Today we’d like to introduce you to Dene Matthews.
Hi Dene, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
It has been quite a journey. I left my mother’s home at 18, ready for college and the road that was before me. The goal was to finish college, attend law school, open a law firm helping abused women and children, and do what God told me I should do. I thought it would be simple and smooth. I was wrong! The first few years yes, came with little to no challenges. A few weeks into my first year of law school I learned that I was pregnant with my oldest.
Going through the 1st year of law school pregnant is not for the faint at heart. Add on having a baby two weeks before finals and you have a complete mess. I’d like to think, though, that I handled it all with grace and favor. Once I graduated law school, it was time to prepare for the bar AND a wedding. I can confidently say that I have never been one to shy away from an adventure. Well, the first time, I did not pass. It was a horrible feeling. I tried the next year again while pregnant with my second son and failed. Defeat much? Give up? No! I waited until the next year and passed with flying colors. I am now the proud mother of two boys and a girl and the proud owner of a law firm that helps tons of women, children, and MEN. Something I did not ever imagine but along the way, you learn, you experience, and your perception changes.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Absolutely not! Having a baby during law school and failing the bar exam twice when I knew everything there was to know was not an easy ride by any means. Not only that but owning a business! I went into law school, never desiring to work for someone else. I always wanted my own business but what I did not realize is that a business takes WORK! It is not as simple and rose-colored as it may look from the outside. The hours, the money, the numerous times I failed. It wasn’t smooth at all! What it has been though, is a learning experience. The people that I have met, the lessons I have learned (by both failing and succeeding) cannot be replaced by a smooth ride. If it had been a completely smooth ride, I don’t believe I would be the person I am today. God had to break me down and rebuild, mold, and shape me again. Without it, I probably would not be as humble as I am now.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My firm specializes in family law matters, including divorce, custody modifications, child support, adoptions, and grandparents’ rights. At The Dunn Matthews Law Firm, we help people recreate their definition of family. We offer a faith-based collaborative approach to family law representation. I believe that it is important to weave God into everything that I do, say, and touch. What comes out of my mouth and what I put out into the world should all reflect the presence and feel of God. It should be upstanding, righteous, kind, noble, thoughtful, and a slew of other words that I could go on and on listing. So every day, I strive to instill or flourish those same characteristics into my clients. When people are going through a family law matter, the stacks are generally high. Their soul is at stake, their family, their children, their finances, their future. Being able to go through a situation that affects so many pieces of your life gracefully and without bitterness can be difficult. At the end of the day, though, having some type of control over your emotions and the outcome of your case can lead much further than having the bull-dog get what I want, not care about anyone else mentality. Not to say that sometimes I don’t say or do things that I shouldn’t do in the course of business, legal representation, or my personal life, but I am constantly striving to make sure that I am doing what is right, that my business is providing services that feel right, and that my client’s spirit is right. It means the world to me.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I don’t think I can equate it to just one quality or characteristic. I believe a couple of them work together to create exactly what I need to push through each day. My faith, my ability to be versatile, my humbleness, and lastly, my ability to be open, honest and straightforward.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@dunnmatthewsfirm.com
- Website: www.dunnmatthewsfirm.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/dmatthewsfirm
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/dunnmatthewsfirm
