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Erika Vieyra Patino
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4.1
Avvo rating
9 Reviews
Top review highlights
AI generated excerpts from the customers reviews
Pros
1
Excellent legal representation in the courtroom with a knowledgeable and assertive approach
“Amazingly smart in the court room she presents in a manner that makes me wish I was an attorney as well!”
2
Compassionate and responsive service, with prompt communication and emotional support
“She was able to take my husband's case and turn it around in 1 week. This case probably would have taken at LEAST a month to turn around if it weren't for Erika's compassion, determination and fierceness!”
3
Successful in achieving favorable legal outcomes for clients, including custody and support issues
“I hired Erika back in 2013 and I was very satisfied with the outcome. I hope majority custody of my kids and I didn't have to pay child support.”
4
Dedicated and hardworking, willing to go the extra mile for clients
“She jumped through hoops for and with us. Not only was she able to prove my husband was unlawfully imprisoned and get him out the day AFTER she turned in our appeal but she was able to get the Court of Appeals to completely vacate his case.”
Cons
1
Lack of preparation and competence in certain legal matters, leading to unfavorable outcomes
“Patino was so completely out-matched by my ex's attorney. She was unprepared and did not do anything to defend me from ridiculous accusations.”
2
Potential issues with communication, professionalism, and client relations
“Also, after i had already paid her she spoke to me and my family in a very condesending manner, not professional at all.”
All reviews
11 Aug, 2022 by Manuel
Knowledgeable and organized. I know have 50/50 custody of my kids. Which is very difficult for a father to have. I am pleased with the the outcome and grateful for her hard work and dedication.
06 Jan, 2020 by Mommy of twins
Patino was so completely out-matched by my ex's attorney. She was unprepared and did not do anything to defend me from ridiculous accusations. She caused my children to be removed from me for 6 months now and I am the ONLY biological parent. I have not done ANYTHING wrong and there are absolutely NO GROUNDS for my children being taken against my will. They were given to my ex, a non-relative of the children, after the ex filed a protective order against me and abducted my children from my home. All based on lies! The ONLY explanation for this from patino was "she filed first, she has upper hand." She quit 3 times because I questioned her. It's sad, the irreparable damage that has been done to my children.
16 Apr, 2019 by Meredith
I cannot explain the miracles Erika worked for me! She was thrown into a contested custody battle with only the notice I had when I was served. Before I even met face to face with her to hire her she had pages of research done on my case. She didn't even know if she would be my attorney and she devoted her time to me. She provided information to me not knowing she would be defending my daughters and me.
She not only had the contested custody to battle, she had out of state orders to transfer, 2 different counties to work through here in TX, back child support and an affidavit to contest.
She was very detailed in what she was going to need from me and made sure to study and document everything I provided her. She answered my questions day and night, in the middle of heated contention between my ex and me, even when she was with her family. She always followed up the very next morning. She was thrown more curveballs than anyone could have expected before, during and after both of our hearings.
She went out of her way to find me doctors, documents and anything else I needed before, during and after everything. No matter how hard my ex tried to break her/us, she didn't budge.
She made sure I came out victorious with added benefits in the end. She actually chased my ex and his "new family" out of Texas! She will fight until the end and keep fighting thereafter!
She put her heart into what I felt was an end to all means. She "adopted" us and genuinely cared about us... Still does.
If you need the best of the best, someone who genuinely cares and will work with you and for you, you need not look any further. Erika Patino is the answer.
She's so incredible I have added her to my Christmas list and that's a hard list to make!
Thank you, thank you, thank you Erika! Believe me when I tell you I have told and will continue to tell everyone about you!!
-The Finn/Schultz family-
**We are back in court again this year (same issues with the same person). Without skipping a beat she has begun the next win. She's incredible. I'll update when she wins this suit for me, until then, it is a pleasure to get to work with Erika again.**
11 Feb, 2019 by Anonymous
I hired Erika Patino on a annullment/child custody case in 2016, of which i had to ultimately end up firing her. Erika not only did not handle my case properly but she was also not knowledgeable enough to defend me in court. Upon hiring her, she claimed to be well versed in immigration and family law so i asked her if an annulment would be possible of which she agreed it would. In prepration for my annullment case, Patino asked for several character witnesses, i gave her their contact info and she never even called them. On the day of the hearing, she came into the room and told me "Ok, i just want you to know that there has never been a successful case for annulment with children involved." Erika knew that I had no chance of winning an annulment case but decided to go through the motions to get more money from me. While in the hearing, Patino was out lawyered, and unprepared. Patino done an awful job in court, and displayed no lawyering skills at all. Also, after i had already paid her she spoke to me and my family in a very condesending manner, not professional at all.
I am writing this review to warn others of her lackluster skills,please be advised she is not able to hold her own in court and don't waste your money or time hiring her. She will promise to know all that is required for your case but will not deliver.
20 Dec, 2018 by Dawn
Erika is by far the best lawyer. I’m one of her clients. Erika represents me on a child custody case and I must say that she’s knowledgeable, attentive, assertive. As busy as she may be she will make sure to keep you in the loop with calls, voicemails, text messages and emails. She’s willing to work with her clients as far as payments. Her communication skills are ON POINT. She cuts to the chase which is a great quality that I Love! Overall she listens to you and she REPRESENTS and DELIVERS!
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13 Jun, 2024 by Landon
My family ran into some issues with the CPS system, and Dorthea stepped in, took our case right away, we were stressed out because we knew we were innocent, but Dorthea kept her professional demeanor and listened to our story! She dealt with CPS on our behalf, walked with us through the process, and stopped the unwarranted harassments. Dorothea knows what she’s doing!!!
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10 Feb, 2024 by Anonymous
I've been working with Dorothea for about a year on an appeal of a complex child custody case.
First of all, Dorothea is not a "Yes-Man". She will tell you bluntly if she believes your case has slim or no odds of succeeding. And better to hear that at an initial consultation with her than after you've invested thousands of dollars just to be told 'no' by someone else.
Dorothea told me the odds of success in my case were not great. It's the nature of appeals. I felt so strongly that a wrong had been done to me that I decided to proceed anyway, even with her telling me at our initial consultation that the odds were against me. As my appeal nears its conclusion, she's produced a brief for me that I'm very proud of that I feel presents the issues as succinctly as she could in only 15,000 words.
After retaining her services, Dorothea put in countless hours reviewing court transcripts, thousands of pages of medical records, and interviewing witnesses. Five years had passed in between the time this case was opened and the time it went to trial. There was a lot for Dorothea to catch up on and not much time for her to get up to speed. To further complicate matters, my trial attorney had a family emergency that prevented him from being much help in the transition to Dorothea as my appellate attorney.
Despite all of the obstacles and difficulties, she was able to get a grasp on what had happened. She was able to see from a legal perspective how my rights had been violated at trial whereas I had only my belief that this was not how "justice" was supposed to work. I wasn't able to see the forest for the trees until Dorothea made me step back and showed it to me.
Because of her patience, her diligence, her enthusiasm for the law and for issues of social justice, I have hope where before I only had a prayer.
Dorothea's mental agility and tenacity are the things I appreciate most about her in the courtroom. At every court appearance, she has always had a Plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C. I suspect if we ever need a Plan D, she would probably pull one of those out of her hat, too. For example, when Dorothea had critical evidence she wanted to get into the record on my behalf, she had that evidence ready to present in multiple different formats to ensure it got into the record. She didn't just give up the first time she was told 'no', as has been my experience with other attorneys, but fluidly shifted to her backup strategies to get that evidence into the record.
I intend to continue working with Dorothea even after our business with the appeal is concluded and can't recommend her highly enough.
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19 Dec, 2022 by Linda
She is extremely professional, knowledgeable, focused and detailed orientated. She was also accessible with "no nonsense" persona. She creates a sense of strength and confidence.
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04 Apr, 2014 by Charles
About 2 months ago Mr. Hafer took over my
case, from another law firm..My case is still
Pending..I get regular updates..Calls are regularly
taken..No problems during the time we
have done business..
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19 Apr, 2023 by Helen bennett
"Donna J. assisted me in drafted some much needed paper work. She took the time explaining the entire process to me, answered all my questions, and provided many examples in plain language.
She was quick to respond via email and by phone when needed. She was also very reasonable in price.
I recommend her to anyone looking for a reliable lawyer that gives her clients the time and attention they deserve!"
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15 Dec, 2022 by Zach
Donna was amazing to work with out of all the attorneys I've met she's by far my favorite! Thank you donna to you and your hard working team for everything!
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19 Jul, 2022 by Teri
Donna Smiedt was recommended to me by a dentist friend of mine. He himself had been through a few divorces and knew who was good and who was not. Not only is Donna incredibly proficient at what she does professionally, She is a very compassionate caring and helpful person as well! She knew how to communicate well with both myself & my now ex-husband. I got an incredible settlement -fair & generous. Partly because she was able to speak in a non-confrontational tone with my ex and convince him that it was best to be fair. I’m quite sure no other lawyer could have attained those results due to his type “A” personality. There are so many examples I have of how compassionate and how she helped me mentally through what was the worst time in my life but we don’t have enough room here. Let me just leave it to say don’t regret this huge decision in your life… Make sure you choose the right lawyer.
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