Ryan Kenneth Hodges

Mr. Hodges was professionally irresponsible in handling the Estate. Mr. Hodges did little to fight for the Estate. The settlement outcome did not come close to meeting my expectations, mainly because of how Mr. Hodges dealt with matters of the Estate. Mr. Hodges misrepresented and overstated his c...apabilities and experience during my initial attorney interviews. I was looking for an attorney who was equipped and experienced to handle a contentious estate involving stolen assets that may include litigation. Mr. Hodges initially said that he was experienced in litigation and contentious estates. I explicitly asked when I interviewed Mr. Hodges if he is capable of handling this Estate. He responded affirmatively and stated that it appeared as if we had a strong case. After the opposing party changed counsel and it became clear that we were headed to litigation, Mr. Hodges changed his tune. He was not capable and prepared, as he stated himself in February 2020: "I do not feel that we have adequate resources to represent the Estate in the litigation matter. Our head probate litigator retired recently... "...As much as I would like you to spend a lot of money with our firm to go after this, I would recommend that you hire another firm for this portion of the estate administration." Mr. Hodges was never capable or experienced in handling this Estate. When Mr. Hodges told me during the initial interview that he is capable, he wasn't referring to his abilities but his now-retired colleague. Mr. Hodges willingly withheld this critical detail from the beginning. To this day, I do not know how, in good conscience, Mr. Hodges could even take this case in good faith. As soon as action was required, Mr. Hodges relented, and in doing so, hurt the Estate's claim and position. At this point, it was too late for me to hire another firm without opening myself to personal legal challenges from the opposing party/firm for not properly acting as a responsible PR/fiduciary to the Estate. Mr. Hodges backed us into a corner financially and damaged our negotiation power. While I don't need to get into the details here, we had ample evidence of stolen assets involving the opposing party. Mr. Hodges squandered opportunities. Unfortunately, this was not the only issue. Mr. Hodges was incredibly sloppy. All of his draft filings were riddled with errors (incorrect grammar, misspellings, improper syntax). I spent many hours editing his drafts and sending them back. Mr. Hodges improperly deposed the other side. Mr. Hodges did not administer the oath at the beginning of what was supposed to be a proper deposition of the opposing party. Mr. Hodges stated to the opposing party, 'I'm sure you will tell the truth, therefore I don't think we need to administer the oath.' The opposing party repeatedly lied during this 'deposition,' and we could do nothing about it. Mr. Hodges recorded the session. Mr. Hodges errors in his filings continued, and that cost the Estate more money. When I challenged him on some of these errors, he offered to 'half' his hourly rate when the billing came due. And when it came to billing, there were errors and overcharges on that front too. I regret choosing JacksonWhite and Mr. Hodges. Working with Mr. Hodges was frustrating and problematic. My family bears additional emotional scars as a result.