Law Office of Derek R. Van Gilder

Review №1

Rating: 1

One of the worst things about moving to a new city is trying to find competent professionals to work with. Let me save you some heartbreak and frustration, Derek isnt one. Hes a scammer and a liar. I have businesses in two countries, so I travel. I approached Derek to argue a Contempt Motion in a civil matter which I had already won. There was a time factor involved which I made sure he was aware of. In almost 2 months he did not even add himself as my counsel with the Court. I missed an important deadline which did damage to my case. He admitted that he had subcontracted my case out to someone who was not even with his law firm, SOME PARALEGAL WHO WASNT EVEN A LAWYER. When I demanded to know the next hearing date so that I could finalize my travel plans with my employees, he lied several times. He wasted more time coming up with excuses than it would have taken to pick up the phone and set the date. In the end it took me only five minutes to make the call myself and set the next hearing date. I promptly fired him, which I was able to do without a removal hearing because the liar hadnt even appeared as counsel on the file yet. He deducted $3000 from my retainer for a bunch of imaginary work, (remember, he never even spent five minutes to set a hearing date,) including billing me $400 not once but TWICE for the initial consultation; this fee was supposed to be waived if I retained him, which I did. Derek is a disgrace, the living embodiment of every lawyer joke youve ever heard. Save your time and money, find other counsel.

Date: a month ago

Review №2

Rating: 1

I hired Derek to produce a letter for my HOA. He told me it would cost $1,000 and take a week. I told him specifically that if the cost was to exceed the $1,000 that he was to reach out to me and coordinate as I was not prepared to pay any more than that. He agreed. Didnt hear from him for 2 months at which time he emailed me stating that he would be unable to produce said letter and charged me an additional $4,000. Any communication I sent challenging the additional cost resulted in more fees. Do yourself a favor and stay far away. If you are forced to use him for some reason get everything in writing, including the max cost you are willing to pay. His verbal agreements mean nothing and he hides behind the text in his legal agreements. One should not need a second lawyer to keep the first one honest when reviewing legal documents. Do not trust him.

Date: a month ago

Review №3

Rating: 5

My experience with the law office was incredibly easy. The staff, as well as Mr. Van Gilder, were exceptional. If I have friends who need a competent attorney, I will definitely refer them here.

Date: 4 months ago

Review №4

Rating: 5

Very diligent, professional and helpful start to finish.

Date: 4 months ago

Review №5

Rating: 5

So thorough. They know what theyre doing. Reasonable pricing. Friendly and straight forward.

Date: 6 months ago

Review №6

Rating: 5

Derek handled my recent divorce case and did a remarkable job of representing me. Both Derek and his staff worked closely with me to ensure all timelines were met, all filings were accurately completed and that I was kept 100% in the loop on all matters. This was a difficult case as it was filed in another County. I am very pleased with the degree of knowledge, professionalism and attention to detail provided by Derek. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.

Date: 6 months ago

Review №7

Rating: 5

Holly was so helpful and efficient! She made the process seem flawless. The

Date: 7 months ago

Review №8

Rating: 5

I have used Derek Van Gilder on several occasions. I trust his expertise and I know he only has my best interests in mind. He has set the bar high for his professionalism and loyalty to my situations. I highly recommend Derek for any legal matter you may be struggling with, he has my complete loyalty.

Date: 7 months ago

Review №9

Rating: 5

Well known and well established law office. I ve lived here my whole life, this is a place I know I can go to for good advice and excellent representation.

Date: 7 months ago

Review №10

Rating: 5

Derek and his team are top notch. As a dad going through a divorce with a 3 year old son, you want Van Gilder Law Offices on your side. You won t regret it.

Date: 10 months ago

Review №11

Rating: 5

Handling our case

Date: a year ago

Review №12

Rating: 1

So far NO positive results, waited two weeks for the legal paperwork and this office has just SAT on it and not notified me. I only found out because I emailed, then called for an update. They have not responded to my email either.

Date: a year ago

Review №13

Rating: 5

I have done business with Mr VanGilder for over 30 years. I trust his organization with all of my legal needs. I won t use anyone else.

Date: a year ago

Review №14

Rating: 5

Date: a year ago

Review №15

Rating: 5

Derek and his staff helped us out with our legal matter and were really nice and understanding. We recommend 100%

Date: a year ago

Review №16

Rating: 5

I have been blessed you have Derek Van Gilder and his office staff represent me more than once. I am always very happy with the results. He is a fantastic lawyer and exceptionally thorough. The Law Office of Derek R. Van Gilder is always the right choice.

Date: a year ago

Review №17

Rating: 5

We love Derek Van Gilder. He has worked hard to get the best outcome for our child custody case. His office staff has always been very supportive and welcoming every time we go in.

Date: a year ago

Review №18

Rating: 5

I live out of state and Jimmy from Van Gilder law was absolutely amazing at getting my tenants who were 4 months behind in rent out. Lori Haring Realty out of Bastrop vouched for the tenants claiming they were great candidates but in reality wanted a brokering fee which I paid. She asked me if she could list the house when I made her aware of the issue with the tenants which was appalling and tasteless. Lori Haring s actions resulted in the disaster that Jimmy fixed. He was professional, prompt, knowledgeable, and amazing during the court hearing.

Date: a year ago

Review №19

Rating: 5

Great people, understand of whats going on,very pacitent, looks at all sides not bias

Date: a year ago

Review №20

Rating: 5

I have been quite impressed with their knowledge and thorough understanding of Texas Law. Most especially, I am grateful for the kindness, compassion and patience they have shown me as their client. I highly recommend the Law Office of Derek R. Van Gilder to anyone seeking legal assistance.

Date: a year ago

Review №21

Rating: 5

This review is long overdue. Hired Van Gilder Law to represent me on a land dispute case against a business partner relationship that went deep south. Derek Van Gilder was my attorney and did an outstanding job of winning me very favorable results even better than anticipated. Derek is an articulate and powerful communicator and persuasive negotiator and speaks with honesty, integrity and conviction. Hes also a no B.S. kind of guy and will tell it to you and help you to clearly understand the true reality of how things really are with your situation without trying to sugar coat them. Hes also an all around good person who sincerely cares about winning for you the best possible results. If I were forced to go back in time to the beginning of this case and my search for the absolute best legal representation, I would have hired him again in a heartbeat. Sincerely with many thanks, gratitude and best wishes, Sean M. Murray

Date: a year ago

Review №22

Rating: 5

Date: 2 years ago

Review №23

Rating: 1

Very expensive

Date: 2 years ago

Review №24

Rating: 5

We highly recommend Derek Van Gilder for any of your probate and real estate needs. He worked hard on our behalf and our court case came out in our favor. We are so grateful. Thank you to you and your staff!

Date: 3 years ago

Review №25

Rating: 5

Date: 3 years ago

Review №26

Rating: 5

I want to thank Derek Van Gilder and his team for a fair and just resolution of our case. We hired Derek to help with a child custody and endangerment issues. He jumped in quickly to prevent harm to a child by navigating the legalize to get an emergency order. His firm literally was a life saver and walked us through the rest of the process. They all took time to answer our questions and calm our concerns. We could not have had justice without his firms expertise. Today, the child is back to her normal, happy, smiling & silly self. We are grateful the Dereks depth of knowledge and helping us through our stressful time. I recommend the Law Office of Derek R. Van Gilder.

Date: 3 years ago

Review №27

Rating: 1

Hire this guy if you want to lose your case.

Date: 4 years ago

Review №28

Rating: 5

I have utilized this law firm for several different services and was really pleased with the professionalism of the attorneys and the friendly staff.

Date: 4 years ago

Review №29

Rating: 5

I met and hired Mr. Van Gilder well over a year ago. He has since become someone that I can confide in and trust. He has went the extra mile to ensure I was and am treated fairly. He has played defense and offense in a case that would have deflated many an attorney. I have found him to be trustworthy, compassionate, honest, and chuck full of grit. I highly recommend Mr. Van Gilder and could not think of employing another lawyer.

Date: 4 years ago

Review №30

Rating: 5

Mr. R Van Holder and his associates are very professional, and helpful. Thank you Derek and your associates.

Date: 4 years ago

Review №31

Rating: 5

We hired Mr. VanGilder to handle custody and later an adoption for us. He and his office did an excellent job preparing the paperwork, arraigning the home study, etc. when we went to court, the process went very smoothly and satisfactorily. Since then, we have used their office for other legal matters. The staff is wonderful. I highly recommend them.

Date: 4 years ago

Review №32

Rating: 5

Great attorney and law office. Very personable and knowledgeable. Derek Van Gilder has helped me with multiple cases and issues over the last several years.

Date: 4 years ago

Review №33

Rating: 5

Went above and beyond to help us with all of our estate planning and getting guardianship of our special needs son. Very easy to work with.

Date: 4 years ago

Review №34

Rating: 5

Straight shooter. Might not tell you what you want to hear but what you need to hear. Works tirelessly for your cause.

Date: 4 years ago

Review №35

Rating: 1

worst probate attorney in bastrop county.... takes ur money and only thing he will do for you is ask for more money.....

Date: 4 years ago

Review №36

Rating: 1

This firm is terrible. Do not use them. They have screwed up so many times on our case, and it s just a simple petition to modify a custody agreement. We have lost any shared expense for travel, and are now solely responsible for all travel for reasons I could not explain, except that the firm has not represented our interests. They bill us hundreds of dollars per staff members if they have a short meeting about our case, and still nothing gets done. They have been working on this for years, and allowed language in the final agreement which they specifically called to get our consent for, and we explicitly stated the language was not to be allowed in the final document. We have no confidence that they are billing us accurately for hours they actually worked on our case, because they charged us for a phone call when we were out of the country with our phones turned off and no service. It s been two years and we have complained several times and they still haven t removed the charge. With all of these one-star reviews, I wonder how long before he s disbarred for an ethics or malpractice violation, or both? DISCLAIMER: I have not personally retained the services of this attorney. The firm is serving my family (hence the use of our and we ), and the preceding comments are based on my firsthand knowledge of the case. For every issue mentioned above, resolution was sought directly with the firm before it was shared on a public platform. Since writing this review, we have been threatened with lawsuits instead of met with an attempt to resolve the ongoing issues.

Date: 5 years ago

Review №37

Rating: 1

I was not only promised a max fee, I have it documented, & I was sent a bill for a additional $1500+. I reminded him I denied his services past the original amount, & he sent me a bill for the letter I wrote, demanding there be no more services/charges. Dishonesty is a understatement. Then I was threatened to have collections called. Bad enough to be struggling divorced father, without enough money to pay your bills, but unjust treatment in court, & to have a attorney do this, is truly a disgrace.

Date: 5 years ago

Review №38

Rating: 5

Very happy with the service received. Well knowledgeable of the law kept us informed and very responsive

Date: 5 years ago