team-member

Danielle Rickard

N/A

Licensed for 15 years

Law Degree

Awards

Primary Practice Area

Child custody

Language

English

About

Practices Areas

Estate Planning

Child custody

Divorce and separation

Language

English

Contact

Birnbaum, Haddon, Gelfman & Arnoux, LLC180 N La Salle St Ste 3700Chicago, IL, 60601-2809

Office: N/A

Website: N/A

Reviews

anonymous
March 7, 2014

I worked with Danielle on my divorce case, and could not have been happier with her service. Extremely knowledgeable, efficient and prepared. Danielle was able to complete my case in a timely manner which allowed her to keep the cost of the process down and reasonable. Danielle was quick to respond to any issues I had which was very comforting during an emotional and stressful time. She has an in depth understanding of family law, and I would highly recommend her to any of my friends and family members.

Melissa
March 6, 2014

My experience with Danielle was nothing less than stellar. I spent a great deal of time researching various attorneys before deciding to hire Danielle. I was a stay-at-home mom with no income of my own and a toddler. I was incredibly overwhelmed by the divorce process and what it would mean for my future. Danielle was extremely thorough, professional and very much understood that I had no income at the time and was looking to work through the divorce process in the most cost effective manner possible. Danielle was very timely with all of my questions and concerns (and I had a LOT!) Never once did I feel she deliberately dragged the process out to benefit herself or her firm. In fact, I feel I saved money by working with Danielle versus some of the many attorneys I researched and interviewed. My divorce was a unique and complicated process and Danielle tackled it with the utmost professionalism. I highly recommend Danielle as a professional, thorough, mindful, hard-working attorney who always puts her CLIENTS needs first.

anonymous
October 21, 2013

I hired Danielle almost a year ago for my custody case. My spouse has a significant business estate & Danielle & Jim Velasco were only interested in draining all the money in the estate. I was repeatedly misled by this lawyer. Her assessments changed so often. She was risk adverse in asking the court for anything. We prepared, discussed, communicated regarding several different custody motions, only for her & her partner to say they could not/ would not file the motions. Several months later, nothing had been done in the custody case, except that their firm racked up charges. There was supposed to be a hearing for parenting time that they were clearly not interested in or competent enough to follow through with. However, they misled me into preparing for testimony, and documents, only to ambush me to change my mind about the hearing. I wanted to settle the finances, but they refused to back me up on it. They went to the extent of videotaping me though I insisted I did not want to be recorded. Mr Velasco was hostile, and combative over my decision to settle finances. It is clear that once they realized they will not make money on discovery they racked up charges. I was really surprised at Danielle's overall performance because in the beginning she often referenced how "ethical" their firm was. I was impressed by that approach since several lawyers whom I have met with made no mention of ethics. Be very careful who you hire to handle your custody matter. A custody dispute is the most painful, and emotionally, physically, financially draining experience. The last thing you need is to battle your own attorney. There is opposing counsel for that. Meet with several lawyers, and go with your instincts. Or go pro- se in the beginning, and save your money to hire an attorney several months later, when you will need it for experts, evaluations, and depositions. Nothing happens in custody cases the first 6 months, but most people run out of money having accomplished nothing. In court you need an experienced attorney who knows people in the legal system: the judges, other attorneys, evaluators, guardian ad litems. It's better to pay a higher fee for a more experienced lawyer because they will spend less time & do a better job.

anonymous
March 7, 2014

I worked with Danielle on my divorce case, and could not have been happier with her service. Extremely knowledgeable, efficient and prepared. Danielle was able to complete my case in a timely manner which allowed her to keep the cost of the process down and reasonable. Danielle was quick to respond to any issues I had which was very comforting during an emotional and stressful time. She has an in depth understanding of family law, and I would highly recommend her to any of my friends and family members.

Melissa
March 6, 2014

My experience with Danielle was nothing less than stellar. I spent a great deal of time researching various attorneys before deciding to hire Danielle. I was a stay-at-home mom with no income of my own and a toddler. I was incredibly overwhelmed by the divorce process and what it would mean for my future. Danielle was extremely thorough, professional and very much understood that I had no income at the time and was looking to work through the divorce process in the most cost effective manner possible. Danielle was very timely with all of my questions and concerns (and I had a LOT!) Never once did I feel she deliberately dragged the process out to benefit herself or her firm. In fact, I feel I saved money by working with Danielle versus some of the many attorneys I researched and interviewed. My divorce was a unique and complicated process and Danielle tackled it with the utmost professionalism. I highly recommend Danielle as a professional, thorough, mindful, hard-working attorney who always puts her CLIENTS needs first.

anonymous
October 21, 2013

I hired Danielle almost a year ago for my custody case. My spouse has a significant business estate & Danielle & Jim Velasco were only interested in draining all the money in the estate. I was repeatedly misled by this lawyer. Her assessments changed so often. She was risk adverse in asking the court for anything. We prepared, discussed, communicated regarding several different custody motions, only for her & her partner to say they could not/ would not file the motions. Several months later, nothing had been done in the custody case, except that their firm racked up charges. There was supposed to be a hearing for parenting time that they were clearly not interested in or competent enough to follow through with. However, they misled me into preparing for testimony, and documents, only to ambush me to change my mind about the hearing. I wanted to settle the finances, but they refused to back me up on it. They went to the extent of videotaping me though I insisted I did not want to be recorded. Mr Velasco was hostile, and combative over my decision to settle finances. It is clear that once they realized they will not make money on discovery they racked up charges. I was really surprised at Danielle's overall performance because in the beginning she often referenced how "ethical" their firm was. I was impressed by that approach since several lawyers whom I have met with made no mention of ethics. Be very careful who you hire to handle your custody matter. A custody dispute is the most painful, and emotionally, physically, financially draining experience. The last thing you need is to battle your own attorney. There is opposing counsel for that. Meet with several lawyers, and go with your instincts. Or go pro- se in the beginning, and save your money to hire an attorney several months later, when you will need it for experts, evaluations, and depositions. Nothing happens in custody cases the first 6 months, but most people run out of money having accomplished nothing. In court you need an experienced attorney who knows people in the legal system: the judges, other attorneys, evaluators, guardian ad litems. It's better to pay a higher fee for a more experienced lawyer because they will spend less time & do a better job.

anonymous
March 7, 2014

I worked with Danielle on my divorce case, and could not have been happier with her service. Extremely knowledgeable, efficient and prepared. Danielle was able to complete my case in a timely manner which allowed her to keep the cost of the process down and reasonable. Danielle was quick to respond to any issues I had which was very comforting during an emotional and stressful time. She has an in depth understanding of family law, and I would highly recommend her to any of my friends and family members.

Melissa
March 6, 2014

My experience with Danielle was nothing less than stellar. I spent a great deal of time researching various attorneys before deciding to hire Danielle. I was a stay-at-home mom with no income of my own and a toddler. I was incredibly overwhelmed by the divorce process and what it would mean for my future. Danielle was extremely thorough, professional and very much understood that I had no income at the time and was looking to work through the divorce process in the most cost effective manner possible. Danielle was very timely with all of my questions and concerns (and I had a LOT!) Never once did I feel she deliberately dragged the process out to benefit herself or her firm. In fact, I feel I saved money by working with Danielle versus some of the many attorneys I researched and interviewed. My divorce was a unique and complicated process and Danielle tackled it with the utmost professionalism. I highly recommend Danielle as a professional, thorough, mindful, hard-working attorney who always puts her CLIENTS needs first.

anonymous
October 21, 2013

I hired Danielle almost a year ago for my custody case. My spouse has a significant business estate & Danielle & Jim Velasco were only interested in draining all the money in the estate. I was repeatedly misled by this lawyer. Her assessments changed so often. She was risk adverse in asking the court for anything. We prepared, discussed, communicated regarding several different custody motions, only for her & her partner to say they could not/ would not file the motions. Several months later, nothing had been done in the custody case, except that their firm racked up charges. There was supposed to be a hearing for parenting time that they were clearly not interested in or competent enough to follow through with. However, they misled me into preparing for testimony, and documents, only to ambush me to change my mind about the hearing. I wanted to settle the finances, but they refused to back me up on it. They went to the extent of videotaping me though I insisted I did not want to be recorded. Mr Velasco was hostile, and combative over my decision to settle finances. It is clear that once they realized they will not make money on discovery they racked up charges. I was really surprised at Danielle's overall performance because in the beginning she often referenced how "ethical" their firm was. I was impressed by that approach since several lawyers whom I have met with made no mention of ethics. Be very careful who you hire to handle your custody matter. A custody dispute is the most painful, and emotionally, physically, financially draining experience. The last thing you need is to battle your own attorney. There is opposing counsel for that. Meet with several lawyers, and go with your instincts. Or go pro- se in the beginning, and save your money to hire an attorney several months later, when you will need it for experts, evaluations, and depositions. Nothing happens in custody cases the first 6 months, but most people run out of money having accomplished nothing. In court you need an experienced attorney who knows people in the legal system: the judges, other attorneys, evaluators, guardian ad litems. It's better to pay a higher fee for a more experienced lawyer because they will spend less time & do a better job.