Please look for another lawyer, waste of time and money, will charge you to hear him talk about miniscule things not regarding your case and his corny jokes. I'm sorry for people that hire him. Had to even tell the judge I hired the wrong lawyer.

They helped us get custody of our nephew did a great job but ended paying more than what we agree to. They never said their was going to be additional payment. We don't mind paying it but it's nice to get a heads up. Also they never really kept in touch after we payed them $2000 to start the process. We would have to reach out to them and find out how the process was going.

Smith was a terrible divorce attorney. All he did was make jokes about how much he going to charge me. His staff in his office would make rude and obscene comments about clients calling in to ask fo for information. Not thinking anyone would be listening. Almost two years trying to get divorced his response was that's all I can do. It seemed he was working for the other side. Please do not hire. I spent thousands of dollars on him. Now I have to spend more money to fix his mess. Not good for his business.

During my divorce Douglas helped me so much and made sure that I knew all my options and pulled out a better agreement than I ever hoped for!! Best lawyer I have ever had the pleasure to work with. The staff was so sweet and helped so much

I have to say, absolutely the best lawyer I've ever came in contact with. I had what I thought was an unwinnable custody case, but surprisingly I did. Mr Smith did everything he could do to make it happen and his staff was so kind and always kept me well informed. The court system in El Paso is a bit flawed and yes it takes a long time for cases to be heard but keep it in mind it's well worth the wait. If you are looking for a lawyer COME HERE!

The divorce was quick, easy. I did have issues with the process servers not serving my husband and at times communication was difficult. The lawyer was extremely friendly though I only saw him once, and his paralegal(s) were extremely knowledgeable and friendly. If you need a quick easy divorce, please use this lawyer.

I can't believe how lucky I was to find this firm! Not only way the attorney caring and attentive but he was a miracle in my life! I'll always be grateful for everything he did.

Mr. Smith is intelligent, competent, caring, and efficient. He tries to get from Point A to Point B in a case as efficiently as possible. Some divorce attorneys like to rile their clients up and keep them angry because madder clients want to keep "fighting" and that means the attorney gets to keep billing. Mr. Smith gets you to the final divorce point as quickly and efficiently as possible. Many of the reviews below are likely from people who weren't willing to pay Mr. Smith! An attorney can't work for you if you aren't willing to pay for his time.

Went into the office for a consultation. Mr. Smith was very sympathetic to my situation and answered all my questions. Thank you Mrs. Benitez for your help and professionalism.

Do not hire this man! All the lawyers in El Paso are tied together! I agree with the other commenter! Straight up crook!

I went with this law office based off a referral from a coworker/neighbor. He and I had almost identical situations: both male military members, both had 2 children, both spouses work, etc.

Keep in mind, I had no prior experience with divorce.. I relied on the attorney I paid for, to take care of me. That didn’t happen.

The divorce decree that was done for me favored my former spouse! I didn’t have a military clause included in mine, as did my friends decree. I didn’t have electronic communication clause in my decree (with them well knowing I would PCS out of state and need rights to talk to my children), yet it was in my friends decree. The travel for the summer visits are entirely on me, with no help from my ex, whereas my friends decree had both the parents split the cost.

This is to just name a few issues.

I had to reopen the case to make the amendments in order for me to have a legal right to talk to my children on the phone. $2500 for the first retainer and $1500 for the second retainer.. with charges on top of that. And through all that, I spoke to the attorney 2 times! Spoke to the paralegal mostly.. which is not what I paid all the money for. So $4000 for an uncontested divorce.

Save yourself the time and money, go somewhere else. He claims to be military friendly.. but in my experience his paralegal favors the female, which is the person who writes the decree.

Staff is very helpful. They made my divorce process very smooth. Highly recommend them!

excellent attorney, helped me become sole conservator of my daughter. I plan on using him again if needed.

Educated and experienced!

I hired Mr. Smith when I was divorcing my ex-wife and it was a horrible experience I had given him proof that payments were made to my ex-wife and he did not fight that one bit when my divorce was set and final I asked to talk to Mr. Smith to explain my divorce decree and I was told by his secretary or paralegal whatever she was that if had a copy of my divorce decree I told her "yes" and she told me "to read it".. with proof that Mr. Smith had that I was making payment to my now ex-wife I had to pay over 8,000 in back support...

Mr.Smith says that he will answer questions now but why should I trust him if after almost 7years. And the way that his office treated. They have my number if they truly cared they have my number they can call but I feel that Mr. Smith is just trying to make it look like he wasn't to help now but why not help when he took my case 7 years ago.. that makes no sense unless he wants more money then I can understand that..

(Translated by Google) Very kind secretary

(Original)
Secretaria muy amable

Mr Smith was initially very friendly and seemed like he would be very helpful. I have a child support enforcement and modification case. I paid the initial $2200 retainer and then his office forgot to notify my ex about the court date, so the date was pushed back several months (meanwhile, all of this time I have still not received any child support payments). For the second court date, I had to contact his office and remind them to notify my ex about a week ahead of time because they still had not done it! Almost a month after we met at court and agreed on the modification and enforcement, where I was told that payments would start on Aug 1, I received an email that I owe another $1200+ retainer so that he can "finalize" the order. I have been trying to contact him for over a week now about this additional retainer and no one will return my calls or respond to my emails.

Thank u so much he helped me an am very satisfied whit the results I got my divorce an custody of my daughter an help me whit my child support anybody’s that need a good lawyer Douglas Smith is the man also her secretary she’s amazing she also help me thank u both whit my case

I had started off with having my baby in my custody without a court order. I searched for many attorneys and douglas c smith stood out. I hired him for the job terrified because it is harder for father to win custody of their child in the state of texas. I was always nervous and stressed but once I paid douglas he guided me and gave me the best legal advise possible. I cannot express my gratitude and how much I truly appreciate his help. After long stressful battles in court I won custody of my 8 month old daughter. Douglas was always by my side in court. He never failed to give us detailed information on our case. There was times that he postponed other court cases just to give my family and myself information that we were seaking. In court douglas always was very patient. He listened and paid close attention to the hearing, he even caught the attorney that was against us because he watched and listened for any mistakes the opposing attorney made. He defended me and in my opinion he knew exactly what he was doing. His paralegal was great as well ! She always gave me any information I requested ! I am greatfull for her hard work as well!! Douglas my family greatly appreciates everything you have done for us ! It truly means so much god bless you

I can’t begin to express what a great attorney Mr. Smith is. I have been dealing with an out of state divorce for almost two years. Mr. Smith was able to accomplish what I had been trying unsuccessfully to do with other lawyers. He is honest. He is extremely knowledgeable about Texas family law. He will also go above and beyond as your attorney to make things happen. I had a very complex case and Mr. Smith was able to get me the results I needed. I recommend him 100 percent. Don’t waste your time talking to anyone else.

I called requesting assistance with a Last Will and Testament. I was scheduled an appointment within days. Excellent advise and service. We walked in there full of questions and concerns. We left with no doubts and extremely satisfied. Highly recommended his services.

I had been trying to get divorced for over a year! As active duty military I got married in Hawaii, then got stationed in Germany after I decided to go for the divorce so it was nearly impossible for me to be able to get a divorce without being in the states. After finally getting back stateside Mr. Smith and his firm were able to divorce me in only 63 Days! It was almost unreal to me after everything I had been through & everything I tried. I got everything I wanted in the divorce, from full custody, to retroactive child support, my last name back, everything! I am extremely happy with Mr. Smith services. Very profesional & reliable lawyer. I would defitinely come back to him for any Reason I may need him.
-Nataly G. Perez Ramos.

Easy and pleasant experience when I needed help. Mr Smith and Susie were very knowledgeable and helpful throughout the whole process. Will definitely be returning if the need arises. Thank you all so much!

Going through a legal matter can and will be stressful and frustrating. However, Mr. Smith and his staff helped make this process easier with their professionalism and knowledge of legal matters. Although I wanted the matter over and done with, I had to understand that some elements were out of their control. The court and legal system is long and tedious, making it hard for any legal office to schedule hearings or file paperwork in a timely manner. Circumstances may be out of their control.
I'd like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Smith and his staff for my successful outcome.

They were very helpful in answering all my questions and were always available for me. Very pleased with their service. Would keep in mind if ever needed again.

I emailed the Law office of Douglas C. Smith. Almost immediately Mr. Smith returned my call. He spoke with me on a very professional yet friendly tone. He gave me a free consultation over the phone. He listened to my concerns and gave me excellent advice. He helped me save thousands of dollars. I have had terrible experiences with a couple of attorneys in the past. I am glad I was able to find an honest and knowledgeable attorney. I am extremely satisfied with his services. Highly recommended. Thank you Mr. Smith.

This guy i used to fight a divorce. He did not really defend me because i lived out of state. He got support lowered, but did nothing else for the things i was contesting. His fees wiped me out of my savings and i could not continue fight. If you dont live in el paso, i suggest you find a different lawyer. He wont work hard for you if you live out of area.

Run!!! Horrible service, Please take your business elsewhere.

I read the reviews and was a little worried but when I met with Mr. Smith everything sounded great. He promised certain timelines and quoted me for what he thought it would cost. Right after I handed over my retainer I was immediately given another time line by his assistant. I was already worried but it was too late so we would wait and see. Everything did go as planned and I got what I wanted but it took twice as long and even though it went exactly as he said it would it ran over budget and I had to pay more money than what was originally quoted. I never had any emails returned by Mr. Douglas and the front office staff is not helpful at all. The last issue is that I was given custody of my son on Oct. 31st and the judge signed the paperwork. December 1st the divorce was finalized but the paperwork was never sent to the attorney generals office to stop the child support that I was paying for my son. So now I have my son and to this day I am still paying child support. so my ex will be getting a full month of child support because they never sent in the paperwork to the attorney general. Its funny because I called the first day and the front office clerk answered and I told her the situation she said she would fax it to the attorney general today. So the next day I called the attorney general and they never received it. I call the office back and I talk to the same person and tell her they never received it and she says " did you talk to someone in this office" and I said umm yea I talked to you and she was like "oh I will send it over right now" wow talk about poor service. then to top it off I get an email from his office trying to bribe me with dinner and movie to leave a good review. what a joke. so if there is a good review chances are they received something for it.

This Law Firm only wants your money. The staff is inexperienced, never responds to e-mails, they are hard to contact, don't do their job on a timely manner as they are supposed to. After a week of submitting my signature for divorce, I called to check in on the process and I was told they hadn't even notified my ex-husband. I was very mad because I really needed this process to be over. After they received his signature, I waited another week to call back and check and they tried blaming me for not submitting my notarized papers!! They don't communicate among themselves and don't care about your paperwork. They are fast at overcharging though ... My advice ... find a different lawyer.

Excellent service!

RUN RUN RUN! FROM THIS LAW FIRM AWFUL SERVICE! SCAMMERS THAT DON'T REALLY HELP. THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY AND DON'T RESOLVE ANYTHING OF WHAT THEY PROMISE. Where can I start the Attorney is a great sales man, I think he is in the wrong profession. If he was half as good at litigating for you as he is in selling his service it would be a slam dunk. Unfortunately this is not the case and as many others on here I feel taken advantage of. I hired Smith to help modify my child support, he said this would be an easy task, yet to date nothing has been done. I gave him a $2500 retainer which is now all gone and still has not accomplished what he said he would do. Smith never returns calls, every time either my wife or I tried contacting his office he is either in court or with another client. The front office is Rude and unapproachable, they are always clueless as to what is going on, I don't know how he stays in business. I wish I had read the reviews before hiring him. I would advise anyone looking for a divorce attorney to look somewhere else. There are plenty of great Attorney's in the city that are far more competent and at least have the basic courtesy to return phone calls and keep you up to date on the status of your case.

I've always been treated with respect

I was lost during my divorce case. Douglas has a high knowledge base in family welfare and rights which correspond in a divorce case. Douglas took his time to finalize my divorce with success. Through his aggressive negotiations with my husband's attorney, he got me all the benefits he sought. I recommend Douglas in divorce cases one hundred percent.

I'm thankful this time around Mr. Smith and his team were able to assist with my divorce case. Their honesty was on point they explained every senario my case can take but after all the turbulence that comes with a divorce it was settled in peace. Thank you once again for your work and may you continue to be able to assist others with their cases.

Mr. Smith is the best attorney I have ever retained. I have had 2 other previous attorneys representing me to fight for my children and they did not compare to Mr. Smith. He made me feel extremely comfortable when I first shared my situation with him. My children now live with me. Mr. Smith helped make this happen. Thank you for caring.

(Translated by Google) Bad

(Original)
Malos

Horrible experience with this Law Firm, I would not recommend to anyone. To begin the person in reception answering the phone looks like she has not cracked a smile since the civil war. She is unfriendly and always clueless as to what is going on (worthless). Phone calls are are never returned by the Attorney; as he is always in Court. However when it comes to their money, they are more than happy to run your credit card when your retainer is out. They are prompt at invoicing and letting you know that your owe them money. My case is a slam dunk simple however they don't follow up on simple tasks, let things fall through the cracks. Their lack of professionalism and communication with me regarding my case has made this a bigger mess than what it really is. If you are looking for good customer services, prompt responses from your attorney an proven results, I highly suggest you go somewhere else. $5000.00 later I am still here with unresolved problems and an empty wallet.

Doug C. Smith Front Office is Garbage...They act as if they are the lawyers. Once Smith faces a tough fight, he up the charges and ultimately quits to leave you "High and Dry". This is because he has no strategy or his approach to law is antiquated.

I called D Smith and was promised a quick divorce from my spouse. I provided him a retainer of 2500 dollars and was promised my spouse would be served in 3-5 days however, come day 14 she as still not served. When I questioned Susie his front desk clerk she stated it takes 2-3 weeks to serve the spouse. This gap in time allowed my sneaky conniving wife to slither back between my sheets which temporarily haunted the divorce. I called back a month later and asked to continue with the separation paperwork and I was told I needed to submit another retainer of 2500 dollars because the first 2500 was exhausted. In What!? Nothing got done.
A friend lately said he used D Smith for his divorce that ended up costing 5500 dollars, he had no children with the woman, no property and very little finances to divide.
He is a crooked old d-bag.
GO TO ANOTHER LAWYER!

Mr. Smith helped me get through the most difficult time in my life. He is a very experience Lawyer in this area of the law, Divorce. It is a very horrible word but his experience guided me to the best results that I've could have ever hoped for. He guided me and defended me like a pit bull and the end results were extremely favorable. My X did not have the glory of completely taking my kids or having her way. It was money well spent. I cannot say this enough. Thank you Mr. Smith from the bottom of my heart, you have given me back my life so that I can enjoy it with my children. May god bless you and your family.

Daniel Aguirre
Proud Father of 3

December 2nd 2015 .... I called to hire Mr Smith with a pre-existing case he helped me with a while back... But as I explained my problem Monica the secretary began to have personal opinions about everything I was telling her in right away said they could not help me... I asked her why and she could not answer... All I wanted was to modify the payment. I believe he passed judgement on my situation and kept telling me that it was too late and that she couldn't help me as if it was her business....

Mr Smith helped my international divorce case. He KNOWS what hes doing. When i went to court with him. I was a free man in 5 minutes

Disappointing! There's better choices out there.

There's glowing reviews and other less-flattering reviews. Based on my experience, I'd say that the glowing reviews are too good to be true and the bad ones are closer to the truth.

This isn't my first experience with an attorney. They're all busy and they all require a delicate balance of patience and persistence. Call them too often and they'll become harder and harder to reach. Ignore them, and they're all too happy to put you at the bottom of their list. If you are getting prompt personal attention every time you call, you'll regret it later when you get the bill.

The key is being organized, concise, and articulate. You also need to set goals and expectations and be persistent about making progress.

I read Mr. Smith's reviews before I retained him and decided that the complaints were from people who just didn't "get it". I figured that all of those people had a bad experiences because they were pests or they didn't stay on top of their own case. Either way, I understand a little about how to manage an attorney and I was optimistic that I could work with Mr. Smith.

My original consultation was scheduled unbelievably quickly and Mr. Smith was very accommodating and articulate. He seemed interested in my case and he took initiative immediately. I was impressed and my original doubts seemed unjustified.

I armed Mr. Smith with lots of detailed information about my case and provided him with good documentation. I paid his retainer promptly and I was initially optimistic that everything was going to work out well.

Unfortunately, Mr. Smith missed the first important deadline in my case -- despite my persistence in reminding him what needed to be done. Fortunately he was able to recover from the mistake.

As my case progressed, it became abundantly clear that Mr. Smith wasn't on top of all of the details. I tried my best to communicate with him and carefully balance his need to avoid being pestered with my need to be sure the case was moving in a constructive direction -- but it didn't work. In the end I wasted a significant amount of time and money to accomplish little toward the resolution of my case.

To be fair, Mr. smith appears to be intelligent and caring. It also seems that he's eager to accept new clients and too busy to provide excellent service. If you need an attorney that'll dig in to the details of your case and be proactive in your defense, I fear that you'll be as disappointed as I was.

I want to like Mr. Smith and I would like to give him a glowing review because I think he's intelligent and capable. Unfortunately, he didn't come-through for me and apparently not for others. Beware!

If an attorney can't work with a solid experienced client, a vulnerable or inexperienced client doesn't stand a chance.

There's better choices out there...

Mr. Smith is the best lawyer we have encountered! His professionalism is unequaled. Mr. Smith fought hard for our family, and we received an incredibly favorable outcome! I would recommend Mr. Smith for any civil case you may have. He is efficient and knows what he is doing. His ethics are beyond reproach. Thank you, Mr. Smith as well as your great team, Susie, and Monica. Such a pleasure!

I highly recommend Douglas Smith due to his vast experience plus his attention to details. He replied to my emails within 24 hours. My experjience is unique as I do not live in El Paso, There were times I called his office and knew Susie and/or Monica will assist me ASAP.

Used Doug for several legal matters. Always prompt at returning calls and provided A++ service.

I recommend you look for another attorney if you have an uncontested divorce. Mine took twice as long as it should have. There is no communication with clients, neither Doug nor his paralegal return phone calls or emails. It was really embarrasing that my attorney was the hold up in my divorce being finalized.

Very ethical, helpful, and knowledgeable of the law. Mr Smith helped me with a personal injury case after an automobile accident. I didn't want to gouge the other person, but Mr Smith was able to help me gather all the documentation I needed to get what was most due to me by law. His knowledge of the law and how these negotiations work, helped me minimize the amount of time I had to spend while maximizing the outcome. Definitely worth it.

I agree with some of the other reviews very poor customer service, Everytime my husband and myself called to speak to Mr. Smith about my husband child support case he was always so busy, never there, with other clients at court, really how busy can he be all the time everyday, and he never returned our calls instead emailed us, come on and after courts he also just emailed us what happened and I think he always overcharged to show up to court for my husband to not call us back, and I feel he didnt look in the best intrest of my husband. I wouldnt recommened him and neither would my husband!