Patterson Law Firm, APC

My mother got a hold of Michelle at Patterson law. She was nice at first and they had a nice conversation regrading updating her living trust.  The second convversation was very much strained. The next thing is that she gets a bill in the mail for $675 and a contract that she needs to sign. There was no mention of rates at all during the first two calls. I think this is unethical to take advantage of people this way. The contract should have been present immediately so she knew the costs. My mother paid the bill and asked for her documents to be returned. It has been 2 weeks and still the documents have not been returned. Michelle is strictly a money chaser in my view.I am just giving the folks here a heads up. I plan on taking this complaint further,
Aug 22nd, 2020

Thet worked on legal transfer of property paperwork for my family. At the end of the transaction we owed more money than was quoted, due to extra work and filing or documenting fees etc. Work was done yes, but extra fees not appreciated. Maybe that is just how the legal services run.
Jan 27th, 2020

I was being represented by Bastiaan VandenBerg at Patterson Law firm. He was recommended to me. Unfortunately, I'm going through a Divorce and nothing positive has resulted in 8 months. The other attorney has been persistently ahead and more aggressive. Wish I would have hired anyone else. Patterson Law Firm is the worst investment anyone could ever make. I'm no longer a client of Patterson Law Firm. Thank God. Though they still think I owe them money for zero service rendered
Dec 18th, 2019

STAY AWAY from Patterson Law Firm (PLF). I received lackluster family law representation from Ryan E. Dryer and Steven R. Patterson. PLF was not only outmaneuvered by opposing counsel (I had a front row seat), they took advantage of a highly contentious divorce (greed, lies and false declarations/accusations on my ex-spouse's part, and matter of principle, the truth/credibility, witnesses and evidence on my part). PLF lined their own pockets by prolonging the matter [FOUR (4) YEARS without ever reaching trial]. I communicated to Mr. Dryer and Mr. Patterson (who supervises Ryan and oversaw my case) that I was unhappy with the services being rendered and requested to change family law attorneys within the firm, and Mr. Patterson IGNORED my request. While I was frustrated, I believed it would be counterproductive to drop PLF and retain new legal counsel since, after two plus years, they were familiar with my case and Mr. Dryer repeatedly assured me that he was "ready for trial" - false promises. Trial was postponed over and over and OVER again - the PLF playbook goes like this: the lawyers meet privately in judge's chambers (FACT: when attorneys meet in judges chambers, there is no court reporter present and therefore, no record or Minute Order of their backroom deals) - the only recorded outcome at each hearing was the Court setting new hearing dates over and over again. Such delays prolonged the bleeding by extending temporary support orders as well as required new income and expense declarations to be filed (and there were many). This legal tactic creates ongoing cash flow for Patterson Law Firm - i.e., over-billing. I got no fight from PLF, just politics. In four (4) years, I NEVER reached trial (the judge never heard my case) which benefited my ex-spouse since she was receiving high temporary support and free medical and dental to boot. We were married for six (6) years - I paid ALL household and medical expenses post separation without reimbursement PLUS temporary spousal and child support (over 70% of my net earnings) for over four (4) years - more than HALF the duration of our short-term marriage - which as I understand, is higher in the beginning and decreases over time (but not for me!). A good family law attorney will create a support reduction or elimination strategy based on the case history and the judgment or marital settlement agreement - PLF FAILED to help me in this department. Four (4) years later [down $175K+ in legal fees, paying excessive temporary spousal and child support as well as costs not covered by my medical insurance] and YET AGAIN, A NEW HEARING DATE SET BY THE COURT, I buckled and wound up settling in a LOPSIDED financial settlement that favored my ex-spouse. To add salt to the wound, Mr. Dryer conceded to certain stipulations in the financial settlement agreement without consulting me AND provided ill-advice in the end that cost me more money - thanks, PLF. Mr. Dryer is nice, but nice does not cut it in divorce proceedings. I am now representing myself in court (In Pro Per) for certain post-divorce child custody matters and have fared better without Patterson Law Firm in my corner. The judge has actually heard my case and I have spoken to him on the record with positive results more times in three months than the previous previous four years with Patterson Law Firm - and that's a FACT. If you need an attorney who will fight tirelessly to ensure your rights are protected as well as competently handle your financial (and child custody) divorce/family law matters, then DO NOT waste your time and money with Patterson Law Firm - cut your losses and drop them immediately or better yet, don't bother retaining PLF in the first place.
Apr 4th, 2020

STAY AWAY from Patterson Law Firm (PLF). I received lackluster family law representation from Ryan E. Dryer and Steven R. Patterson. PLF was not only outsmarted and outmaneuvered by opposing counsel (I had a front row seat), they took advantage of a highly contentious divorce (greed, lies and false declarations/accusations on my ex-spouse's part, and matter of principle, the truth/credibility, witnesses and evidence on my part). PLF lined their own pockets by prolonging the matter [FOUR (4) YEARS without ever reaching trial]. I communicated to Mr. Dryer and Mr. Patterson (who supervises Ryan and also oversaw my case) that I was unhappy with the services being rendered and requested to change family law attorneys within the firm, and Mr. Patterson IGNORED my request. While I was frustrated, I believed it would be counterproductive to drop PLF and retain new legal counsel since, after two plus years, they were familiar with my case and Mr. Dryer repeatedly assured me that he was "ready for trial" - a serious miscalculation on my part.  Trial was postponed over and over and over again - the PLF playbook goes like this: the lawyers meet privately in judge's chambers (FACT: when attorneys meet with the judge in chambers, there is no court reporter present and therefore, no record or Minute Order of their backroom deals) - the only recorded outcome at each hearing was the Court setting new hearing dates over and over again. Such delays prolonged the bleeding by extending temporary support orders as well as required new income and expense declarations to be filed (and there were many). This legal tactic creates ongoing cash flow for Patterson Law Firm - i.e., over-billing.I got no fight from PLF, just politics. In four years, I NEVER reached trial (the judge never heard my case) which benefited my ex-spouse since she was receiving high temporary support and free medical and dental to boot. We were married for six (6) years - I paid ALL household and medical expenses post separation without reimbursement PLUS temporary spousal and child support (over 70% of my net earnings) for over four (4) years - more than HALF the duration of our short-term marriage - which as I understand, is higher in the beginning and decreases over time (but not for me!).  A good family law attorney will create a support reduction or elimination strategy based on the case history and the judgment or marital settlement agreement - PLF failed to help me in this department.  After $175K+ in attorney fees coupled with excessive temporary spousal and child support payments PLUS costs not covered by my medical insurance, I buckled and wound up settling in a LOPSIDED financial settlement that favored my ex-spouse. To add salt to the wound, Mr. Dryer conceded to certain stipulations in the financial settlement agreement without consulting me AND provided ill-advice in the end that cost me more money - thanks, PLF.Mr. Dryer is nice, but nice does not cut it in divorce proceedings. I am now representing myself (In Pro Per) for certain post-divorce child custody matters and have fared better without Patterson Law Firm in my corner. The judge has actually heard my case and I have spoken to him on the record with positive results more times in three months than the previous previous four years with Patterson Law Firm - and that's a FACT.If you need an attorney who will fight tirelessly to ensure your rights are protected as well as competently handle your financial (and child custody) divorce/family law matters, then DO NOT waste your time and money with Patterson Law Firm (cut your losses and drop them immediately or better yet, don't bother retaining PLF in the first place). Instead, I HIGHLY recommend (top choice) Don Werno [Werno Family Law Solutions] or (second choice) Minyard Morris - *both are aggressive attorneys that solidly represented my ex-spouse and outsmarted PLF - and that's a FACT. [*Due to her difficult nature, the ex-spouse has burned through five different attorneys.]
Mar 10th, 2020