Michelle O’Neil is one of the most sought-after family lawyers in Dallas. She has been a board-certified family law specialist since 1997.

Over her 31 years of total experience, she has helped numerous couples protect themselves through prenuptial agreements and divorces.

For her success, she is listed among Texas’ best lawyers in multiple magazines and publications. That being said, her services are more expensive than the competition’s.

She wrote and presented numerous papers for the Univesity of Houston Law Foundation, covering topics such as family law, civil litigation, juvenile law, LGBT law, and law practice management. 

You know your money is well spent when your lawyer is highly recommended by her peers and judges. Her passion for her profession shows in the courtroom, and she has a reputation for always being the most prepared attorney in the room.

Divorce can be a very confusing and difficult time for many people. We spoke to her previous clients and found that she makes herself available whenever they need her.

She’ll be there to guide you through your marriage and get you the compensation you deserve in divorce.

Her success merits higher rates for her services. She bills $500/hr.

We do feel the need to tell you, however, that some of her clients informed us of her staff quitting on them during the case after trying to solicit additional retainer fees.

James Scott “Jake” Gilbreath is an outstanding lawyer who has been a partner of multiple law firms throughout his career. 

He is also easily the most expensive lawyer on our list, charging $650/hr with retainer fees starting at $15,000.

He is listed among the best rising family lawyers in Texas. He’s also been a board-certified family law specialist since 2015. 

Although he has the least amount of years under his belt, he knows how to win your cases. He has helped hundreds of divorcees and earned numerous recommendations from previous clients and his peers.

While his fees are very expensive, he is also very cost-conscious and will not waste your money. His firm prefers to let its lawyers do the work instead of staff like paralegals.

This hands-on approach ensures that your case is handled with utmost care and you only pay for the lawyers, not the extra staff. He is also transparent about what your money is being used for throughout the case.

Your unused retainer funds will be refunded back to you at the end of everything.

However, the lack of staff does have its downsides. His previous clients told us that he can be a bit slow to work and unresponsive whenever they have questions or concerns. 

On some occasions, his clients found themselves completely unprepared for hearings and negotiations due to the lack of communication. 

We’d like to add that he sometimes goes for settlements without the client’s consent to get the case closed sooner.

Thankfully though, Jake is also an expert in controlling the room and always comes prepared even if you aren’t. While he aims to solve your conflicts as soon as possible, it will help you save money.

Jennifer Hargrave is among the best lawyers in America, and she’s also one of the cheapest in Dallas. She’s a board-certified family law specialist focusing on divorce through minimal conflict. 

She’s been in the business for 27 years and has been considered among the best lawyers in America from 2013 to 2020. She is an advocate for creating healthy post-divorce families.

Jennifer specializes in collaborative divorces so you can settle in the most harmonious way possible. She believes that unnecessarily prolonged cases only hurt the family emotionally and financially.  

She encourages her clients to avoid hostilities throughout the case to reduce unnecessary conflict and the harmful effects on the family, especially if there are children involved.

However, this doesn’t mean to say that she wants her clients to be the weakest ones in the room. For all her clients, she helps control their cases to get the best possible outcomes. 

With her decades of experience, she knows how confusing and messy divorces can be. Her clients told us she makes herself available whenever they need her and is always supportive and encouraging.

Her rates sit at $285-500/hr, which is practically a bargain for the quality of her services. 

She does, however, have some problematic staff working at her firm. Some of her previous clients told us her staff can be slow and inexperienced, making the case more expensive.

Lisa McKnight comes from a family of family lawyers and has 31 years of experience under her belt. She’s considered among Texas’ best lawyers, but she does also have some problematic staff.

Lisa handles a wide variety of practices and has handled hundreds of jury and non-jury trials. She has a reputation for exceeding her client’s demands in their divorces. 

Her scope covers more than just family law, so she knows how to best handle any type of family conflict. Her practice includes substance abuse, mental illness, and criminal defense.

She specializes in high-conflict cases and cases involving children, advocating for families to remain healthy for children to grow in after the divorce. Lisa also fights for grandparents’ rights.

Her firm knows how to comfort and guide you throughout your divorce. It offers 30-minute, $75 phone consultations for those seeking legal advice.

If you decide to hire her services, she will help you prepare for life after the divorce. Her services will cost you $500/hr.

She’s priced similarly to some of the lawyers on our list, but her firm has been noted to be quite unprofessional. Her previous clients informed us of numerous billed phone calls that had little to nothing to do with the case. 

Her clients also told us that her staff can be quite rude. 

During discovery meetings, which is the questioning portion before the actual trial, Lisa has also been said to have missed some important details of her clients’ cases, putting them in a disadvantageous position.

Chris Schmiedeke is a highly-acclaimed lawyer that has handled hundreds of cases. He has 29 years of experience and specializes in making divorce simpler for you. 

He has a reputation for being all business, which has helped him gain the trust of his clients. This does come at a cost though, with clients telling us he can be a bit insensitive. 

His firm is very cost-conscious and knows how expensive divorces can be. Compared to other lawyers, he prefers to bill emails rather than calls to save time and money.

While he is not listed among the best lawyers in publications like DMagazine or Texas SuperLawyers, he has more recommendations from his clients and peers than nearly anyone on our list. 

Chris fights zealously for his clients and knows how to handle any scenario. His opposing counsels have noted him to be difficult to work against and extremely passionate about his clients’ needs.

Unfortunately, there are still some downsides to working with him. We spoke to his clients and they said he can be quite unresponsive to phone calls, making it difficult for them to get their questions and concerns answered. 

He can be quite insensitive when it comes to billing, with some clients telling us that he bills as soon as possible even while they are facing mental breakdowns over the case. 

The firm’s staff can be quite unprofessional. Some clients told us they were instructed by Chris’ staff to obtain documents without stating what they were for or what to do with them, leaving them in the dark.