Steve Kardell Jr.

Never thought my employment career would lead to seeking the assistance of an employment attorney. After working for an organization, as part of management for nine years, an incident occurred that I thought I could correct. Not the case. Then, I was terminated. After several sleepless nights and tal...king with several attorneys, I made one more call to Mr. Steve Kardell. Steve’s “seek first to understand” approach ensured me that he grasped the specifics of my circumstances during our first meeting. That night was my first full restful night of sleep. Steve or his assistant would keep me updated via text, phone and/or web conferences during the week and even on the weekends. I was more than satisfied with the final separation agreement Steve had achieved for me, especially since Steve had preserved my salary during the entire negotiations. As a testament to Steve’s commitment to his clients, and after all my employment agreements had been completed, Steve stepped up to assist me again, when my case was picked up by the media. I made the call to Steve and as an automatic reflex, there he was. Steve and his associates made a surreal situation bearable. Thanks again. – DH

I would personally not recommend the services of Steve Kardell after my personal experiences upon retaining him for a time-sensitive matter. In my opinion, Mr. Kardell was difficult to engage on my case and was not responsive to me as a client once he had received his retainer fees in full and once I... challenged him on why I was not receiving any updates despite timeframe concerns shared over the time he represented me. My opinion is discussions with Mr. Kardell included contradictions in his guidance and advice on next steps and timing during the time he represented me, leaving the status and plans for my case unclear to myself. Mr. Kardell had committed to meet or speak at defined times in several instances in which our meeting did not take place, leaving me in my opinion unclear as to the status of my case. Mr. Kardell also indicated several time conflicts to meet, including scheduled meeting times, throughout my representation which made me feel my case was low in priority during a time in which I believe I was clear as to criticality to my legal needs and timelines. When I started expressing my concerns to Mr. Kardell, a series of what appeared to be insulting and passive-aggressive comments and emails were received by Mr. Kardell. Many of the emails received from Mr. Kardell contained in my opinion what appeared to be comments bragging about his legal prowess and perceived abilities. These comments, in my opinion were in a highly elevated and self-impressed manner. Additionally, Mr. Kardell forwarded me at least one email between parties of another case he was working on, which in my opinion may be Confidential between the parties to the Case. This left me with concerns about the confidentiality protections Mr. Kardell would employ for my case files and emails. As a result of the above factors, I escalated my concerns, informed Mr. Kardell of my intent to terminate his Services immediately, emailed him to cease and desist all communication with myself due to the tone of received emails, emailed him to stop any and all communication with the other party in my case and provide all information to named replacement Counsel. After terminating Mr. Kardell and reviewing the work completed on my behalf that was transferred to the replacement Counsel retained, it was in my opinion that work would be starting essentially from the beginning. This further increased my legal fees at a time of extreme hardship for myself and my family. In retrospect and in my opinion, Mr. Kardell's contract appeared very one-sided. In my opinion, the amount of Mr. Kardell's Net retainer fee was excessive given the lack of value he provided to my legal situation. In my opinion, Mr. Kardell did not display the level of empathy, fiduciary responsibility, focus or sense of urgency that provided any level of confidence in his ability to meet the needs or timelines of my case and that I would expect with his stated credentials. Knowing what I know now, I would never had retained Steve Kardell. I have found in my experiences and opinion since terminating Mr. Kardell there are several excellent attorneys in the Dallas area who could have far better serviced my needs, and at a fee more in keeping with the work and time frame required.

Hired Steve Kardell to help me with wrongful termination. Prior to paying my retainer, Mary Kardell would call and would return my calls. Steve contacted me and asked me to contact my former employer and gather information. It was kind of odd that my attorney was asking me to followup on things. ...I thought that was what the retainer was for and that was something your attorney should be doing. Nevertheless I got the information for Steve. Weeks would go by without and contact by Steve. I was the one who had to initiate the contact. After many many months, I contacted either Steve or Mary to check the status of my case. A case Steve lead me to believe was an easy case to pursue. I was told that Steve learned that if we do file against my former employer, they would turn the case over to their insurance. It seems to me that Steve knew that he would have to work. Steve told me that that changed the way he was planning on pursuing the case. He said that, now it would cost me more money! I was fired from my employment due to an on the job injury. I explained to Steve that at this time I was trying to survive on what little money I was receiving from workers comp. He said I needed to decide what I wanted to do. I told Steve that I could not afford paying anymore money. I asked if the retainer could be refunded and he said "No" as I had signed the contract/agreement. I decided to let it go as a hard lease on learned. I did not do my research as I should have. About a month later, I wrote a review on Google, advising others to be carefully and do their research before hiring Steve. Immediately, I was intidated with text messages telling me to take my review down. When I refused Steve began sending text and emails threatening to pursue civil action against me! I am sure Steve and Mary are good people. I always enjoyed the conversation with Mary. My opinion is that Steve might have thought his 33.3% was not worth his time. Do you research and read the reviews and then make your dicision. Most people who need an employment attorney or a whistleblower attorney are in a bad situation. For me, I can't see where the retainer was used up for what little time Steve gave to my potential case!