Our attorney Ryan Maxey, got our case from his side of the house as an assignment. From our side of things getting Ryan was a stroke of luck.

A little background first.

We have been involved in a civil case spanning nearly 5 years against very wealthy defendants. A side note. If they are wealthy they will likely prevail in civil court, even if they end up paying a token. It’s about longevity in civil court and without money you don’t have it. We were naive in the belief that court was the right thing to do and the way you “should” do it.

We hired our original firm through a recommendation of a friend. Don't do that! If you are going to file or defend a lawsuit, observe. Find the attorney(s) you think you want to represent you and go watch them in court. Don’t watch once, watch several hearings, they are plentiful. Don't take a shortcut; you will know when you see the right one to represent you. The way that an attorney talks to you in the office does NOT reflect his common sense or his skill in the courtroom. Nor his most important skill, how to deal with things as they are.

It’s my opinion; the first firm we hired let us believe that we would be in and out in a year, 18 months max and that we would receive a substantial sum. They took our retainer about $30k (pretty much all we had) and told us that we should be in and out with about $80k invested. They ran up another $120k and walked out after we were mired. Before they did to their credit, helped us find "contingency" based council. (Morgan & Morgan)

We were assigned an attorney at the firm. He was busy to say the least and seem to have a lot on his plate. Hired an expert, did some depositions and then he was gone because of some personal matter. After a shuffled we got the only bright spot in the last five years with regard to our lawsuit and it was Ryan Maxey.

When we got in, we had no idea what a good attorney looked like. After shuffling through a few attorneys and ending up with Ryan, we discovered what that “should” look like.

One hard learned less was this, attorneys come up with legal theories based on the data you give them. They can interpret that data very differently one attorney to the next.

Ryan Maxey was refreshingly and sometimes painfully honest in his consultation and representation. Before Ryan took over, I felt like I received a lot of “smoke” from the earlier experienced council, I never got any from Ryan. He was genuine in and out of court and always came across that way. While he was respectful of our thoughts and “feelings” about the case, he represented us where we were. (This is important if you change attorneys.) He didn’t try to reinvent the wheel; he looked at where we were when he got us as clients. He was pragmatic and worked diligently with us to achieve an outcome he believed was in our best interest and would yield the best outcome from where we were. We agreed.

I would say without reservation, that if, (no way in hell), I ever had to go back to civil court, I would seek Ryan Maxey out FIRST. Lawyers are not my favorite people. In Ryan’s case, I’ll make an exception. If you find yourself in my shoes with regard to a civil court matter, call Ryan. Go see him in court. He’s really good. My sincerest thanks to Ryan and his firm for their efforts on our behalf.

Lee 3-2017