Family law, wills and employment cases in Dayton, Ohio
Brandt & Okonkwo is a four-person firm. You speak to the attorney who will handle your matter, not to an intake service that calls you back on Thursday.
Most of our work is for people who live and work in Montgomery County and who have never hired a lawyer before.
Write to us and say what happened, in your own words. The first conversation runs about twenty minutes and costs nothing.
What we handle
Family law
Divorce, dissolution, custody and support. Uncontested cases are quoted at a flat fee so you know the number before you start. Contested ones are hourly, and we tell you why.
Estate planning and probate
Wills, powers of attorney, transfer-on-death paperwork, and probate after a death. Most families need an afternoon, not a year.
Employment — employee side
Unpaid wages, wrongful termination, severance agreements you have been asked to sign this week. Bring the agreement before you sign it, not after.
Small business and contracts
Forming the company, the operating agreement between people who currently get along, leases, and the contracts you keep signing without reading.
Residential closings
Buying or selling a house in the county. A fixed price, a review of what you are actually signing, and someone at the table who is on your side.
Traffic and misdemeanour defence
First offences, licence suspensions and court dates that arrived in the mail. We will tell you honestly when you do not need a lawyer for it.
What the first call is like
You do the talking
Start at the beginning and tell it in order. We will interrupt only to ask dates. Twenty minutes is usually enough to know whether you have a matter.
We check for conflicts before anything else
Before you send documents, we check whether we already act for someone on the other side. If we do, we say so immediately and you have lost nothing.
You get a number, not a range
By the end of the first meeting you know the fee arrangement, what it covers, and what it does not. It goes in writing before any work starts.
We say when you do not need us
Some calls end with a form to file yourself and no bill. That happens most weeks and it is not a bad outcome for anyone.
Who you will be dealing with
Elena Brandt handles the family law and probate work. Chidi Okonkwo takes the employment and business matters. Marcus Vale, the associate, covers closings and traffic court.
Renata Silva runs the office, and she is usually the first voice you hear.
Nobody hands your file to a stranger after the first meeting. In a firm of four there is nowhere to hand it.
Say what happened, in your own words
You do not need to know the legal name for your problem. That is our job. Write down what happened and when, and we will tell you whether there is anything to be done about it.