Paul Craig Laird II

We hired Mr. Laird because my ex husband passed in December 2014 and did not leave a will. His mother hired Mr. Laird to settle the estate. Mr. Laird filed the paperwork with the court system, and we appeared in court 6 months later. It has now been 3 years and 2 months since we appeared in court an...d nothing has been settled. He refuses to return phone calls and is never in the office when we go there in person. We have contacted the courts and they refuse to do anything unless it is through the attorney. So, about $5,000.00 later, we are still in the same position...just a little poorer.

Mr. Laird litigated a probate case for me. He found a lawsuit that could of really hurt me that I was unaware of and promptly filed a suggestion of death and won the case. Without the help of Mr. Laird I could of had a judgment entered against me that would of cost me thousands of dollars. His off...ice personnel are professional and I always get a prompt return phone call. Mr. Laird is on time and values my time when making appointments. I received accurate bills based on an hourly rate that was more than fair, These are the things that are of critical importance to me.

I need to start by saying I have not ever needed to hire an attorney but this mistake was definitely a learning experience for me. Craig Laird works in the same law firm as my father's attorney. My father's attorney does not handle divorce so I chose Craig Laird to represent my divorce out of respect... for my father's attorney. Huge mistake! Mr. Laird talked a big talk at our initial consultation, which by the way he ended up charging me for, but never produced. My divorce should be fairly simple. We have been married a very long time, our children are grown and we don't own property. Simple. However, I could not get Craig Laird to have my husband served divorce papers. He was insistent on just mailing the paperwork and hoping my husband would sign them. I called the law office over and over again and he was never available. He did return my call once only to have misunderstood my question and speak harshly at me until he realized his mistake. After over 3 weeks of this treatment, I chose to terminate with him as my attorney. Apparently angry at my choice to not use him any longer, he screamed at me on the phone and to add insult to injury, charged me for time he did not spend with me. He stated that I was in the office many times, at a huge rate of course, that I was not there. His dates even reflect meeting with me on weekends. He then turned our "free consultation" into paid time. All in all, he used up the majority of my retainer fee and has done NOTHING. I will be reporting him to the State Bar Association.

Mr. Laird talks a very good talk but once you sign his service agreement it all ends. He does not respond to you. All his secretary says is that he is in trial. He is not knoweledgeable of divorce law at all. He is a trial attorney. He does not give you regular bills. He gives many excuses that... seem viable at the time but if you look into them you will find out that he has lied to you. I urge anyone looking into any family law with him to go a different route. He is cheap for a reason. I moved on to another lawyer and discovered how poor his practice is.