Hains Law, LLC

I've hesitated to leave a bad review for some time because of how awful my experience was. I would look the other way, if I were you. I wish I had fired him. He's unresponsive and does not do anything to actually support his clients when they need it most. I hired Josh in February of 2023 to assist in filing my divorce. I was assured that it would be a fairly straightforward divorce and that I would likely have some retainer left by the end. Divorce finally came in August of 2023, and only after MONTHS of calls and emails going unanswered by Josh. My discovery documents, which were completed within a week, were not sent to my ex's lawyer in a timely manner. He spent months telling me he hadn't received my ex's documents and that he would bug his lawyer again. Low and behold, it had been sitting in his Spam folder the entire time. This entire process ended up with my ex developing extreme animosity towards me as he thought I was lying or dragging my feet. He ultimately locked me out of the marital home, in which Josh did nothing to help me regain access. My Ex was also allowed to gain new assets AND hide them (along with other old assets) during the discovery/appraisal process. When confronted about where the asset(s) were, nothing was done about it... Again ... Weeks went by with no contact from Josh, yet he called me within minutes of receiving an email from him insinuating that I was ready to fire him. He assured me he would get things done, and so I decided to stick with it. I was presented with his bill during mediation with no itemized invoice to review. I paid it just so I could get rid of him even though I'm sure I was swindled. Part of me thinks he prioritizes his male clients or that he is biased towards females as he clearly was on my Ex's side through the entire process. I should've trusted my gut and followed through with the other lawyer I had consulted with, but stupid me... I didn't... Don't make the same mistake I did.

On January 10, 2025, I retained attorney Joshua Haines to represent me in filing for divorce and paid a $2,500 retainer fee through his online portal. A consultation was scheduled and held on Monday, January 13, during which Mr. Haines explained the divorce process and assured you that he would prepare and submit the necessary paperwork by Thursday, January 16. This timing was important because: I was told that January 16 would serve as a cutoff date for my financial transactions, which was significant in managing my personal investments. Despite this commitment, Mr. Haines failed to file the paperwork on time. On Tuesday, January 21, you were notified that your wife had already filed for divorce, thereby taking the legal initiative that I had planned to secure. Because of the delay: I missed your opportunity to be the first filer. My financial cutoff was compromised, and during that window, the stock market experienced a significant increase, causing a $30,000 loss in your investment portfolio. When I contacted Mr. Haines about the missed deadline, he mentioned that he was dealing with family issues, but he did not inform me in advance, nor did he provide a substantive explanation. I stated that had you known of the delay, I could have filed the paperwork yourself to avoid the consequences. In the following weeks and months, you attempted multiple times to communicate with Mr. Haines by emailing him a list of unresolved questions, calling his office, leaving voice messages, and sending follow-up emails. I did not receive responses for over a week at a time, and this pattern of unresponsiveness persisted throughout the engagement. Compounding the issue, I had informed Mr. Haines during your initial meeting that I was in the process of building a house, and that it was critical for the divorce to be finalized quickly in order for me to be approved for a mortgage loan. Due to the delays in the divorce filing and proceedings caused by Mr. Haines’s inaction, my mortgage application was ultimately denied, causing further financial and personal hardship. On April 14, 2025, after repeated attempts to resolve the matter and obtain responses, I sent Mr. Haines a text message formally terminating his services and requested that he send you a final invoice for any remaining fees. In summary, due to Mr. Haines’s failure to file your divorce petition as promised, his lack of communication, and his disregard for time-sensitive financial and legal matters you clearly communicated to him, you suffered: A $30,000 investment loss, The loss of first-filing advantage in the divorce, The denial of your mortgage application, and Ongoing stress and delays in your personal and financial affairs. These damages appear to stem directly from professional negligence and a lack of adequate representation.

I hired Joshua to handle a legal matter and to say he was unresponsive is a massive understatement. He happily took my $2,500 retainer in summer of 2024 (he charges $365/hr). I tried to contact him by text, by email, and by phone. I specifically asked him to contact me as he had provided no updates in my case. There would be zero response for weeks. I eventually had to fire him in November 2024 by e-mail and only then did he call me the next day. I had already called the court myself and knew he had not filed any paperwork with my case, not even his own appearance. He convinced me to let him file the papers and then stop work on my case, which took several more weeks and much more prompting from me. He ultimately filed my papers, giving the court an incorrect address for me, one where I had never lived (even an incorrect city) and a new set of problems to correct. According to his itemized billing statement, in four months’ time he worked on my case for a grand total of 1.1 hour. I have been waiting for the refund of my unused retainer (over $1,900) since November 2024. My new attorney has made two attempts to recover the money and Joshua has even ignored her. I have had to report Joshua to the Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission. I have no idea how this man has a license to practice law - he has only been a swindler to me. Based on my experience, I am honestly baffled by the positive reviews. I guess he picks and chooses who he will do work for, and I would not take that gamble if I were you.

Grossly incompetent. Inexperienced. Weak negotiator. Unable to grasp complex processes. Poor communicator. I could write a whole lot more. Don't go by the ratings from other clients. I dealt with Josh for 3-4 years. Getting work done from him was almost impossible. I paid many thousands of dollars, with terrible results. For example: 1) My prenup agreement took almost 6 months for him to draft. 2) I would have to call and/or email him between 2 and 10 times before getting a response. 3) He would ghost me for weeks and months. 4) The legal issues regarding property division were still not resolved even after spending thousands and thousands. 5) I came to the conclusion that the property division matter may not be his strength, so I hired another attorney to deal specifically with that matter. 6) He withdrew from the case, never notified me, even through as per trial rules he has to provide notification to the client (I found out from my second attorney). There was no warm handoff of documents or briefing to review all issues. 7) His bread and butter is shuffling emails between warring parties and billing small amounts at a time --which adds up to large amounts in total. Folks, there is a serious lack of competent attorneys in this state--especially in divorce matters; and the divorce lawyers know it. Josh is another cog in the wheel. He, like all lawyers, will protect his relationship with other attorneys over client interests. Do yourself a favor and go to AVVO and search there. Good luck.

Mr Hains took my retainer after an in person meeting and was adamant that he would deal with a co parenting issue i had with my Ex. i sent requested documents and never heard anything back. attempted to contact him several times (calls, text, and emails) i got no response. almost a full year with no response and no attempt to contact me. he did not even so much as enter an appearance to the courts. i have filed a complaint with the disciplinary commission of the Indiana supreme court. i would not recommend this law firm to anyone looking for good communication or to actually get anything done.

Joshua saved me from a nasty custody battle- It never even had to go to court. He was realistic, optimistic, and most importantly, he did not let me get manipulated. He never let me stand down when I was feeling defeated and continuously fought for what was best. I know that if/when I need legal support again, I will without a doubt have a trusted source and I cannot recommend him enough!

Joshua and me have had our ups and downs together. However his level headed approach and knowledge of law is what was eye opening to me and ultimately got me what I was looking for from him as a client. I highly recommend and he charges a more than fair rate

He cleaned up and resolved items in my divorce that other attorneys seemed to be continually dragging out. I dealt with several attorneys through my complicated divorce and Joshua was by far the most competent. He did what he said he would and accomplished it timely. I was extremely impressed.

Joshua was expedient in his responses and always willing to help work through any set of circumstances. His empathy and compassion for his clients is obvious. Divorce is tough enough and Joshua took away a lot of the stress in walking with me through the process. Hands down one of the best lawyers and people I've worked with you.

A++

I needed Josh's services for a divorce. Professional, knowledgeable, punctuation, courteous, was always available in a timely manner. Josh made everything perfectly clear to me what my options were etc. I know if needed who my next lawyer will be. JOSH

Joshua is a very knowledgeable efficient lawyer. He was understanding and empathetic to my very complex situation. I highly recommend. He ultimately ended up having to refer me to another lawyer due to the complexity of my issue however if I ever needed him again I would use him again.

I hired Mr. Hains to prepare a pre-nup which during the subsequent divorce process was found to have a significant error that opened the door for my wife to challenge it resulting in a lengthy ongoing dispute and of course more and more legal fees. Mr Hains is responsive for the most part and personable. However, I hired him for his expertise in Family Law matters and he dropped the ball. When I raised the concern about the error in the pre-nup he said "we both missed it." I'm sorry, but I'm not an attorney and shouldn't be expected to find mistakes in a legal document. Once my attorney tells me he's sending it to me for signature, I sign it, trusting that he reviewed it for accuracy. My divorce is still in process and I've decided to terminate Mr. Hains services and find another attorney. I simply lost confidence in his services.

This is the best attorney ever i met in Indianapolis, Joshua finished my case within small period which takes long time with others, professional service and you see the results directly and he the help his clients with affordable payments! I will always recommend anyone want divorce attorney to go to him he is the best in Indianapolis!

Joshua Hains was my Lawyer during my nasty divorce. And I cannot say enough good things about him he was extremely professional. He helped keep me calm during some extremely frustrating times. Every time I called him he always picked up instantly. I highly recommend him not only because he is good at what he does but he actually cares about how his clients are doing. Josh called me multiple times just to check on me while we were waiting on things to sort out and answered any questions I had. He worked with me on the retainer and has been absolutely amazing for me as a father. I’ll just say I was Terrified heading into this divorce because there’s a stigma that this is a mother state. If that is how you feel you need to hire Josh as your attorney I walked out of the divorce with a smile on my face because of the settlement. Even though my divorce is settled I still use him as my attorney thank you so much Josh I really do appreciate all the hard work you did for me!

I've had Hains Law as my representation since 2019 and it has been fantastic. (Single father) Every situation I've run into concerning parenting time and child support has been handled in a professional way and really worked out in my favor most times. There were many times I wanted to let my emotions drive decisions or responses to situations and my attorney Joshua has been able to calm me down and handle things in a more professional manner. I also really appreciate how quick the response time has been when I have had an issue. I would absolutely recommend Hains Law to represent anyone I know who is dealing with child visitation and child support issues.

Joshua is a great lawyer and I highly recommend him. He does a great job and is super considerate. He charged a very fair price for the work he did and I am really happy with everything he did in putting together a premarital agreement for my fiance and I. I very strongly recommend him.