Ryan F. Fetters

First of all. I am the father of two young children. Ryan represented our family, in a child custody case that was quite complex, expensive, and emotionally exhausting. It involved multiple states, jurisdictional conflict, and numerous false egregious allegations by the other party. To compli...cate the issue, the other party employed two very dirty attorneys, who were willing to outright lie not only in their filings, but also directly to the judge in court. Ultimately, we ended up with the equivalent of full legal custody, and split physical custody of our two amazing babies. (One of whom has special needs) As you may or may not know, this is exceptionally difficult to do, in the father's case. Long story short, I would hire Ryan again in a heartbeat, and fully recommend him to anyone wanting to combat lies and deceit. He is a good man, who has been nothing but fair and straight in his dealings with us. Truth, honesty, and a vested interest in his client's wellbeing, are a recipe for success. - Thankful Father

Throughout my case, Ryan proved to be my first impression of him: attentive, smart, and reliable. He was always accessible, and he invested time in listening to my concerns and complaints, prompting me for details as he needed them for the case. Because he took the time to learn not only my name ...but also my family's history and situation, I consistently left his office feeling like I had a knowledgable advocate and that my case was as secure as it could be. While he was generous with his time, he was careful with his billing. He even strategically held off on some of the "busy work" of my case so that if that work turned out to be unnecessary (as it sometimes did) then I wouldn't be charged. He's reliably ethical in his dealings. And he delivered: we settled in mediation, where I really saw his preparation and expertise at work. He negotiated the details of my parenting plan and marital dissolution with confidence and savvy, and I walked away with an even better conclusion than I'd hoped for. While I'm thankful not to have gone to court, I'm quit sure he would have been a formidable presence in a court room, and as successful there as he proved in mediation. Of course common wisdom advises against using your attorney like a counselor. But Ryan knows how the system works and he knows how the people in it work, so his intuition and experience lent me confidence and calm during a particularly stressful time. I've already recommended him to a friend, and because I remember that finding an attorney to trust with your family's well being can be a daunting task, I thought I'd leave a few words of appreciation here, too.

My wife had a very messy separation from her ex husband. The first lawyer she used charged her almost $6000 for an uncontested divorce and didn't even get the divorce decree submitted to be finalized when he said he would. Suffice it to say that we had a very poor impression of lawyers after that. ... We were very lucky to find Ryan when my wife's ex took her to court trying to stop her from homeschooling their daughter. Ryan was very upfront about the fact that family law was not his area of expertise but that he would do what was necessary to become well informed - especially regarding the highly specific nature of home schooling law in the state of Tennessee. He did that and more. Ryan went out of his way to work with home school defense groups and other lawyers specializing in home schooling to be able to present the most iron-clad case that he could. He wrote up a comprehensive brief for the judge before the court date. Not only did he hit every relevant statute but he also found two previous cases that set the standard for the situation my wife was in. The opposing counsel based her arguments on ad hominem attacks and baseless accusations. In court Ryan comported himself very well, and did an excellent job of undercutting the opposing counsel. He also did an excellent job of questioning my wife's ex when he was on the stand. He knew how to get what he needed with just slight prompting instead of forcing the issue or browbeating. Suffice it to say that my wife was able to continuing homeschooling her daughter - and it turned out even better than we expected without any mandate for testing her child. Ryan also always makes it a point to make it clear what he feels is necessary and what he feels can actually be achieved. He warned us many times about the very high cost of pursuing the path we were heading down - letting us know that both the court time and the time researching and writing the brief for the court would add up. Such conscientiousness on his part speaks to his integrity. Through the whole issue Ryan's primary focus was also on the best interests of my wife's child. It's easy to get caught up in the specifics of a case or what the other side is demanding or just trying to hurt the other side, but Ryan also kept perspective which has helped a lot. Ryan also makes time to meet before court as much as is necessary to make sure that our concerns are properly represented. I've never felt rush or unheard. Just like finding an honest mechanic I've come to learn that finding a lawyer with integrity is very important - Ryan has never disappointed in what he's done for us and where his legal knowledge might be lacking he has absolutely no problem in putting in the effort to research and learn.