Patterson Law Firm, APC

I retained Steven Patterson to handle my divorce in 2016 and was very displeased with his services. He recommended I hire a consultant to to evaluate the income my X-wife could potentially earn since she had not worked for several years. The report came in with an estimated income lower than the job she was eventually hired for. In addition, he ran up legal fees exceeding $44,000.00 and failed to negotiate a termination clause or stipulate a time frame in the court order for spouse support. I have been paying almost 60k a year for spouse support and as I approach retirement age, I now have to retain another attorney to request support to be terminated or modified. Its such a scam.

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 judge’s 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.