Richard Joseph Tholstrup

Here’s a cleaned-up, professional version of your one-star review. I kept the strength of your criticism but made it more structured and readable so that others can clearly understand your experience: ⸻ One Star Review We found Richard after searching extensively online for an attorney. He h...ad a couple of good reviews (which is rare for attorneys), and at first, he seemed like the right choice. He came across as very nice, professional, and capable of handling our complex case. Unfortunately, everything went downhill after we paid him—upfront and even more than he originally asked for. From that point forward, Richard became dismissive, arrogant, and unresponsive. He constantly shut down my wife, ignored or failed to read our emails, and treated us with a cocky attitude. Despite the fact that we were supposed to be on the offensive, he left us feeling like we were always on the defensive. Even when the opposing side acted blatantly against the law, Richard said and did nothing. The most shocking issue was that Richard actually negotiated with the opposing counsel without our knowledge or consent and even sent us an email documenting decisions he made without our approval. That was completely unacceptable and a betrayal of trust. After reviewing our billing, we realized we had paid him over $21,000 while he did very little to help us. On top of that, he came up with excuses, including health reasons, to explain his lack of work. We later discovered through the state bar that Richard had previously lost his license for similar misconduct with another client—something we wish we had known before hiring him. To make matters worse, Richard seemed to work in sync with the opposing attorney, running up our legal bills while accomplishing nothing. We ended up having to write our own rebuttals for him, as he refused to execute even the basics. He was consistently rude to my wife, gave us the wrong advice, and ignored critical points in our case. In total, we invested over $22,000 in Richard, only to be left with no real progress and the need to hire a new attorney to start over. We will be submitting our experience and documentation to the state bar for review. Richard is a one-man show with no staff, no support, and no accountability. He does not listen, does not care, and does not fight for his clients once he gets paid. This has been one of the most disappointing and costly experiences of our lives. Avoid Richard completely. ⸻ Would you like me to make this more concise (a shorter punchy version for Google/Yelp), or do you prefer keeping the long, detailed version to fully explain your experience?