Thomas L. Dickson

If you see this review and still hire Dickson you can't say you weren't warned. Attorney Thomas Dickson is a scoundrel. He will talk a good talk and gladly take your money. In return he delivers nothing. His firms double billing policy will cost you double what you are expecting to pay. He hires inex...perienced new attorneys and uses them to do case management. Then, because these junior attorneys have little or no experience they have to consult with Dickson about every little aspect of your case. So instead of paying a reasonable fee of $275 - $325 an hour you end up paying for two attorneys equaling $600 - $650 an hour. I fired Dickson and hired a single attorney and it cost me way less and I actually got work product and positive results for a 3rd of what I paid to Dickson for similar work that had to be redone because of Dickson's junior mistakes and mishandling of my case.

Thomas Dickson performance as attorney is dubious at best and his billing practices downright dishonest at worst. When asked how much time and cost to take on my case Thomas quoted no more than $3000 dollars for discovery and filing the petition. I provided Thomas with all the documentation and answe...rs he needed pertaining to the case. Soon afterward Thomas emailed me stating the petition was complete and he was ready to file. My wife and I reviewed the petition and the invoice he sent. I expected charges for work actually done however based on the invoice we received I couldn't see much in the way of any meaningful work. In fact, there was charges for the information I provided him. I immediately got upset and expressed it to him via email. Here is an excerpt of my suspicion of Thomas's billing practices. "Thomas, I have received your invoice and I'm appalled by the charges. I distinctly told you I wanted to be notified prior to any further actions of what cost would be. I am extremely disappointed with what you have achieved thus far. Nearly $5000.00 in charges and all I have is a draft and a couple of phone conversations. Why am I paying for counsel between you and another attorney when I hired you to represent us?' When I questioned the ridiculousness of some of the charges to my surprise he deducted monies off the bill only to trump other charges to add to the next invoice. My wife and I met with Thomas for the first time so we could work out the disagreements and to find out how much more to get the petition filed and expectations after the filing. During that meeting I questioned why we had never met face to face before and Thomas stated that he does not meet most of his clients because everything now days is done through email transactions,phone or other media. My wife and I agreed to pay half of the remainder of the invoice and the petition would be filed. To date nothing has been done. Thomas sent another invoice with work done to the petition that two months earlier he claimed was ready to be file. I sent an email to discuss these charges but have not heard from him nor his office. I will be contacting the Bar Association about his conduct and his unfair practices.

Thomas L. Dickson and the Dickson Law Group appear to routinely employ dishonest business practices: 1. Separate clients from their money as quickly as possible. 2. Bill clients multiple times for services not agreed to and not performed. 3. Perform no actual services (reduces expenses and overh...ead). 4. Fabricate stories as needed, like chameleons. 5. Communicate only when it’s time to collect more money. 6. When clients get wise, tell them to get new legal counsel or better yet, deny that you even represent them. Thomas L. Dickson and Dickson Law Group were retained in November 2012 to represent us and our corporate entities. Thomas L. Dickson was to handle the case and Bryan D. Johnson, an associate, was to perform routine functions. Discussions were had at the outset regarding strategy. It was agreed among the parties that the following were to occur immediately: 1. File a Motion for Dismissal of irrelevant parties. 2. File a Motion for Summary Judgment based on an illegal administrative process. 3. File a Motion to Compel Responses to Discovery that were months overdue. 4. Submit our reply to opposing side’s Settlement Offer. Despite numerous written requests for updates and to schedule phone discussions, as late as March 26, 2013, we had no reply from Dickson Law Group regarding the above. They had taken no action regarding the agreed upon strategy and their only communication involved sending regular billing for services we did not agree to and did not appear to have been performed. On March 26, 2013, we again emailed Dickson Law Group with yet another request for an update and explanation of billings. They responded three days later to inform us the opposing side had filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. This Motion had been filed almost a week earlier but Dickson Law Group failed to notify us until we emailed them. They provided no explanation for what appeared to be billings for services not agreed upon and not actually rendered. Dickson Law Group spent several months attempting to withdraw from the case, filing two separate Motions to Withdraw, each with a Motion for Reconsideration after the Court’s rulings. During this period Dickson Law Group failed to perform duties and represent clients. Additionally, Dickson Law Group entered into a separate attorney/client relationship with a fourth defendant without consulting or notifying us of their action. We have reason to believe Dickson Law Group disseminated confidential attorney/client privileged information to opposing counsel. We questioned Dickson Law Group in writing regarding this issue, but they failed to respond. Dickson Law Group actions caused them, Thomas L. Dickson and us to be sanctioned by the court. Dickson Law Group filed an appeal on their behalf, but failed to appeal the ruling on behalf of clients. We have filed a complaint regarding these matters with the Washington State Bar Association against Thomas L. Dickson, Bryan D. Johnson and the Dickson Law Group. Violations include, but are not limited to: 1. Refusal to communicate with clients. 2. Failure to represent clients. 3. Entering into a separate attorney/client relationship with a jointly represented client. 4. Breach of confidentiality. 5. Representing self-interests ahead of clients’ interests. 6. Representing opposing parties’. 7. Failure to act as agreed. 8. Billing clients for services not agreed to and not rendered. 9. Double and triple billing of services. These violations are serious and have caused substantial damage to our entities and us personally. We believe Dickson Law Group, Thomas L. Dickson and Bryan D. Johnson are scoundrels and caution all to Stay Away from this plague. Bryan D. Johnson is presently with the firm Church Rietzke P.L.L.C. in Olympia, Washington.

Thomas L. Dickson and Brian Johnson of the Dickson Law Group were retained in November 2012 to represent me regarding my lawsuit against the Town of Skykomish for violation of Washington State’s Open Public Meetings Act. The Town had already received a serious written rebuke from the Washington St...ate Attorney General’s office and had offered to settle the suit. Attorneys’ Thomas L. Dickson and Brian Johnson were retained to pursue a negotiated settlement. Despite being paid thousands of dollars, neither Thomas L. Dickson nor Brian Johnson did anything and I recently received a copy of the ‘Clerk’s Order of Dismissal’ from the King County Superior Court as a result of this case being abandoned. Even though I have a signed Retainer Agreement and physical evidence from the Dickson Law Group showing they accepted the case, this law firm now states they don’t and never have represented me in this matter.

Tom was over an hour late to our first and only meeting. I gave him a $2500 retainer. He said that if things went as planned he would only use about $1500. He promised to file papers that day. A week later nothing had been done, and he would not return my calls. I was forced to hire another lawyer to... help me.(The second lawyer was amazing...the paperwork was properly filed the day I hired him as promised) At the end of the first billing cycle Tom had used all the $2500 without doing a thing. I called and talked to Tom. He talked but no awnser to where the money went. Then he put his partner on the phone same thing. The next billing cycle I was charged $1500 for that phone call "they showed me I was very nice on the phone call not disrespectfull at all" They also charged me another $300 to $400 to deliver one document to the courthouse pre pared by the 2nd lawyer. . I paid them over $4000 for them to deliver one document drafted by another lawyer. I then emailed them telling them I was scared to call again, They gave me a $150 credit .If you really need help I would definitly look elswhere. This is a true story. Scary Hu?