Jeffrey Dean Criminal Defense really helped us when we had an unfortunate experience in the…read moreMinneapolis/St Paul area. He was extremely knowledgeable, proactive and attentive to our issue. His communication was excellent. The issue was resolved favorably.

Mr Dean has a stellar reputation in the community which is why so many people I know and trust have…read morehired him. They all would tell me that Jeffrey got great results for them. One person said that Jeffrey put his heart and soul into her case. This is the reason why he has been our family's attorney since we reached out to him. We will continue to call on him when we need him. He always gets back to us right away and We know we can count on him in any bind.

I was the opposing party in a Dakota County family-court matter in which Clarence Patterson III…read morerepresented the other side. He never represented me. This review concerns my direct experience with his courtroom advocacy and written positions. I understand that attorneys must advocate firmly for their clients. But in family court, words can alter a person's life before disputed facts are fully examined. At an August 28, 2025 hearing, the transcript records Mr. Patterson saying that I "love to talk about guns," that my "relationship with guns is concerning," warning that people could be "caught in the crossfire," and later portraying me as someone who "needs a gun to solve his problems." I stated on the record that I hated guns, had never owned one, and would never have one. I found it profoundly disturbing to be portrayed through repeated gun-related language when I was expressly denying any interest in owning a firearm. The same transcript records Mr. Patterson referring to "his bipolar disorder" while denying my concern that mental-health labeling was being used against me. I experienced the combined gun and mental-health framing as stigmatizing and dehumanizing--an effort to turn disputed allegations into a frightening portrait of an armed and mentally unstable person. A separate and extremely serious discrepancy involved Dakota County Crisis. A sworn filing in the case stated that a crisis-team member had contacted counsel and that the entire office had been alerted about me. A Dakota County Crisis supervisor later wrote that she had searched the system and consulted with colleague supervisors, found no record or recollection of such an alert, found no documentation of a duty-to-warn event, and stated that the team does not communicate directly with attorneys. In my view, a discrepancy involving a claimed government warning was too consequential to be left unresolved. It deserved a prompt, transparent, and documented explanation. Mr. Patterson also asked the court not to consider approximately fifty exhibits because he said he had not received them. I am not claiming in this review that the service objection itself constituted misconduct. I am describing the consequence as I experienced it: severe allegations were presented while a substantial body of my responsive evidence was not considered at that hearing. The matter ultimately resolved by stipulation before the scheduled evidentiary hearing. The most severe characterizations were therefore not adjudicated through that scheduled hearing. The litigation nevertheless caused profound personal, financial, and reputational harm. I found Mr. Patterson's approach unnecessarily escalatory, stigmatizing, and damaging. I would not recommend him. Strong advocacy does not require turning another human being into a caricature of mental illness and violence. Family-law attorneys exercise enormous power, and that power should be matched by factual precision, restraint, professional judgment, and accountability.

Working with Clarence was an excellent experience. He is knowledgeable, straight forward, hard…read moreworking, and transparent. He was extremely helpful and honest with me. He was reasonably priced and respected my time. Thanks to him, I was able to win in court thanks to him. Even if it had it not ended in my favor, I would have felt appreciative of the way he was able to convert what was an immense level of stress on my shoulders into calm and clarity. I appreciate the work he does.

My relative was referred to Tom Plunkett, and glad he was. Tom represented him and was able to…read morehelp him greatly. Even if you "fall off the wagon", Tom treats you as a valued human being that just needs more help. Highly recommend!

Tom Plunkett is as professional as they come. He has never passed judgment on me or any of my…read morefriends that I have sent to him. He has treated me with nothing but respect everytime I have hired him to represent me. He is not only liked by those that hire him but he is also very well liked in the legal community, it shows everytime we enter a courtroom together. It seems everyone knows him, everyone likes him and everyone knows Tom does his job to the best of anyone's ability. He truly is someone I'm glad to have in my corner when I need him.

I hired Steve Messick to help me with a family dispute over a trust fund that belongs to my…read moreintellectually disabled sister. I should've known right off the bat that this was a bad idea. While Christine Boulay, his assistant was pleasant, when Steve called me back to discuss the case, he was flat, unenthusiastic, and uninterested. Against my better judgement I retained him anyway as I wanted to get started as soon as possible. At no time did Steve Messick call me to explain the process of the case or what to expect. In fact, as the case moved along over the summer, there were actually incidents of him asking ME what to do!! WTH!? I'm paying you thousands of dollars to help me navigate these shark infested waters, and you're asking me what to do!?! I had to tell him yet again what I needed/wanted, even though he feigned that he already knew... Then, as important dates approached, such as filing a motion in court, the firm would hit me with another huge bill. This happened three separate times, and I found it ironic that these bills would appear right when we were at a critical point in the case process. No coincidence! 100% planned! And poor form!! I also had to constantly stay on top of Christine with case progress. I had to e-mail and call multiple times any time I needed an update on the status of any event, such as if the motion was filed in court, whether or not the opposing party had been properly served, whether or not I needed to attend certain meetings etc. In short, communication was TERRIBLE!!! In the end Christine sent me three different invoices all for the same services, with three DIFFERENT amounts!! When I questioned her about this, she wrote me an extensive e-mail trying to explain away her lack of attention to detail and non-communication! After them trying to send me yet another bill for $1900, I was DONE!! I let them know how crappy this was. Then, without a phone call of ANY kind to resolve the miscommunication, this JERK of an attorney simply filed paperwork withdrawing his services as my attorney...2 WEEKS BEFORE THE HEARING DATE!!! This spells in no uncertain terms: ZERO CHARACTER, and the WORST that most people see in attorneys!! Unless you want to experience all of the above and worse, DONT CONTACT THIS FIRM!!! P.S. I hired a smart, competent, female attorney from a different firm the same day, and told them as well to NEVER refer anyone to Steve Messick!

Messick Law is an extraordinary law firm. Steve Messick honored my needs for a power-of-attorney…read more Instead of trying to force me into a standard-one-fits-all, Steve listened to me and my concerns. He was patient with my questions of the process and the meanings in the document. I learned so much from him. When I said what I wanted, he put it in language that is understandable (to lay people like me) and legal. I found Steve to be compassionate, kind, professional, friendly, and respectful. Steve is the BEST. Plus, interactions with the other staff, for example, scheduling and documents was excellent.

I have never seen Terry Hegna work as an attorney, but as a professor she is fair, competent, and…read morefunny, and definitely knows a few things about winning in a courtroom. She played the judge in my law school mock trial for an Advocacy class and then gave me and the other student "attorney" some great tips.

Cathleen Sykes was smart, knowledgeable, articulate, efficient and over all excellent in…read morerepresenting my best interests during my recent high conflict divorce. I felt safe and protected by her. In all honesty she did the biggest share of the work on the divorce while the respondent was less then cooperative. I would very highly recommend her services to anyone who needs great legal representation! She has decades of expertise with family law and can execute to find the truth and seek out remedies in the best interest of her client. Cathleens tenacity gave me hope to live, thrive, and be happy again. I appreciate all she has done!. If you want a brilliant fighter to be on your side, its Cathleen! I consider her a role model of excellence, and her true commitment to her clients shows, in her caring actions. Ie. putting a stop to the opposing parties tactics that could've easily blown my budget out of the water. She knew who the best mediator and military expert to help with my divorce! She kept the process moving as far as was feasible possible on her end. When we had to go to court she calmly and politely intercepted and stopped my ex from approaching me and communicating with me. She was diligent in keeping my new phone number and address secure from my ex. And did everything she could so I wouldn't have to see or talk to my ex for my safety. She is great at returning emails and phone calls! And she doesn't make needless calls or emails to rack up your charges. She is very mindful of your budget!

To follow-up from my previous post, the judge granted us nearly everything that we asked for in our…read moremotion plus more. Cathleen has far exceeded our expectations. We have continued to use her over the years with contempt proceedings because we deal with a very high conflict co-parent. Cathleen is our forever lawyer and we couldn't be happier with her.

I am a client of Bennerotte and Associates, they have been with me every step of the way you once I…read morecame home from the hospital after my accident (not my fault, my car was cut off by an inattentive driver). Tom and his team told me what to expect, what the process would be like, and how to protect my health and my rights as the injured party. I have had access to his team via email and phone and I could even stop in to speak personally if I wanted to. Their guidance on dealing with the various health professionals I've had to work with in order to get back to a place where I can start to feel like myself again has been invaluable. Would I recommend them if you're injured in accident like I was? In one of the most vulnerable and bewildering times in your life, you'll need an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side. Every time I speak with Tom and his team, they answer even my most trivial questions about the process without making me feel uncomfortable or uneducated. They have been honest and factual every step of the way. I couldn't ask for better representation, I have been very pleased with their professionalism.

Being elderly Tom and Lynn went over and above to accommodate me through the whole process after an…read moreinjury from an automobile accident. The thought of having to go to trial gave me great anxiety. Tom was able to settle without going to trial and still get the same results. Thank you. I highly recommend Tom and his team. Clara Inman

If you are in need of a bankruptcy attorney, look no further! Urosh Piletich took my case for…read moreChapter 7 bankruptcy and from the very start, calmed my fear and embarrassment. He took care of everything, walking me step by step through the process. He prepared me well in that there were no surprises and I always knew what the next step was. On top of that, he always made himself available to me for any questions or concerns I had, or will have. Seriously, I can't sing his praises high enough. Don't call anyone else. You can thank me later.

This was not a great time in my life but what a wonderful experience I had working with both of…read morethese attorneys. Even years afterwards, I was able to call on them and get some resources for things needed in my home purchase. Thank you for all you do and would highly recommend them for professional and prompt service. what an amazing asset to our community.