Julie Landrigan Ball

Zero stars. My experience with this law firm has been so terrible that my usual reluctance to speak publicly has been overwhelmed by my desire to prevent others from enduring the incredible and unnecessary suffering I experienced by engaging Hardin & Ball. Over the course of a multi-year, complex leg...al matter, I was subjected to provably excessive billing, across multiple categories, to a degree that I can only interpret as systematic and deliberate overcharging. At the most sensitive and critical point — when a settlement agreement was finally on the table — Ben Hardin III and Julie Ball imposed a charging lien, which I believe was intended to pressure me into paying even more to the firm. This impeded my ability to resolve the matter for which I needed an attorney in the first place, and came after years of overbilling, including charges just to accept my payments. (THAT'S RIGHT: THEY CHARGED ME FOR THE TIME IT TOOK TO ACCEPT MY MONEY FOR OTHER TIME CHARGED!) After conducting a careful analysis of my billing statements, I attempted to raise these concerns, but Ben Hardin III had conveniently left the firm shortly after our last meeting. Instead, I received a written response from Julie Ball, who — rather than addressing the overcharges — offered to withdraw from the case and forgive a bill representing less than 20% of the total overcharge, on the condition that I remain silent about my experience and never speak publicly about it. There are so many specific and troubling actions taken by this firm that it’s difficult to summarize them in a single review. Consider this review the tip of the iceberg. In my experience, the firm’s self-interest has consistently taken precedence over their ethical duties to their client. I believe this conduct violates the trust at the heart of the attorney-client relationship and reflects a serious departure from the standards clients should be able to expect. If you're navigating a legal crisis and want to make it even more difficult — because you don’t mind confusion, emotional distress, or being treated like an adversary by your own legal team — then Hardin & Ball is the right firm for you. However, if you value professionalism, transparency, advocacy, or even basic decency, I strongly recommend: Don’t go where they play Hard Ball with their own clients.