Tully Rinckey PLLC

⭐ 1 STAR — MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS, BEWARE OF TULLY RINCKEY PLLC! If there is one review I want every service member and veteran to read before hiring Tully Rinckey PLLC, it is this one. My experience with this firm, particularly attorneys Anthony Kuhn and Stephen Jewell, has been absolutely unacceptable. I agreed to a $5,000 retainer, expecting competent representation, professionalism, attention to detail, and accountability. Instead, the firm later wanted additional money for what I considered minimal work. Charges included approximately $535 for 20 minutes of reported work, along with other fees that left me questioning what I was actually paying for. Anthony Kuhn was extremely rude and dismissive during my interactions with him. As a paying client, I expected respect, communication, and professionalism—not to feel as though my concerns were an inconvenience. Stephen Jewell raised even more serious concerns about the accuracy of my legal documents. Documents prepared in connection with my case referenced COMBAT TOURS I NEVER SERVED ON! This left me questioning whether my paperwork was carefully reviewed or simply copied and pasted without verifying my military history. How can a law firm that represents military personnel get something so fundamental wrong? Our military service is not something to fabricate, assume, or carelessly misrepresent. After all of this, my attempts to obtain meaningful answers and accountability went unanswered, and the firm sent me a $70 check. SEVENTY DOLLARS! After a $5,000 retainer, billing concerns, inaccurate information in my documents, and disappointing communication, a $70 check does absolutely nothing to address my experience. What makes this even more troubling is that Tully Rinckey PLLC promotes legal services to military members and veterans. We entrust attorneys with our careers, reputations, benefits, and futures. That responsibility should be taken seriously. TO MY FELLOW SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS: Research this firm thoroughly. Question every charge. Review every legal document. Get everything in writing. Do not assume that paying thousands of dollars guarantees quality representation. I am pursuing available avenues to challenge the billing and handling of my case. If you’ve never had a reason to question whether you can trust a law firm, my experience with Tully Rinckey PLLC should encourage you to ask questions before signing anything. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS FIRM BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE. ⭐ ONE STAR — AND THAT FEELS GENEROUS.

“Taking on an employment law case against a federal agency is an uphill battle under the best of circumstances. Navigating that process amid unprecedented changes to the federal government made it even more daunting. At nearly every turn, I was told to give up, that the odds were against me, and that a favorable resolution was unlikely. But I never lost confidence in my legal team. Allen Shoikhetbrod, Esq., and Tia L. Williams, Esq., of Tully Rinckey were exceptional advocates throughout this process. Their legal expertise, strategic judgment, persistence, and ability to navigate an ever-changing federal landscape gave me the confidence to keep fighting when walking away would have been easier. They understood not only the complexities of my EEOC case but also what was at stake for me personally and professionally. They were steadfast in their advocacy, realistic in their counsel, and unwavering in their commitment to pursuing the best possible outcome. Ultimately, we secured a settlement that others had told me would never happen. I cannot recommend Allen, Tia, and Tully Rinckey highly enough to anyone facing the difficult and often exhausting process of an employment law case, particularly within the federal system. Having the right attorneys doesn't just change the legal strategy. It changes your ability to stay in the fight.”

We retained Sean Timmons and Camille Tealer of Tully Rinckey to represent us in a USERRA discrimination lawsuit against a private employer. No other law firm would take us on, but Sean and Camille agreed to be our attorneys knowing that we would have a long, difficult fight ahead of us. As our lead attorney, Sean was always very honest and transparent -- never giving us false hope or promises, and always providing us with a direct, matter-of-fact assessment of where we stood. Ultimately, Camille and Sean managed to get us into mediation with the employer, resulting in a six-figure settlement that made us financially whole and validated our decision to pursue legal action. I'd recommend Sean and Camille to anyone.

Very detailed on the process of your legal matter. You know what to expect. Very professional. And you have a whole team working with you

Lauren Sheeley was incredible with a recent real estate transaction. She was responsive to all questions, and had me fully prepared for closing. I would (and have previously) recommend her as a closing attorney for any real estate transaction you have in NYS.

Four attorneys. Four Tully Rinckey offices. One retainer. No usable demand letter. We retained Tully Rinckey for a serious landlord-tenant matter involving breach of contract, fraud, discrimination, safety and accessibility concerns, and retaliation under New York Real Property Law § 223-b. My 88-year-old mother and I had already spent approximately a year and a half dealing with dangerous conditions and an increasingly destabilizing situation in our 55+ senior community. We hired this firm because we needed capable, zealous advocacy. Instead, our matter involved attorneys connected with the Latham, New York City, Rochester, and Syracuse offices, and every stage of the experience was deeply disappointing. During the initial consultation, Richard Brister was highly persuasive. He assured us that our retainer would cover a robust, comprehensive demand letter containing “everything you want in there,” along with negotiations. He even discussed specific enforcement provisions that could be used to hold management accountable. We relied on those representations when we hired the firm. The actual work product bore no resemblance to what had been promised. The draft demand letter was addressed to a former employee, contained factual inaccuracies, mishandled the timeline and corporate ownership information, omitted critical claims, and failed to meaningfully address the retaliatory non-renewals, substantial rent increase, blocked ADA access, egress and safety concerns, misleading “100% maintenance-free” representations, damages, and the serious impact on our household. Despite billing extensively to review our documentation, the firm produced a letter that read more like a weak customer-service request than a serious legal demand. Carol Crossett’s handling of the matter was particularly troubling. She dismissed reasonable requests, incorrectly characterized a request for property-management reassignment as tortious interference, minimized our concerns by stating, “this is not a nursing home,” and offered legal analysis regarding common areas and sidewalk maintenance that was completely disconnected from the reality of our living situation. Ashleigh Rousseau billed extensively for reviewing our materials, researching ownership, and drafting and revising the letter. Yet the finished product failed to reflect information that had been directly provided and specifically billed for review. When we raised the obvious errors and deficiencies, the firm did not simply correct them. We were effectively expected to spend more of our retainer fixing mistakes that should never have occurred. Partner Derrick T. Hogan, a member of the firm’s Client Assurance Committee, then contacted us regarding our concerns. Rather than meaningfully investigating what had gone wrong, he repeatedly emphasized that he was a Partner while minimizing the substance of the issues we raised. The conversation felt focused on defending the firm’s work product and billing rather than addressing the factual errors, omissions, weak legal posture, and failure to properly handle a serious matter. The options presented were essentially to continue paying for revisions or close the matter and receive only the unused portion of the retainer. We chose not to continue paying a firm to correct its own defective work. Tully Rinckey consumed nearly three-quarters of our retainer and left us with an inaccurate, incomplete, and unusable draft. This was not one attorney making one mistake. It was a breakdown involving four attorneys across four offices, followed by a complete lack of accountability when the problems were brought to the firm’s attention. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Tully Rinckey to anyone seeking capable, considerate, and zealous legal representation. We hired this firm for advocacy and protection. What we received was defective work, depleted funds, and additional distress

Honestly have no idea how they have a 4.8 rating but this law firm is horrible. . . they charged me 250$ and told me I’d have 1 hour with the attorney. The call only lasted 30 min and the entire call was basically him telling me what they would do if they represented me not what I should do. On top of that he told me it would be 10k for an “allowance” that they would use but that’s just the start. If it went longer it could go well above that. I’ve spoken to other attorneys who quoted me a flat rate of 7,500. I think 10k is ridiculous and I’m very unhappy with the service I received and would advise you to talk with other law firms.

I was not impressed with this firm overall. There were multiple instances where the billing was messed up; for example, they would send me a bill, then send me another more expensive bill when no further work had been done. Multiple times they sent me a bill for $0 (the client cannot edit the amount) then sent reminder emails daily to pay my outstanding bill, when they didn’t send an accurate link. This gave me the impression they were disorganized. When I called to inquire about these instances, the “billing person” never knew what was going on. Another time they wrote up a response to some questions that was embarrassing to read: full of inaccurate dates and grammar mistakes to the point where the passage was incomprehensible. After pointing out the mistakes, they “edited” it and there were still inaccurate dates. Obviously whoever wrote it couldn’t be bothered to re-read what they wrote before sending to me, the client who paid a lot of money for what became sub-par service. If you can find another firm to take your case, I would. **UPDATE: The firm did reach out to me to attempt to identify and fix certain issues, which I appreciate.

I was getting a consultation and the lawyer didn’t even read the documents ahead of the consultation.

Sean and Michelle at Tully Rinckey were very helpful, attentive, and professional. They kept me updated all throughout my case and ultimately helped me get the result I wanted and needed. Their knowledge of applicable law was tremendously effective in their argument, and they supported my requests 100% along the way. I highly recommend their services for anyone needing legal representation. I find it refreshing that they didn’t require 33.3% of my settlement, just billable hours for work performed. I’ll be sure to reach out to Sean and Michelle if I ever need similar legal services in the future.