Danielle Hawkes
Google Rating
4.7(39 reviews)
- +1-801-953-0945
- office@hawkesquam.com
About:
Danielle is a partner at The Salt Lake Lawyers, a litigation firm that works in criminal, divorce, and civil litigation in Utah. Danielle received her law degree in 2010 from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law. After graduating from law school Danielle served a one-year fellowship in Washington DC with Georgetown Law and the Law Students for Reproductive Justice working in women’s and immigrants’ rights with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. During law school, Danielle was a staff member of the S.J. Quinney College of Law’s Journal of Law and Family Studies where she published two notes. The first, Locking up Children: Lessons from the T. Don Hutto Family Detention Center, explores the emerging trend of detaining immigrant families, including very young children, in private for profit detention facilities. The second, Elective Surgery: When Parental and Medical Opinion Supersedes a Child’s Right to Choose, discusses discretionary medical procedures for children including hysterectomies for physically disabled children, cosmetic surgery for children with Down’s syndrome, cochlear implants, reparative therapy, and psycho-altering drugs. In addition, she competed in the Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition where she won two best oralist awards. Danielle served as the student coordinator for the Guadalupe Legal Clinic, a low income legal clinic, and was a co-founder of Rainbow Law, a free legal clinic focusing on LGBT law in Salt Lake City, and as the president of OutLaws, S.J. Quinney’s queer student group. She also served as a legal intern at the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah (ACLU of Utah) and worked as a law clerk for Strindberg & Scholnick, LLC, an employment discrimination law firm. Upon graduation from law school, Danielle received the Outstanding Law Graduate of the S.J. Quinney College of Law Award from the National Association of Women Lawyers and a runner up award from the Nat
DVLawyers AI Summary:
The Salt Lake Lawyers focus primarily on supporting individuals experiencing domestic violence and navigating complex family law issues. They understand the unique challenges faced by survivors, including the intricacies of custody arrangements and the importance of obtaining restraining orders to ensure safety. The firm provides a compassionate environment where clients can feel heard and validated, demonstrating a trauma-informed approach that prioritizes the emotional and physical well-being of survivors. Their tone is empathetic and understanding, suggesting that they sincerely care about the needs of their clients. They take time to explain legal processes clearly, allowing survivors to feel more empowered in their situations. The firm emphasizes the importance of creating safe, supportive spaces for clients to share their experiences and seek justice without fear of judgment. If you are a survivor seeking legal assistance, this law firm may be a suitable option. They seem genuinely dedicated to assisting those who have experienced domestic violence and offer a range of services tailored to address these sensitive issues. However, it is crucial to assess your comfort level with their approach and ensure that their values align with your needs. Engaging in a consultation can help you gauge whether they are the right fit for your legal journey.
Jurisdiction:Utah, Utah
Practice Area
Family Law
Handles divorce, custody, parenting time, and support with DV-informed safety planning, temporary orders, safe exchanges, discovery protections, and long-term financial stability.
Juvenile/Dependency
Advocates in CPS cases to separate perpetrator from protective parent, ensure safe visitation, reasonable services, and trauma-informed findings without punishing the survivor.
Civil Rights Law
Challenges discrimination or biased policing that compounds abuse, securing accommodations, fair services, and remedies when survivors face barriers based on identity or status.
Languages
Spanish
Fees
Free Consultation
Education
J.D.
Awards
Student Leadership Award Runner Up
Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship
Leadership Initiative, Scholarship Recipient
Outstanding Law Graduate
Scholarship Recipient
Family Law Practice (highest grade in course)
Pro Bono Award and Scholarship
Named Best Lawyer
Service Scholarship Award
Associations
Board Member
Reviews
RATED 5.0
Jul 20, 2025via Google
Jason Ball
"Having Mckaela Dangerfield represent me was a great decision. From the consultation to the end of the case she was compassionate, caring, fast with communication and ensured the case was handled fairly. I would recommend hiring Mckaela for any family law matter as you will always have an advocate on your side to swiftly guide you through the process."
RATED 5.0
Jun 10, 2025via Google
Deborah Speed
"Kayla Quam and her team were a dream to work with. From the first moment we met, I knew I could count on them to help me through a sensitive and emotional case. They kept me informed, but did the heavy lifting and acted as the buffer I needed to make it through to the end. I’m so grateful I chose to work with Kayla and the HQ team, and have already recommended them to multiple people."
RATED 1.0
Jun 10, 2025via Google
Katie Griffin
"Sam Sorensen suggests, “leave it to the experts”. I appreciate and value the experience of all of Utah’s GAL roles. It’s not an easy role at all! However, I have seen the outcome of many GAL recommendations and I have consistently seen them make recommendations that have almost always left the children they are fiduciaries for, in a better position. (Or the best position). I could not be more disappointed and appalled to have been directly involved in relaying testimony and sitting in the middle of a broken parenting relationship where myself and my partner are left with more than double the amount of work rendered than the other parent. While rendering extremely clear testimony about the clear lack of involvement, Sam made a ruling that left no chance for an optimized situation for these kids, and no relief for either of us. Sam, you ignored multiple people’s testimony, including mine! You heard validating testimony and still classified it as ambiguous or unfounded. I am disgusted by your recommendation. Your unwillingness to see the reality and truth of the situation has me/us continuing to over contribute while another gets to knowingly under contribute. You get to walk away from this case and head to the next. I’m left getting a text message that says, “sorry, the trial is over now, I’m done pretending to care”. If there was ever any clear evidence you missed the mark, I just read it, and now I get to live it – forever. You get to take the next case and wave. There are no words to express how angry I am with your casual commitment to be right, instead of getting it right!"
RATED 5.0
Jun 10, 2025via Google
Masha Preobrazhensky
"Kayla, Sarah and Shanon were all wonderful to work with! They made a difficult process as smooth as possible. I felt so comfortable and confident in their hands and they allowed me to do things in a way that worked best for me and my situation."
RATED 1.0
Jun 10, 2025via Google
Joe Griffin
"If you are considering hiring Samuel J. Sorensen as a Guardian ad Litem, RUN. Run as fast and as far as you can! A Guardian ad Litem (GAL) is a person appointed by a court to represent the best interests of a child. I could not be more disappointed with the professional capacity on display from Sam. As a parent living with an arrangement that is very clearly lobsided I needed an advocate to step in and be willing to see the arrangement these kids are living and give words and credibility to the facts of their circumstances. Instead, Sam demonstrated that he would only look into it so far, and each time he did stand directly in front of supporting testimony, or evidence of my concerns, he completely dismissed the testimony and patterns, for reasons I can’t begin to understand. By the end of the years Sam worked on my case it was clear no behavior, no testimony, no pattern, no proof was going to change what the way he decided to see this case. After years of working on this case he couldn’t even say the proper names of the children. I’m disgusted by the misconduct displayed by Sam. On the second day of trial opposing council arrived early to sit on the same side of the court room as Sam. I was stunned to walk in from a lunch break and walk into a conversation Sam was a willing participant in, with opposing council. While their may be no direct rule disallowing that, I still find it wildly inappropriate behavior for a GAL. The only thing Sam did meticulously was his billing. My assertion is if he was half as interested in gathering facts of the matter, as he was ensuring his billing was accurate, there would have been a different outcome here. As a father looking to provide and create a functional emotional and academic environment of success and love for my children, I am stunned at the number of facts and testimony Sam was willing to step over. Based on the old behavior that is on full display for my kids, post ruling, I feel completely let down that a very clear deficiency exists for my children, could have been elevated by a willing parent, but Sam was completely hoodwinked and fooled. Willingly, in my opinion. Run. Run as fast and as far as you can. There are too many other great Guardian ad Litem’s willing to put in the work, lead with ethics, table their biases and mitigate misconduct!"