I had a very disappointing experience dealing with Stephen Dodd in a family-law matter. As a father representing myself, I expected the proceedings to be focused on the facts and the best interests of the child. Instead, I experienced repeated personal attacks and allegations that I believe were unsupported by the evidence.
I was also extremely concerned by the quality and accuracy of some of the filings. Documents were submitted that appeared to contain material copied from prior matters, including interrogatories that contained a completely different client's name. There was also an attempted filing of a notice to appear that, based on the court record and the dates involved, appeared inconsistent with statements made regarding whether Mr. Dodd was counsel of record at the relevant time.
These are not minor issues when someone's family and relationship with their child are at stake. In my experience, the litigation became unnecessarily adversarial rather than focused on the underlying facts. I would strongly encourage anyone considering hiring an attorney in a family-law matter to carefully review their filings and the court record and make sure everything submitted on their behalf is accurate and specific to their case. read more