Steven Cripps

I retained Attorney Cripps for a contested Paternity action. Without qualification, Steve is trustworthy. You would undoubtedly be impressed if I were at liberty to publish the details behind that remark. I knew that Mr. Cripps was very highly regarded by other lawyers when I hired him. At a hear...ing, it also became very clear that he was well liked and respected by the Judge. During his tenure as my counsel, he never once failed to return a phone call and support staffer Charlene is kind, professional, and accessible. Since he worked on an affordable flat fee, only the other side could run out of money if they decided to litigate silly issues, a huge advantage from a strategic standpoint, and a great segue to my next point: Attorney Cripps is not for everybody. He is VERY pragmatic. He identifies the relevant issues and is not inclined to spend time on matters not worthwhile to take before a Judge. Within his practice area, it appears he possesses the knowledge to make accurate determinations of what is and is not relevant-- and fight accordingly. Being that pragmatic means that he didn't explain each rule, statute, case law or nuance to me; he wasn't inclined to comfort me and devote large amounts of time to how I FEEL. Family law cases are extremely emotionally distressing to any parent. If you need a therapist, then hire one, but do not expect that this attorney will wear that hat too. There are plenty of lawyers happy to bill you $400/hour to do that, but that doesn't make it wise! While I could probably score those lawyers higher on "kept me informed", only the results actually matter in the end. When it counted, Attorney Cripps did not fail me. All I heard about was how the other party's counsel was this world class "bulldog" who would destroy us in Court. It was clear the other side devoted all kinds of billable hours to some very serious pleadings. Steve showed up with just what he needed, and nothing he didn't, and won in a landslide. It was fun to watch the other attorney become visibly angry and unravel a bit in Court. The other party didn't attend and didn't get to see the results of their supposedly infallible lawyer in action. At one point, I was charged with a crime and was unable to contact Mr. Cripps. A materially false story was reported by a media outlet that, coincidentally, employs a family member of the adverse party; the coverage was included in a DV Injunction Petition against me. Unable to contact Steve, I was paraded into the hearing in shackles and inmate scrubs. Attorney Cripps knew about it and showed up to protect me, though I never actually retained him for that case. I was sure his strategy was wrong at the time and was outraged! Classic Cripps, from my experience: He didn't explain why or give me a legal education or counseling session, but he was RIGHT. Once in 18 months, Steve didn't show up for an event and cancelled last minute. He said he had to attend another hearing. Maybe it was some other guy in shackles that day-- who knows? Having to reschedule something once in 18 months because my lawyer didn't show is reasonable, IMO. Some reviews make it sound like the he never shows up or is usually unprepared. That wasn't my experience, though he is clearly busy. It's possible his caseload is slightly too large or he could add a junior partner to provide a bit of "relief"-- pun intended. He did what I hired him for; job well done. My own decisions put him in a horrible position, but he didn't let me get railroaded in spite of myself. If you want to spend ten grand in attorney's fees litigating over a $100 lawnmower, hire someone else. There's no shortage of lawyers who will exploit your disdain for your ex and line their pockets. If you seek PRACTICAL, adequate, and affordable family law representation, I'd recommend Steve Cripps.