About Dagger Law

Learn more about Dagger Law, a law firm built on more than 110 years of legal experience.

The Dagger Law firm was formed when two prominent historical Lancaster attorney offices merged. The first was Deffenbaugh & Miller, founded in 1902 by J.W. Deffenbaugh. The second was Dagger, Johnston, Ogilvie, Charles & Hampson, founded by William C. Dagger in 1946. In 2016 Dagger Law moved away from using our full firm name, Dagger Johnston Miller Ogilvie & Hampson, LLP, to the more recognizable law firm name of Dagger Law. Thus, the change in branding reflects our acknowledgment that this firm stands on something profound and significant—over 115 years of legal practice. As a result, we are more than a group of individual attorneys and partners. We are a united team.

The Dagger Law brand represents a legal team made up of attorneys and staff, with a single purpose.

Our purpose is to provide our clients with local, trusted, and experienced legal representation. Our attorneys and staff work together to represent our clients’ needs. Every attorney is capable of calling upon our combined strengths to get the best possible outcomes for those we serve. Indeed, nobody ever hires an attorney at Dagger Law; they employ the firm as a whole.

Dagger Law firm, our lawyers, and staff have strong roots in Lancaster and throughout Fairfield County.

After receiving their Juris Doctor degrees from prestigious law schools across the country, many of our attorneys decided to return to the area they consider home. Furthermore, they returned to Central Ohio to help Fairfield County communities grow economically, socially, and culturally. In particular, it is our belief that the law can be used not only to protect a community but also to improve it. Hence, what happens to our clients has implications for the community as a whole. Therefore, it impacts us neighbors and as a local business.

We dedicate our efforts to bringing a local perspective with a positive community outcome. Moreover, we believe that small-town character and community values are the foundation of our firm. As a result, we provide honest and valuable legal representation. Local presence allows us to leverage strong working relationships with the court systems, city administrative offices, prosecutors, and opposing counsel from other local law firms. In other words, good working relationships save time, money, and stress for our clients. They are an essential asset that enables us to get the best outcomes for our clients.

Our attorneys are active within the community.

First, attorneys at Dagger Law share a common belief that citizen involvement plays a crucial role in their community’s continued growth. Furthermore, our lawyers demonstrate this belief by serving on the boards of community organizations and nonprofits. As a result of lending their legal and personal experience, lawyers at the Dagger Law firm believe that it is possible to influence and develop a vibrant community positively. In summary, neighborhoods, and towns that we all can enjoy. Furthermore, Dagger Law firm contributes generously to high schools, local charities, farmer’s markets, area chambers of commerce, the library system, local festivals, arts, music, and so much more.

To learn more about our attorneys, please visit the Dagger Law Attorney List

Dagger Law recognizes that our world is rapidly growing and that people need our services outside Lancaster and Fairfield County, Ohio.

Since the firm’s founding, Dagger, Johnston, Miller, Ogilvie & Hampson, LLP has successfully adapted to our client’s changing needs. For example, in 2019, Dagger Law successfully established a second office in the City of Canal Winchester to better serve the growing communities around us. As a result, we have been able to make a strategic shift from a local law firm in Lancaster, Ohio, to a regionally recognized legal practice known for its professionalism, advocacy for clients, and knowledge of the Ohio legal system.

Primarily, Dagger Law attorneys practice in the same communities where they live and raise their families. Yet, we also recognize that there are strong similarities in both character and values that we share with those nearby communities. As a result, we proudly extend our focus and legal counsel to the surrounding areas in Southeast and Central Ohio. Since 1902, Dagger Law firm has provided trusted legal counsel to clients in Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Hocking, Perry, Pickaway, Delaware, Ross, Athens, and Vinton Counties; across Ohio, and to several national corporate clients. Call us today, and see how Dagger Law can assist you.

We proudly serve the following communities throughout Central and Southeastern Ohio:

  • Fairfield County
  • Franklin County
  • Hocking County
  • Licking County
  • Pickaway County
  • Baltimore, Ohio
  • Pickerington
  • Carroll
  • Amanda
  • Sugar Grove
  • Millersport
  • Bremen
  • Pleasantville
  • Rushville
  • Thurston
  • Stoutsville
  • Baltimore
  • Buckeye Lake
  • Canal Winchester
  • Circleville
  • Greater Columbus Area
  • Lancaster, Ohio
  • Logan
  • Newark, Ohio
  • other locations nearby

Check out the nearest location to you by clicking our Locations Page.