YOU! Ultimately it is your life on the line. Be your own best asset, read, observe and fight. My case was hundreds of pages long. I’d imagine some get into the thousands. Help your attorney find flaws and discrepancies! Joe allowed me to help, listened, taught, and had many meetings with me in person to discuss newly found issues and strategies. Joe can be hard to get a hold of on the phone. This initially scared me, as previous attorneys seemed to do NOTHING when I wasn’t in contact. However, Joe’s secretary/assistant, Kathi, is amazing. She makes sure Joe receives your messages and concerns and she is always prompt and caring. She does more than that. She assisted in a lot of the foot work, contact information and long telephone hold times that were present in my case. She was great to work with as well. While Joe was at times hard to get a hold of on the phone, he did always call when something important came up. More importantly, and I cannot understate this, even though you are not talking to Joe in person, he receives your input, and is working behind the scenes to get things done! Every court date with Joe was progress..I definitely cannot say that with my previous attorneys. When the time came and a plea deal was made, Joe made me aware of the all of the options. A plea was never in my mind and after I told Joe my answer, he promised me he would not ask again unless a new, even better plea was offered. I think he sensed my position, but every attorney has an obligation to explain what has been offered. I very much appreciate Joe not pressuring me into a decision, but I am also grateful for his input during the process. My advice to anyone who is offered a plea would be to prepare yourself for when this day comes and think about it for at least a night. Trust me, it is very stressful making life decisions, especially after the toll a criminal case has taken. Again, Joe obtained a full dismissal on multiple felony counts that carried serious consequences and prison time. The reason for dismissal was BECAUSE of the work Joe did, not because the DA had a change of heart. For this, I could never pay Joe back. Thank you so much Joe! You ended 2 years of misery and gave me my life back. For what it’s worth, Joe is a very likable guy with a good sense of humor. You are in the best hands possible and will feel very comfortable throughout the journey.

Mr. Dane is an exceptional and trust worthy attorney. He will handle your case with tactic and having been a DA he is vey familiar with the courts and the system. He is an admirable attorney and friend, He will handle your case with care and he is very honest when he speaks with you and what you expect from him and the services he offers on your defense, I know for a fact that he was put in my path by my Guardian Angel, I don't know how else to put it. Thank you Lord and thank you Mr. Dane, I will be forever grateful to you. Bless you.

Joe was extremely helpful in understanding the unfortunate situation in which I found myself. After a 45 minute consultation I was comfortable that I was about to select the correct attorney to represent me. We agreed on a course of action and his recommendation was spot on. We took our information to court and the case was dismissed. Thanks to Joe and his staff.

He was a great lawyer and I always knew what was going on in my case. When I explained everything he understood where I was coming from and listened to all of the details that I gave him. He was very sympathetic when it was a hard situation for me to handle. He treated my case like I was a person he knew personally. He was a great lawyer in not only that way, but knew what outcome I was willing to take and accepted nothing else when offered a settlement. I would highly Joe to anyone thats case falls into his specialty.

I will recomend joe to any of my friends who need really good good lawyer My case was dismmised good job

He was very helpful! He got a misdemeanor petty theft charge from 3yrs ago dismissed! I couldn't be any happier! And he did it for a very good price!:-)

I came to Joe with an uncommon legal trouble involving DUI and an additional felony charge from the OC DA. Having experienced hell with a very incompetent and fraudulent attorney in LA (who actually catapulted me into deeper legal complications through unethical maneuvers), I thoroughly interviewed quite a few DUI & Criminal Defense firms in LA & OC counties. Joe was the most genuine and helpful from the initial complimentary consultation, had compassionate advocate's perspective and poured through the facts and strategized with me and gave me the straight facts and realistic expectations that in hindsight, was accurate and firmly grounded in his deep knowledge of the law as a busy criminal defense attorney, former deputy DA, and his work in law enforcement. I think he also teaches law enforcement trainees. He was accurate in assessing all the realistic moves the DA and the judge may make, and he was very sharp on details and nuances and is very good at explaining both the big picture and the fine prints. The entire legal ordeal has taken a lot out of me, it was painful and painstakingly long, and since it was a DUI it has ongoing consequences in my life, and the it did not go away altogether, but Joe certainly made sure that I was aware of every thing, that we prepared absolutely everything we could. He is extremely busy and sometimes hard to get a hold of sometimes, but always returned calls and emails promptly. I highly recommend Joe as any criminal defense matter, and I will continue to trust him to advocate myself, my family, and my business' legal interests for lifetime.

I searched for and found Joe Dane through AVVO b/c my daughter's bf was arrested and charged with DV. We met with Joe the day before the arraignment. He not only got the City Attorney not to file an unnecessary Protective Order, but, he also got the case dismissed on the 2nd hearing... THANK YOU JOE!!