Office | Bethesda, MD

MEET OUR TEAM

About Dodd Legal LLC

Mindful and Cost-Effective Family Law Attorney

Divorce is inherently disruptive, stressful and uncertain. Spouses often defer taking action long after it is clear the marriage is no longer working due to infidelity, addiction, abuse or irreconcilable differences. You may wonder how you will get through it with dignity - and with the ability to live peaceably in the future.

Successfully navigating the process requires clarity about your goals, confidence about your legal position, and courage throughout this most emotionally and financially stressful life transition.

As an experienced family law attorney, I help clients discern their own best strategies for maintaining a stable transition while divorce is pending, coach clients through the many decisions necessary to reorganize their lives and their families, and advocate for them with their spouse's lawyer and the court to obtain a fair and sustainable judgment or negotiated resolution.

Strategic Family Law Advice

Compassionate consultation to discern your goals.

During our consultations I encourage candid sharing about your concerns, values, financial objectives, and your vision for an independent life after divorce. We’ll discuss your option to remain in the family home, and interim plans for parenting access and financial support. We’ll discuss your process options, such as lawyer-facilitated negotiations, mediation, collaborative divorce, and litigation as alternative processes for obtaining a divorce. Together we’ll develop a legal strategy for obtaining a divorce on terms that are fair and sustainable.

Principled Negotiation

Informed by financial analysis and children’s needs.

We’ll collaborate to develop settlement terms that fully address your financial and parenting needs. We’ll develop interim and post-divorce budgets as the basis for estimating child support and alimony on an after-tax basis. As part of our discussion, we’ll assess the feasibility of keeping the family home, as compared with dividing cash proceeds from a third-party sale. And we will also discuss children’s developmental, educational and health needs to promote their best interests in developing a principled, global settlement proposal for presentation to your spouse’s lawyer.

Diligent Advocacy

Tactical litigation to prepare for trial and motivate settlement.

I will pursue your strategy diligently and keep you advised at every stage. Where negotiations stall, as an experienced trial lawyer I am prepared to aggressively and cost-effectively litigate contested issues through trial. I manage your case proactively toward an expeditious negotiated or judicial resolution, mindful that few clients have the resources or appetite for protracted litigation. And I follow through to ensure that marital assets are promptly and fairly divided so you can benefit from a fresh start.

 

Awards

Reviews for Dodd Legal LLC

Have you consulted or hired this firm?

Leave a review about your experience with this firm.

Write a Review

Overall Rating
Showing 1-2 of 2 client reviews from Lawyers.com
Lawyers.com Rating Snapshot
5 stars
50%
4 stars
50%
3 stars
0%
2 stars
0%
1 star
0%
What do people say on Lawyers.com?
Communication
5.0
Quality of Service
5.0
Responsiveness
5.0
Value for Money
4.5
Family Law
Posted by anonymous
August 28, 2020
Hired Attorney Richard Dodd Esq.

I was truly impressed with Richard from our first meeting. He was very flexible and accommodating given my schedule and upcoming move out of state. He demonstrated compassion with my situation and was very open to suggestions and paths forward. Richard's communication was top-notch - including phone, text, and email. He was very responsive, many times providing feedback with hours. I would not hesitate to recommend Richard to my friends and family and gladly would work with Richard again.

 
Divorce
Posted by anonymous
July 08, 2020
Hired Attorney Richard Dodd Esq.

Rick's approach to my case was both comprehensive and compassionate. I engaged Rick Dodd after my husband (who abandoned the marriage and was living elsewhere) refused to discuss household and child expenses with me, referring me instead to his snarky lawyer. Rick quickly assessed my case, promptly filed a Complaint and discovery requests for documents and information, and has diligently pressed the case forward despite the court closure during the pandemic. He is both empathic and pragmatic in counseling me, and has demonstrated himself to be a strategic litigator. I have confidence in Rick’s plan for managing the case to obtain my objectives.

 

Services

Areas of Law

  • Family Law 7
    • Divorce
    • Child Support
    • Alimony
    • Child Custody
    • Spousal Support
    • Marital Property
    • Collaborative Divorce
  • Legal Separation
  • Other 1
    • Child Custody and Parenting Access

Office Details

Contact Dodd Legal LLC

4.9
54 reviews

4800 Hampden Lane, Suite 200Bethesda, MD 20814U.S.A.

Show on map
Office Hours:
  • Monday By appointment
  • Tuesday By appointment
  • Wednesday By appointment
  • Thursday By appointment
  • Friday By appointment

Activity

Case type is required.
A valid zip code is required.
A valid city is required.
State is required.
Country is required.
Outside the US or Canada?
Message is required.
0/1000 characters

Contact Information

First name is required.
Last name is required.
A valid email address is required.
A valid phone number is required.

By clicking the Submit button, you agree to the Terms of Use, Supplemental Terms and Privacy Policy. You also consent to be contacted at the phone number you provided, including by autodials, text messages and/or pre-recorded calls, from Lawyers.com and its affiliates and from or on behalf of attorneys you request or contact through this site. Consent is not a condition of purchase.

Thank you! Your message has been successfully sent.

For your records, a copy of this email has been sent to

Summary of Your Message
Case Type:
Zip Code or Postal Code:
City:
State:
Country:
Case Description:
Contact Information
First Name:
Last Name:
Email:
Phone Number: