Timothy Brian Rien

In 2011 I was referred to Tim Rien and quickly knew I wanted him to represent me in what would be a 4 ½ year case that just recently settled. Tim and his law office team were so helpful and supportive. From the first phone call interaction with Tim I knew I would be in good hands. After hearing my... situation, he wanted to meet with me immediately and made time in his schedule for that same day. I was going through a great deal of stress and was very emotional but Tim made me feel relaxed and comfortable. He communicated in layman’s terms so that I clearly understood what was going on and what to expect moving forward. He made me feel like he cared about finding justice with my case. He would give me advice and often encouraged me to be strong and hold my head high which meant a lot during a very difficult time. From the first meeting I knew Tim was the best choice to represent me. He thoroughly explained every detail of the legal documents, which can be very daunting and confusing. As my situation continued and there were long waiting periods, Tim would check in with me via phone calls and follow my case directly and completely kept me in the loop about everything. That again reassured me that I was in good hands. There was one day when I needed him immediately on the phone to know how to handle some people that had come to my home. I called the office and spoke with Melissa Adams who assured me in a calming voice that Tim was in court, and as soon as he was out, he would be calling me. She advised me in the meantime, how to handle the current situation until Tim was out of court. I received a call from him less than an hour later. On another occasion when I needed to visit the office immediately, to review something that was in my file. I called the office and spoke with Joseph who told me to come in as soon as possible. I always felt like a priority and not just another client. This gave me such peace of mind during the most difficult time in my life. I want people to know that Tim Rien is one the most upstanding people I have ever met. He is professional, honest, dependable, tough, organized and most importantly experienced. He assured me that this would all be over soon and that he would be with me every step of the way…, which he was. Thank you Tim Rien and your professional law team for everything you have done for me during this 4 ½ year ordeal. I look forward to spreading the word and referring people to you who are in need of a professional and caring legal team that goes above and beyond.

I had a really bad experience with Tim as my attorney. I was accused of a crime and hired him after my arraignment. I chose him because he quoted me at about half the price of any other lawyer I spoke with. A few days later, he explained that this was a "pre-charging" rate (what you would charge a cl...ient who was being investigated but not yet formally charged) and that I actually owed him twice the initial rate he quoted. While I probably could have had him better clarify what he was asking for in the beginning, it seems dishonest and manipulative to give me a pre-charging rate after arraignment, since a pre-charging rate would be irrelevant for what I was hiring him for. Tim also encouraged me also to pay $4,000 to a private investigator he knew to help with my defense. I was skeptical but Tim insisted it was a good idea. In the end, none of the information he collected was used in my defense. Tim didn't appear at a single of my court appearances, but sent other less experienced lawyers in his place (and this was for a serious felony charge). He had me waive my right to appear in court, claiming that judges subconsciously would come to associate my face with criminality if I came to my court dates. Another lawyer suggested that Tim actually probably didn't want to draw my attention to the fact that he didn't personally intend to come to court for me at all. On one occasion, the lawyer he sent arrived two hours late with no communication. On another, his office sent me a notice of my next court date saying I should not come in person and they would represent me as usual. I went out of state for a business trip and emailed the night before to ask if I could get an update after court. Then they told me I actually was supposed to appear in the morning so I could accept the DA's plea bargain (which I already told them I didn't want to accept). I was confused and terrified because it would have been impossible for me to return on time, and because I wondered why no one had remembered or understood I didn't want to take the plea. Tim wrote me a rather diplomatic email apologizing for the office's poor communication. That was literally the last time I ever heard from him during my case. I thanked him for the email but asked again what had gone wrong exactly, and he had Melissa Adams (another lawyer from the firm) write me a email saying that communication error had actually been my fault because I was supposed to contact them again in the meantime (which no one had ever told me). I asked for clarification and she ignored my email. I believe it was basically a good cop/bad cop routine Tim put together to try to hide how disorganized they were. I often had to wait several days to a week to get answers to questions I had. The crime I was accused of was supposedly caught on a surveillance video. The footage would have completely exonerated me, but someone from the prosecution's side destroyed it. Even with this, Tim's firm wasn't able to neogtiate my case effectively, and I did end up taking the plea bargain in the end out of frustration. Now I have a criminal record. I really regret not going with a public defender because I know they could not have done any worse and I wouldn't have spent $14,000. Had I decided to push forward, I definitely would have hired someone else for trial. I frankly felt as at odds with Tim as I did with the police and prosecutor. I felt like they already saw me as a criminal and didn't believe or care about what had actually happened. Even if the outcome had been the same, I wish I had gone with a lawyer who had better communication skills and appeared to actually care about my case. I would not recommend him for these reasons.

I contacted the law office of Timothy B. Rien because my son was in need of some legal counsel. Tim's office was extremely helpful and we were able to get in for a free initial consultation to discuss his case. He informed us of all of our options and advised us along the way on what were the next st...eps and what we could expect along the way. Tim and his associates were extremely professional and helped us through a rough time. We were definitely in good hands and I strongly recommend him. Thank you Tim!