Russell Stephen Pietryga

Very unprofessional lawyer, didn’t contact me once to discuss my case prior to court date trial. When I contacted him he was short with me and gave me a copy and paste answer spelled incorrectly. He didn’t show up for my pre trial and when I texted him if he was going to be there he didn’t reply. ... After the trial was over I texted him very upset thanking him for showing up and he replied with a snide “ your welcome” This attorney is most unprofessional and uncaring human. He is incapable of doing his job and representing clients.

Russell Pietryga was the best choice I've made when I got convicted for a DUI. All of the evidence was against me on this case and I didn't even know if it was worth spending money hiring an attorney for such a blatant mistake I've made. I felt like I completely destroyed my future plans and was incr...edibly depressed and felt bad for even trying to defend myself. When I first met him, I gave him the details and he didn't try to sugar coat or BS me about the situation and I never felt judgment from him. He gave me a few ideas on what we could do and got to work right away. Long story short, I was able to get my DUI dropped to an impaired, kept my license and drastically reduced the headaches I've could've had with a DUI charge. I guarantee that I'll never let this mistake happen again and feel extremely fortunate that I was able to keep my record fairly clean, but if any of my good friends or family members get in this type of position in the future, he's the only one I would recommend.

My case was pretty set and maybe because of that Russ pretty much did not pay attention too. To the point of not showing up the first court date, but told me that the date was solved by a affidavit. I was notified by my bails bond of the issue for him to later tel me that his car broke down that day ...and he could not show up.

I unfortunately was charged criminally with Domestic Violence - Electronics Communication Harassment by my roommates while I was out of state and for the completely absurd reason I may or may not have burned a tea kettle, even after calmly attempting to rectify the situation, it exploded into a long... drawn out argument which I stopped taking seriously and started responding to with humor/meme's after all my attempts at rectifying the situation were met with more anger and vitriol. I didn't expect criminal charges or a Protective Order to follow when I returned back to Utah, but they did and had proven some of my concerns regarding my roommates trustworthiness and desire for me to move out, especially my fear the would attempt a forced eviction which the Protective Order essentially was. Now I am not a violent person and never was violent in any of my communications, I honestly had tried my best to handle the situation offering to replace the tea kettle, which looking back I doubt I was responsible for as I was at work all day, and then the validity of the charges as I was out of state during the alleged "DV-ECH". Because of the severity of the crimes I was charged with and the long term effects they would have on my life personally and professionally I decided to search for legal defense, and found Pietryga Law after a few days of searching. From experience I have learned that you can measure the competence and capability of a professional based on how well they treat you before you have even hired them, and based off my experience before choosing and signing any paperwork, Mr. Pietryga and Pietryga Law's Attorney Mark Brown were completely open and honest and took the time to explain to me everything I could expect and need to know, proving in my mind they were the professionals I was looking for to handle my case; and the same can be said for the civil attorney they recommended to me Justin Ashworth who proved himself the same. My Protective Order hearing came first and Mr. Ashworth came down on a 4 hour drive, where he managed to have the Order Dismissed with Prejudice in my favor; and afterwards the D.A. notified Russell they were dropping the charges. Unfortunately they only did this to refile them 1 day before a scheduled court hearing, at which point Mr. Pietryga had an awesome local attorney show up to help me enter a Plea of Not Guilty, and owing to the distance having moved to Salt Lake City for the previous 5+ months the Judge waived my requirement to show up until the Jury Trial. Upon the day of the Trial Mr. Pietryga had shown up early for deliberations, and throughout the entire process made sure I was kept aware of the situation and defended me against the D.A. as perfectly and professionally, and aggressively as I could imagine. After a long trial, and after having stood testimony myself, the jury broke for deliberations and returned a Unanimous Verdict of Not Guilty of all charges. This whole situation taught me to trust my gut instincts, and be more careful in who I choose to invite into my life; there are some incredibly foul and loathsome individuals, particularly who care nothing for others and only seek personal gain, without regards to the toll it might have on others. Mr. Pietryga understood this and I believe, believed in my total innocence, and I couldn't recommend a better Criminal Defense Attorney in the State of Utah, he was the perfect professional for the job and made sure all my rights were restored in full, against such a foreign legal process. I'm glad to have been a witness to the trial and how the law works, but if you are charged with a crime, I can't stress enough the value of a good lawyer and as far as I can tell, Mr. Pietryga and his firm, and legal network are as professional and hard working as you could ever hope for. In my opinion he is the absolute best, and I have no regrets in hiring him, nor would I be in recommending him in the future.

For contacting Russ the day before I had my first hearing in court for my dui he was amazing, he contacted the prosecutor and court and obtained an extension (mind you this is 4pm the day before court, so way short notice) and continued to keep me updated and appear at my preliminary hearings. I live... in Moab so for him to come down on a four hour drive to go to court with me was very reassuring. Even the judge commended him for showing up to the court, apparently a lot of lawyers from salt lake city don't show up, Russ did and he performed, as I was buttoning up my dress shirt to go to court I received a call and he told me all my charges were dismissed, such a relief off my shoulders, if any of my friends or family, myself included, get in any legal trouble I can guarantee I will be going to Russ or they will!