team-member

Howard Rudolph Gaines

Scottsdale, AZ

Licensed for 42 years

Law Degree

Awards

Primary Practice Area

Estate Planning

Language

English

About

Practices Areas

Litigation

Personal Injury

Family

Language

English

Contact

4666 N 65th StScottsdale, AZ, 85251-1040

Office: N/A

Website: N/A

Reviews

anonymous
October 17, 2009

My wife and I recently worked with Howard to prepare our wills and found him to be very helpful, responsive and pleasant. Highly recommended.

Brian
May 9, 2017

I have utilized Howard Gaines on 2 occasions (both involving speeding tickets). The 1st ticket was a Criminal Speeding Ticket which was reduced to a regular speeding & then we were able to get empathy from the judge as the reason I was speeding was that my daughter was stranded & the weather was inclement. The judge also has a daughter & that helped in the end result, but Howard was precise on the timing in approaching the bench & was not overly aggressive with the judge which allowed my Criminal Speeding Ticket to go to a regular speeding ticket & then further reduced to allow me to waive the ticket by going to defensive driving school (which is usually unheard of when you receive a criminal speeding ticket). My 2nd speeding ticket was a regular ticket & I was not so lucky on that court appearance as the Motorcycle Cop was very good in his responses & I could have done a better job with specific evidence from the intersection in question, so not really Howard's fault for the loss. I see a lot of negative reviews & I must say that I too experienced initial doubts in dealing with Howard as he would seem to be too busy to let me say everything that was on my mind, & we did get off on a 'rocky start', but once we understood each others personalities, the bottom line is that Howard did his job that he was hired to do, & did it well. I do think that Howard could be a little more patient with letting his clients speak freely or even the people doing an initial consultation. I think Howard probably has too much on his plate at times & that may be why he seems 'short' with some people. As for the remark someone else made about his dress & appearance, I always thought Howard was dressed appropriately for the hot Phoenix climate & when we went to court he was all business with a nice suit.

anonymous
May 31, 2018

We hired Howard Gaines to draw up our family trust, etc. He tacked on charges every chance he could. He even tried to get us not to have our parking lot pass validated because it would cost him money, we just spent a couple thousand dollars on this paperwork...cheap, cheap, cheap!!! Let's face it, we all work for the paycheck, but this shyster is a joke. Maybe he has to nickel and dime because he's not that good, I'm not sure. I would NEVER recommend him, EVER!!

Michael
January 19, 2018

I hired him to do a set aside and he cancelled meetings and then said I didn’t show up, then basically said he was done with me and I had to file a case against him with the AZ Bar to even get my documents back. He’s a loser, spend your money elsewhere.

anonymous
September 22, 2017

I hired Howard to defend a criminal traffic ticket. Initially, he was rapid to respond and seemed interested in taking on my case. After he was hired and paid, it became extremely clear that he was only interested in taking my money. I had to initiate every call with him. Even after sending all relevant documents and speaking multiple times, he still did not know the facts of my case. It was clear that he was completely uninterested in defending me and my rights. In addition, he spoke to me completely condescendingly and refused to defend me on a charge related to the traffic ticket. I lost both because I did not have adequate representation. I am so disappointed I did not read his reviews prior to hiring him. Do not make the mistake I did. There are plenty of good attorneys out there and this is not one of them.

anonymous
January 9, 2016

He was my lawyer for a criminal traffic case. I initiated every call we made. He seemed to be very offputting and it felt like he was bothered to speak to me at times. He did not ask pertinent questions to know the facts of the case which clearly showed in trial. He was over ten minutes late to trial, and it was clear that he was not prepared to represent me or my best interests. I lost the case, to which after he sold his will services. No thanks.

David
August 28, 2015

I reached out to Howard regarding a traffic case and inquired about my options. Immediately, Howard began speaking condescendingly that the case was not worth his time and that he would check the specifics of my case to see if he could make it work. Of course, this did not sit well with me and I asked for the reasoning for this and Howard proceeded to speak over me and hangout. To my surprise I received a call a short while later and was told Howard would not take on the case and he was adamant that he did not hang up on me which was very unprofessional for some one to do, especially when they are being paid to represent you. From this experience, the lack of courtesy and professionalism displayed by this individual I would recommend steering clear of him. It amazes me that he continues to practice law with his disrespectful attitude and lack of empathy for clients.

anonymous
February 11, 2015

We were referred to this attorney by abfriend of the family. I called him and he scheduled me to call him back the next day to discuss my landlord/tenant issue which it clearly states on his website that he handles. I started to tell him about our issue and he say he doesnt handle this type of case. There is not enough money in this case for him to even pretend to be interested. We are looking at almost $40000 if not more since we havent assessed our personal damages yet because of what the landlord has done. He tells me after telling me that I can still come in and pay him 350 dollars for a formal consult if I want. Really? So I can be out another 350. If you want an attorney who cares about the law and your case this is not the man to call.

anonymous
February 4, 2015

I would NOT recommend Howard Gaines. I initially contacted Howard to provide him with an overview of my case to see if he was interested in taking it on. He indicated he was, we scheduled a meeting time and he asked me to email to him supporting documents which he would review prior to our meeting. It was clear from the start of our meeting that he did NOT review ANY of the documents I sent him, had no knowledge of why I was there and had to ask who I was and for me to explain everything all over again. He was rude, quick to anger and spoke to me in a condescending manner. In addition, I found his appearance to be off-putting as he had baggy blue jeans and a wrinkled dress shirt and wrinkled sport coat. This does not convey someone who is professional or whom others would place confidence in to handle a legal matter. For these reasons, I would NOT recommend Howard Gaines.

anonymous
February 10, 2014

Terrible attorney. Strung me along for three months and today said "yeah, I'm just not going to take your case" on a simple uncontested custody matter. He would take my personal info, tell me he would call me back with more information, then blew me off completely. We agreed on a deposit for the court costs and it's been sitting in my checking account just waiting for him to tell me how to pay him. Don't use this guy.

anonymous
October 17, 2009

My wife and I recently worked with Howard to prepare our wills and found him to be very helpful, responsive and pleasant. Highly recommended.

Brian
May 9, 2017

I have utilized Howard Gaines on 2 occasions (both involving speeding tickets). The 1st ticket was a Criminal Speeding Ticket which was reduced to a regular speeding & then we were able to get empathy from the judge as the reason I was speeding was that my daughter was stranded & the weather was inclement. The judge also has a daughter & that helped in the end result, but Howard was precise on the timing in approaching the bench & was not overly aggressive with the judge which allowed my Criminal Speeding Ticket to go to a regular speeding ticket & then further reduced to allow me to waive the ticket by going to defensive driving school (which is usually unheard of when you receive a criminal speeding ticket). My 2nd speeding ticket was a regular ticket & I was not so lucky on that court appearance as the Motorcycle Cop was very good in his responses & I could have done a better job with specific evidence from the intersection in question, so not really Howard's fault for the loss. I see a lot of negative reviews & I must say that I too experienced initial doubts in dealing with Howard as he would seem to be too busy to let me say everything that was on my mind, & we did get off on a 'rocky start', but once we understood each others personalities, the bottom line is that Howard did his job that he was hired to do, & did it well. I do think that Howard could be a little more patient with letting his clients speak freely or even the people doing an initial consultation. I think Howard probably has too much on his plate at times & that may be why he seems 'short' with some people. As for the remark someone else made about his dress & appearance, I always thought Howard was dressed appropriately for the hot Phoenix climate & when we went to court he was all business with a nice suit.

anonymous
May 31, 2018

We hired Howard Gaines to draw up our family trust, etc. He tacked on charges every chance he could. He even tried to get us not to have our parking lot pass validated because it would cost him money, we just spent a couple thousand dollars on this paperwork...cheap, cheap, cheap!!! Let's face it, we all work for the paycheck, but this shyster is a joke. Maybe he has to nickel and dime because he's not that good, I'm not sure. I would NEVER recommend him, EVER!!

Michael
January 19, 2018

I hired him to do a set aside and he cancelled meetings and then said I didn’t show up, then basically said he was done with me and I had to file a case against him with the AZ Bar to even get my documents back. He’s a loser, spend your money elsewhere.

anonymous
September 22, 2017

I hired Howard to defend a criminal traffic ticket. Initially, he was rapid to respond and seemed interested in taking on my case. After he was hired and paid, it became extremely clear that he was only interested in taking my money. I had to initiate every call with him. Even after sending all relevant documents and speaking multiple times, he still did not know the facts of my case. It was clear that he was completely uninterested in defending me and my rights. In addition, he spoke to me completely condescendingly and refused to defend me on a charge related to the traffic ticket. I lost both because I did not have adequate representation. I am so disappointed I did not read his reviews prior to hiring him. Do not make the mistake I did. There are plenty of good attorneys out there and this is not one of them.

anonymous
January 9, 2016

He was my lawyer for a criminal traffic case. I initiated every call we made. He seemed to be very offputting and it felt like he was bothered to speak to me at times. He did not ask pertinent questions to know the facts of the case which clearly showed in trial. He was over ten minutes late to trial, and it was clear that he was not prepared to represent me or my best interests. I lost the case, to which after he sold his will services. No thanks.

David
August 28, 2015

I reached out to Howard regarding a traffic case and inquired about my options. Immediately, Howard began speaking condescendingly that the case was not worth his time and that he would check the specifics of my case to see if he could make it work. Of course, this did not sit well with me and I asked for the reasoning for this and Howard proceeded to speak over me and hangout. To my surprise I received a call a short while later and was told Howard would not take on the case and he was adamant that he did not hang up on me which was very unprofessional for some one to do, especially when they are being paid to represent you. From this experience, the lack of courtesy and professionalism displayed by this individual I would recommend steering clear of him. It amazes me that he continues to practice law with his disrespectful attitude and lack of empathy for clients.

anonymous
February 11, 2015

We were referred to this attorney by abfriend of the family. I called him and he scheduled me to call him back the next day to discuss my landlord/tenant issue which it clearly states on his website that he handles. I started to tell him about our issue and he say he doesnt handle this type of case. There is not enough money in this case for him to even pretend to be interested. We are looking at almost $40000 if not more since we havent assessed our personal damages yet because of what the landlord has done. He tells me after telling me that I can still come in and pay him 350 dollars for a formal consult if I want. Really? So I can be out another 350. If you want an attorney who cares about the law and your case this is not the man to call.

anonymous
February 4, 2015

I would NOT recommend Howard Gaines. I initially contacted Howard to provide him with an overview of my case to see if he was interested in taking it on. He indicated he was, we scheduled a meeting time and he asked me to email to him supporting documents which he would review prior to our meeting. It was clear from the start of our meeting that he did NOT review ANY of the documents I sent him, had no knowledge of why I was there and had to ask who I was and for me to explain everything all over again. He was rude, quick to anger and spoke to me in a condescending manner. In addition, I found his appearance to be off-putting as he had baggy blue jeans and a wrinkled dress shirt and wrinkled sport coat. This does not convey someone who is professional or whom others would place confidence in to handle a legal matter. For these reasons, I would NOT recommend Howard Gaines.

anonymous
February 10, 2014

Terrible attorney. Strung me along for three months and today said "yeah, I'm just not going to take your case" on a simple uncontested custody matter. He would take my personal info, tell me he would call me back with more information, then blew me off completely. We agreed on a deposit for the court costs and it's been sitting in my checking account just waiting for him to tell me how to pay him. Don't use this guy.