Ms. Dawson has been a wonderful help in handling matters of family. She is truly a professional and makes sure everything is handled properly. read more

Derraugh Dawson is a secret gem. I was in a never ending custody battle with a vexatious litigant for years. She helped me do what was best for my child and it works. My daughter is happy and honestly I think she is one of the best lawyers I have ever hired. Thank you Derraugh. read more

Derraugh was my attorney for 15 years. I thought she was good. Now I realize, after working with another attorney that she only won because she always went up against attorneys who were paid monthly through a benefit at my ex's work. They didn't care, win or lose. Now that I'm working with another attorney it's quite clear that she's a very disorganized, unethical attorney who will empty your bank account into hers if you Let her. I'm now involved in a case where she's the opposing attorney and she's made so many mistakes, costing both parties a lot of money. She actually took a week off in the middle of a trial to babysit her grandson when her daughter had another baby. Like there wasn't another soul on the planet available to do that. In the middle of a trial! Causing the trial to drag on over a month. Abd again, costing everyone hundreds of dollars more. She told her client that it was an easy case to win. Her client believed her. She lost. She's horrible. And she cannot be trusted. read more

I used Derraugh Dawson 6 years ago while I was going thru a separation. She was very thorough, told me what I needed to get done, and even had her paralegal type the forms for me. I am hiring her again for another family law matter. She's still the best family law attorney in my opinion. She knows the legal system, what to expect, the best course of action to take and with over 20 years experience, I highly recommend her. read more

I am so honored to have had Derraugh as my attorney not just once but twice in my most difficult life time crisis. I appreciate all her professionalism as my attorney because she has helped me and my children through crucial and emotional time in my and my family life time. I am very satisfied with the legal services you have provided. I definitely would recommend you too anyone I know that needs legal help. Thank you once again and Nancy for everything. Satisfied client, RM read more

Very unorganized lawyer, she was the opposing lawyer on my brother's trial and she kept on rescheduling because she was unprepared and then all of a sudden she had to go babysit for her daughter so the trial had to be put on hold!! My brother was fighting a DVO put on by his soon to be ex wife because there was no cause, just because she said he drank a lot and she didn't want him alone with the kids. When I'm reality she was just using what they call the " Nuclear Effect" when getting divorced.... the woman puts a DVO and. BAM !! She gets full custody no questions asked and the father gets out of the picture. Sad but true we see it more and more often. She clearly shows no interest in the well being of the person or if involved children, clearly only is interested in the money... very disappointing read more

Derraugh was the worst attorney I had. She was incompetent and provided me with completely asinine legal advice. You would be better off representing yourself in the courtroom, and you would save yourself thousands of dollars too. Yolo County legal self desk is a great place. Stay away from Derraugh and attorneys like her. read more

Derraugh has been helping me with my custody case for several months now, and she is a very solid lawyer. She is thorough, even-tempered, inquisitive, and receptive to information. Her office is efficient and effective. She is good at answering questions, and is resourceful about researching the law. She is the total opposite of a fake "yes"-man. She never made me any grand promises that I would win my case for sure, but instead she questioned me thoroughly, making me really think hard about my case, which helped me gain an even clearer sense of how to push forward with it. Her office helped with court forms and filing deadlines. She helped me try to reach a settlement in my case, and stood up for me when the other party was disrespectful, rude, or doing things that were inappropriate. And when the other party refused all settlement offers, she prepared herself for court and performed excellently in the courtroom. And I do mean excellently. She was fully prepared in court, highly organized, and above all, calm. Her questions to me were very well thought out, and highlighted exactly the points I wanted the court to understand. When she thought my answers could be even better, she refined her questions and helped me say what needed to be said. She was quick on her feet when questioning the opposing party's witnesses, too, and (most impressively) she knew not to let go of the opposing party's witnesses before she had exhausted every possible question to them. This meant that there were some "awkward" silences in the courtroom while Derraugh paused, thought about what a witness had said, maybe referred to her notes, and then came up with another question for them on the spot. It is those awkward pauses that may have ruined my case if I had tried to represent myself without her. In my normal rush to fill silences, I may have prematurely released witnesses from the stand before I thought to ask them more questions. Derraugh didn't give up during those times, and instead thought of many new, insightful questions to ask. The questions she asked witnesses in court enabled her to (on the spot) craft an exceptional closing argument for my case. Derraugh had done good work for me from the moment I hired her, but her most impressive moment was delivering the closing argument for my case in court. If you're looking at hiring a lawyer, most likely you know your case pretty well, and are passionate about it. But unless you have years of public speaking experience and are familiar with a courtroom, ask yourself, what would happen if you tried to stand up and make a speech to a judge about your case? Would you sweat, shake or stutter? Would you trip over your words, or accidentally go off on tangents? Would you wring your hands, make nervous gestures? Would you be angry and come across as too aggressive? Derraugh had none of these issues that most non-lawyers like myself would have at least some of. She was strong, clear, passionate, unflappable, and dogged. She left out no point I wanted to make, and presented the court a summary of my case that was even better than anything I could have said, myself. She had understood my case, made it hers, and did everything she could to put it in the best light possible for the judge. Disclaimer: I had a very positive outcome in my trial, and that's not something that can be promised to everyone. But I knew that Derraugh was the right advocate for my case even before the judge awarded me a big win, when she gave her flawless closing argument in court. I knew at that moment that even if I lost my case, Derraugh had done everything right, had made no mistakes, and that I could not have done a better job myself. If you need a lawyer, hire her. She will work well for you. And make sure you look up her current address and website online, because Yelp is often out of date about these things. The current address listed above is wrong as I type this. I've never met her at 1667 Oak Street. Must be an old address? She's currently on F St. in Davis. Anyway just look up the current info. Her administrator is Nancy, who is really nice and receptive. The first time I called into Derraugh's office, Nancy answered and made me an appointment with Derraugh easily. I read Jane P.'s review from 10/29/2016. If Derraugh didn't work out well for you, the first question I would ask is, were you helpful to her? If the answer is no, then how can you expect her to do a good job? As long as you explain to her what you want, use sound judgment, and have some patience with the often tedious legal system, Derraugh will be there for you. Nobody can or should promise a win for you in court, but as long as your lawyer can fight for a reasonable settlement for you, and present a clear and compelling case for you in court if it gets that far, there's nothing more you can ask from your lawyer. Derraugh does exactly that. She will truly represent you and your interests. If you let her. read more