Butler, Thiessen, & Metzinger, Inc.: Family Law Specialists in the San Joaquin Valley

Being a lawyer requires a great deal of drive and commitment. Extensive education, long hours, hard work and don’t forget the ever-challenging bar exam. Lawyers commit a great deal of time, knowledge and support to serve their clients.

Dianne Drew Butler understands this all too well. As a practitioner of Family Law for over 38 years in San Joaquin County in divorce, mediation, custody, support, restraining orders, adoption & guardianship, she has been committed to and has served her clients diligently and with integrity. Despite the sacrifices, she has led an intense but stimulating career. Butler believes if you show up to work every day and your job feels like a hobby that you love, you’ll never really feel like you have worked a day in your life.

Building Foundation
Following graduation from Humphrey’s School of Law in 1986, Butler worked for Simonelli, Simonelli & Carash, a general practice law firm where she practiced law, handling everything from civil litigation, criminal and personal injury to family law. By 1993, she opened her own law office. As her practice grew, she found that family law became an area where she began to thrive and develop. “It found me,” she jokes. She decided to get a specialization in family law, again another challenging but valuable California State Bar Legal Certification that would benefit her clients and which also meant a second bar exam. In 2010, she was certified by the State Board of California Board of Legal Specialization as a Family Law Specialist, a title she holds proudly.

Now, over 38 years later, with a full staff of 14, her business is thriving and she gives thanks to her amazing team and the hard work that has paid off along the way. She also believes that sharing her knowledge and expertise makes a stronger team. In January of this year, she created a partnership with two long-standing attorneys in her office, Lisa Thiessen and Lindsay Guinn Metzinger, both family law attorneys, to form Butler, Thiessen, & Metzinger, Inc. Butler, Thiessen & Metzinger, Inc. has been and remains the largest family law firm in San Joaquin County.

Standout Attorneys
As with most law firms, it’s common to grow a partnership, but one unique factor has made Butler, Thiessen & Metzinger Inc. stand apart from the rest; all three of the partners are California State Bar Certified Family Law Specialists. Working under Butler, both Thiessen and Metzinger gained a great deal of knowledge and mentorship, and in doing so became Certified Family Law Specialists. Thiessen became a specialist in 2016, with Metzinger following in 2018. Both Metzinger and Thiessen love to encourage the staff and, just like the mentor who guided them, they hope to pass that knowledge along to those who follow.

Another unique factor about the firm is that it’s an all-female staff. While having a full female staff was never the goal, the firm has thrived and continues to provide service to both men and women in San Joaquin County for all of their family law needs. They also pride themselves on the fact that there is equality, respect and support from everyone who works there. “It takes everyone in the office to make the wheel go around,” says Metzinger. Thiessen agrees that the community within the firm has made all the difference. “We support each other,” she says.
Despite the nonstop work and large caseloads, the partners make time for family, spending time with loved ones and giving back to the community. Butler has been very involved in the past including serving on the board of the San Joaquin County Bar Association and Lawyer Referral Service. She started a legal service program at UOP, served as a Judge Pro Tempore for the San Joaquin Court and was on the board of the American Heart Association and Mary Graham Children’s Foundation. Thiessen and Metzinger were professors at the Laurence Drivon School of Law, and Metzinger currently serves on the board of PREVAIL, formerly known as the Women’s Center.

Now that Butler has reached the pinnacle of her career and grown her law practice, she looks back on the key characteristics that have made her firm a success and offers advice for those who want to pursue the same field. “You have to be hardworking, have a love for the profession; you have to be a people person, and to be the best in whatever field of law you choose.”

If you’d like to learn more about Butler, Thiessen & Metzinger, Inc. you can check out their website at www.btmlaw.com.