Tom Steven Hyde

I only read his reviews after hiring Tom and having my own "incident" with him. I wrote this, but didn't send it. I'm sharing it here to inform others: I want to start by acknowledging that I absolutely should have read the full document before sending my original revisions regarding the value of my... Subaru and the sale of my RV. And I would have caught those other issues the first time. I also did not know that you would enter different information/values other than the most current documents I sent you that I was required to fill out. I felt time pressured as the revision was sent right as I should have been leaving for work. I ended up late for work. You are the bankruptcy lawyer, with knowledge of how these proceedings work. This is why I hired you. You were also a referral from a man I trust. You said when I hired you, that you are now my attorney and available for questions. In every communication with me, you say- reach out if I have any questions. As someone who does not know bankruptcy law, I did not know that both the credit card AND the collection agency get listed under Creditors. My email to you after the first revision was inquiring about that fact, and rather than simply explain that, you got EXTREMELY angry. Yelling, dismissive, insulting. . . I also did not understand why a COMPLETED debt that was already settled in 2023, that was part of my 2023 tax return, was included as a current creditor/debt. When I inquired about that, you got angry. I assure you, it was not a “whim” to make changes to my paperwork. I had to placate your ego and calibrate your anger, rather than address the issue at hand. I attempted to calm YOU down, and acknowledge your frustration. I felt like you were not able to hear anything I was saying and continued to yell at me. I don't tolerate bullies. Surely you agree this is not an ideal lawyer/client dynamic. And maybe you don't agree, which is the problem in itself. For most people, being yelled at is a HUGE trigger and sends the central nervous system info “fight or flight” mode. Our bodies experience involuntary physiological changes, heart rate and blood pressure increases , cortisol spikes with the anticipation of conflict, and a heightened stress response. I am no exception. I was SO shaken by your yelling I had to immediately pull over to try and regulate my nervous system so it would be safe for me to drive. THIS is why I was late to work. While I genuinely appreciate all the work you’ve done for me thus far… I did not appreciate you yelling at me and HANGING UP ON ME. This was completely unexpected from someone I have HIRED to be on my side, and fairly and professionally represent me, on my behalf, in a court of law. And it is not workable for either of us, if you have a less than empowered listening of me. Or relate to me as anything other than a client you love (as your listing says) “We Love Our Clients”. If I cannot ask questions or attempt to resolve mistakes on my end, without being yelled at, then we need to come up with another option. I recommended using another lawyer, or refunding my $790, based on our contract. (Tom ended up handling my bankruptcy, and it is complete. Because I kept quiet until now, at my Moms urging)

I hired Tom Hyde to do my bankruptcy in March 2015 and he was awesome, he explained everything in great detail. He was always respectful and answered any questions that I needed answers too. His receptionist Sarah and the other lady were exceptionally helpful and very nice and polite to work with. I ...recommend Tom as he is much cheaper than the other attorneys and gets the job done right!!!!

When I needed a bankruptcy lawyer I looked around. I came to this site. I always find these sites to be where people come to dump on the person but not enough of the satisfied clients. I am coming off the lowest point in my life. Unemployed since 2009. Lost my house. Lost my marriage. Had to file ...a bk. My brother had used Tom for his divorce and Bankruptcy when his home remodeling business went under. Tom helped a great deal. I wasn't an easy client. Tom is firm and has to be. I was all over the place. I took longer than I had hoped. Nit Tom's fault. Tom was easy to talk to. He told me to call not email because I would get quicker responses to my questions. I had no idea what I was doing. After my case was discharged in May, Tom asked me if I would say something nice if I was satisfied. I was. I would say, the work is hard. Bankruptcy is highly emotional. I am still picking up the pieces of my life. Tom and his 2 assistants helped me a great deal.

First of all, this lawyer has been very lax in following through on my case which is yet to be filed because he has not gotten around to doing they job yet. I full filled all my requirements and paid all my fees up front--my case should have been filed 2+ weeks ago, possibly a bit longer give a few d...ays. When I call his staff for updates they all tell me different stories about where the paperwork is as far as the process. I continue to call the court house he is supposed to file this paperwork at and I ask if they have gotten the paperwork which was supposedly filed on the 14th of Feb, 2011 (according to one of his offices). The court house says they haven't gotten said paperwork. Than I spoke directly with him yesterday and he tells me it was mailed out last Saturday and that the court house should have it by now. The court tells me that they do not and that they do not have any lingering un-posted mail and that they post it the same day they get it so that the 90 day waiting period can start for couples seeking dissolution in WA state. Because of a former incident with this laywer I am inclinded to believe the court house staff when weighting out both sides of the story. When I was supposed to be mailed this paperwork originally (the beginging of the process) a smiliar issue occured....so that is twice that the paperwork hasn't arrived where it was supposed to within a reasonable time frame! I find it very hard to believe that this could happen twice with one case. Seems suspect at the very least and the laywers staff blamed the postal service the first time..now they are blaming the court house for the delays and disaapearance of this paperwork. It makes me mad but also worries me-- where is this paperwork at that has all this personal information contained within it? And when I asked him this question his attidude and statement was seriously defensive and arguementitive. He said quote ..."THAT IS NOT MY PROBLEM--IT WAS MAILED AND THAT IS WHAT I AM REQUIRED TO DO-- I DID MY END STOP HARASSING ME" He actually had the gaul to imply that I was harrassing him simply because I had concerns that the paperwork had disappeared and that it was taking a long while for things to get done...longer than reasonable. This stuck me as way more than unprofessional so I started to inquired about his background...and now I have bigger concerns about his ethics!!!!! So I had a representitve (mediary) contact Hyde to follow-up after the unplesant tone. When my representitive did contact Hyde..the lawyer was completely unprofessional insulting and making defensive accusations about being "harassed". This never happened! My representitive simply was asking him to follow-up and do his job or offer me my money back. I should have had a lawyer who was reputable do the job right! I have my regrets about this whole deal... and I did not like his deaming tone about being thankful for his service as I was getting him at a huge discount...what a total crock! I will post about the outcome on here. I have yet to see my divorce be filed as it was agreed per Hyde's written contract. So I started to look into why he cannot do business in King County and found out he was in trouble here ...this is why he works out of different counties but will not act as a laywer in King County. I really wish I would have known all this ahead of time because now I have to wonder if my divorce will ever be filed and be handled right. This laywers inactions are costing me time/stess and delyaing my life. I won't be recommending him to anyone if he can't follow through and I might be contacting the Barr Association to see what recourse I have because of his shoddy behavior and his inability to follow through. I will give him another week to get his rear in gear. I mean really, how hard is it to file a non contested divorce ..if you are a lawyer in this state and there are no issues between the parties seeking a divorce?! Dated 23rd of Feb 2011