Steve Kardell Jr.

Mr. Kardell was one of many attorneys I contacted when I found myself in a precarious situation with a former employer. He was the first to respond, was very prompt, and well educated on employment law. He kept me informed throughout the negotiation process and let me know all the options I had. He h...elped me negotiate a much better solution than I would have been able to navigate on my own. I highly recommend Mr. Kardell for all employment legal matters.

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 hired Steve (&Mary) a year prior to finally quitting my employment, as a highly experienced and well-paid Manager of Safety in OSHA and FMCSA Compliance, with a highly unsafe Oil & Gas Services company. I had a rock solid STAA and OSHA Driver Coercion case with a year of documented evidence, discus...sions, photos and recordings. Steve repeatedly could not remember the facts of the case, didn’t pay attention during numerous recorded & transcribed calls, failed to follow thru timely on the OSHA investigation, which was promptly dismissed. I had to call, email and text repeatedly to remind him of deadline dates and request proofs of filing with ALJ to get court dates and worked steadily at night, weekends, calls with no notice or agenda, all to get to a point where Steve kept trying to convince me to continue pursuing the case well after I’d left the employer for a higher paying job. Steve then failed to protect my private health records and current employment, which were ultimately discussed with my following employer and ultimately, I was terminated from my following employer. At the end of my rock-solid case, I was humiliated and ultimately terminated from my next job due to Steve’s incompetence. I’m out my retainer, a year of sanity, a higher paying job and no recourse. Do not recommend hiring Steve!

I do not recommend this lawyer. I hired him because I believed I was experiencing systematic racial and medical discrimination case. The point of hiring a lawyer was not to keep the job but to fight discrimination. During the process, he said “I did.” After hiring the lawyer and continual harassme...nt from my bosses. Three months later, I asked him to come to a meeting with my managers, he just called them. Later that day he demanded his payment and said, “be glad you have a job!” Never talked to him again.

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.