1 /5 Nick Rickman: My advice would be: be cautious with this attorney. This is my personal experience.
During my first meeting with John, I laid out many of the key facts of my case. I made it clear that this was not a bankruptcy situation and that the only potential path forward might be filing a personal restraint petition—something that, as I later found out, his office doesn’t even handle.
Despite that, he never mentioned that this wasn’t something he could assist with. Instead, he quoted me a flat fee of $2,900 to review my case and present my options. Based on the information I gave him in that meeting, it should’ve been clear from the start that his firm wouldn’t be able to help.
Over the next 45 days, I communicated with a paralegal at his office. Eventually, I received a letter saying they couldn’t help and advising me to contact a criminal defense attorney.
That response, after so much time and money spent, was incredibly frustrating—especially since John never told me he wasn’t a criminal lawyer. When I called to express my concerns, I was told he was in a meeting and asked to call back. After some back-and-forth, they said he’d be available around 5 p.m. Instead, he called me at 8:45 p.m. from a private number.
By then I was upset. I told him I felt like he took my money knowing from the beginning he couldn’t help me. He didn’t deny it. He simply said, “You’re not wrong.”
The paralegal I worked with was polite, but offered no solutions—just the recommendation to look elsewhere. I had even told John during our first meeting that I had already paid another attorney and couldn’t afford to keep throwing money away. He acted like he cared. But in the end, it felt like he had planned to take my money regardless.
I just wish he would’ve been upfront from the start. It would’ve saved time, money, and a lot of frustration.
