Elderkin Law Firm

Don't hire for estates. I've watched a family being torn apart after the loss of a loved one. I have never seen a lawyer that has been so good at turning family members against each other. What was supposed to be simple has been a disaster to watch. I don't want other families to have to go through this.

I was looking for a lawyer to handle my affairs and made an appt with Melanie Hoover at Elderkin law firm. She was happy to take my consult fee but never responded to my emails which she was supposed to be expecting. It took two phone messages on two days, the second was terse, to finally get an emailed response from Melanie, over a week after my emails. She said my email went to her junk folder. Well, thanks a lot! I can see what kind of client I am, worthless! Not even worth a call, just an email, sad. Good thing I didn't actually NEED a lawyer quickly. Her advice was incorrect as well and useless. Total waste of $150 and she wanted me stay and complete the work I needed help with. Fat chance! Thanks for nothing, I won't be back. Another "Professional" quick to first take my money then give poor service.

I hired Jim Richardson to represent me in a child custody modification. Upon our fist meeting (at 300 dollars an hour!) I explained to him what I wanted to do and asked is it worth perusing he assured me it is. I then wrote him a 3,000 dollar check. A couple weeks later I got a bill for 300 dollars for the first meeting and I immediately paid it. About a month later I had a second hour long meeting. At that meeting he completely flipped his script on what he said the first time trying to negotiate a Completely different schedule and not even remotely close to what I wanted. He said I’ll never get what I initially asked for.... well I then that day ended the whole thing canceling the hearing and all. I then patiently waited almost a whole month to get the remainder of my retainer back. Jim had the audacity to charge and Keep 1,500 dollars from me! We literally had two 1 hour meetings. I got a itemized list in the mail saying how he justifies the other NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS he kept from me for complete nonsense. We had TWO 1 hour meeting and he claims to have worked on my case for 3 more hours on top of that!? It was canceled before it was started it! In my opinion Jim will rip off anyone with a hand able to sign a check over to him. I was warned by a friend of mine about him but I chose to not listen and use him anyhow because him and I belong to a certain fraternity that are sposed to only accept and embrace good men who don’t cheat and steal from others to make themselves wealthy. Karma is a MF. If you don’t wanna be ripped off with a smile then don’t use Jim!

I used James Richardson for custody back in 2017. I'll keep this brief. I was bullied into feeling that my wants for custody were not warranted. I was made to feel that I was not entitled to what the state legally entitles you. I overpaid for underwhelming representation. If you're a first time custody seeker, don't trust James Richardson.

Always highly professional. Moral, ethical, and honest. Very high success rate winning cases for clients they have chosen to represent.