team-member

Todd Hawkins

Joplin, MO

N/A

Law Degree

Awards

Primary Practice Area

Child support

Language

English

About

WELCOME TO DEFENDING YOUR FAMILY – SPRINGFIELD – JOPLIN - LAWYERS & REECE FAMILY LAW, LLCDEFENDING YOUR FAMILYWe understand your family is the most important aspect of your life. We know you are going through a difficult time. You have made the right decision to seek legal advice and our family law, criminal defense, estate planning, civil litigation, and mediation lawyer teams look forward to assisting you through your legal matter. Our attorneys and staff will strive to give you the attention your family needs in navigating the Missouri court system with a divorce, child custody, modification, paternity, DUI, DWI, traffic ticket, will, trust, power of attorney, settlement, mediation, or litigating in trial. We are located in the Chesterfield Village at 2202 W Chesterfield Blvd, Ste 200, Springfield, MO 65807 and our newest location 113 S Main Street in Joplin, MO 64801.DEFENDING YOUR FAMILY – SPRINGFIELD – JOPLIN - LAWYERS & REECE FAMILY LAW  have 60+ years of combined experience in Family Law, Criminal Defense, Estate Planning, Civil Litigation, and Mediation to help you in the following areas:FAMILY LAW:• Divorce• Paternity• Custody• Modification• Mediation• Legal Separation• Child Support• Maintenance / Alimony• Adoptions• Family Access / Contempt• Grandparents Rights• Name Change• Juvenile Law• Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO’s)• Adult and Child Orders of Protection, Ex Parte• Uncontested, Contested, Settled, & Trial CasesCRIMINAL DEFENSE:• Traffic Ticket• DWI, DUI• License Reinstatements• Expungements – Many Felonies can be expunged after 7 years, misdemeanors 3 years• Drug, Marijuana Charges• Misdemeanor• Felony• Serious Crimes Against People• Serious Crimes Against Property• Federal Criminal DefenseESTATE PLANNING:• Wills• Trusts• Guardianships• Power of Attorney• Medical Directives• Name Change• Probate• Prenuptial AgreementsCIVIL LITIGATION:• Business• Civil Defense• Employment• Personal Injury• Real Estate• RentersMEDIATION:• Mediate all types of Family Law casesDEFENDING YOUR FAMILY - SPRINGFIELD - JOPLIN - LAWYERS covers the Joplin/Neosho/Carthage regions of Southwest Missouri & REECE FAMILY LAW, LLC lawyers cover the Springfield/Ozark/Branson regions of Southwest Missouri.

Practices Areas

Criminal Defense

Estate Planning

Child custody

Child support

Divorce and separation

Family

DUI and DWI

Speeding and traffic ticket

Language

English

Contact

Defending Your Family - Springfield - Joplin - Lawyers113 S Main StJOPLIN, MO, 64801113 S Main StJOPLIN, MO, 64801

Office: N/A

Website: N/A

Reviews

Julie
November 10, 2021

Todd was a fantastic lawyer to me,he kept me upright and always,always kept me informed of my progress,things have worked out fantastic for us all in the end,so if you need someone to have your back this is the lawyer you need to have in your corner.thank you again todd and your firm. #happymom

Happy mother of 2
March 11, 2014

I hired Todd about 7 months ago. He is still going strong for me and doing his best to help me with my family matter. He has always been honest and upfront with me. To this day we still have more court dates to battle and he is keeping me strong. " you have to conquer the small battles before u can win the war" this quote I truly believe. I have nothing negative to say about Todd or the office staff, they all know my struggle and heartache and have and will be there for me til the end. Thank you so much Todd and staff for everything ur doing for me and my little ones.

disgruntled
December 10, 2021

We paid Todd over $3,000 (before we switched attorneys) to do next to nothing for us in this divorce case. He was crass and unprofessional in conversations. He never tried to move the case forward, never made any effort. He went to pretrial conferences and then did nothing; we had to bug the office for updates. Never conferred with opposing counsel to clarify confusions or follow up on a settlement proposal. When we wanted to try to settle WE had to write up the proposal in order to get it done, and when his office put it into their form there were multiple mistakes -- never proof-read, I suppose. He answered our emails with as little effort ad information as possible! When we switched attorneys his office became hostile and would not provide our file to the new attorney. And they are hounding us for more money.

Autumn
July 27, 2021

Hiring an attorney for your divorce is one of the most important decisions you will ever have to make. It is my social responsibility to warn you about Todd Hawkins. In one instance Todd told me I needed to appear at a hearing. I missed work to attend. I saw him speaking to other clients. He then left without speaking to me. Todd then had his secretary call me and say he simply did not have time to meet with me. Todd was continually dismissive of my case. After my divorce decree was written, he signed it without reviewing it with me. When I inquired about my divorce decree, his office had mailed it to the wrong address. All the billing miraculously made it to my correct address. When I had questions about the divorce decree I made a phone appointment with Todd. He then canceled our appointment via email saying he didn’t have any answers, but would let me know when he did. I never heard from Todd or his offices again. I was forced to hire a different attorney. Through the course of his service the mishandling of my case went far beyond human error. This law firm is a black hole they will take your money and give back no energy or effort for your case.

anonymous
May 26, 2020

We did not have a good exsperince anytime i asked him todo something it was tooth and nail to get him todo.it and todd even put me on the spot and argued with me in the middle of a court session about private details i did not wanna share with the court we gave him a list of questions to be brought up during court sessions and out of 6-10/questions each time one question was asked... Next probelm is this we where quoted 2500$ for the case half way though the case we get a bill for $4130.58 and we did do.our best at the time to make payments but because of the case it hindered my work by 85% and they dropped us after taking our money... Get a diffrent lawyer firm.

anonymous
August 18, 2018

I hired Todd ($1500.00 up front) to defend me for Contempt of Court. I received 6 years of unpaid medical bills from my EX's lawyer. My EX was seeking $2100. I wanted an offset of expenses of $1000 and more visitation or an agreement to stop having visitations cancelled. Showed up to court, Todd, my EX and her lawyer went into mediation (without me in the room). He assured me that we had "won" and I was to pay $1500.00 (he had to give a little more to get a little more) and that he would send the paperwork detailing the agreement once it was drawn up. Weeks later, I had to contact him for the paperwork and received the "stipulation". I was given 7 days to pay $1500.00 to the court (at that time I was 10 days beyond the 7 days). The stipulation also stated that I would agree to pick up 50% of all extracurricular activities (PP states those costs come out of CS). No mention of an offset for the items I am/have been paying for. No mention of visitation. I contacted him about what he agreed to and he told me he "did what he could", and that the modification of visitation would require an additional visit to court...with additional costs. I paid $1500.00 to the court. I asked him to change the stipulation, he informed me that was not possible and it was legal and binding...IF I SIGNED IT... I thanked him for his time and excused him. He withdrew. My EXs lawyer filed a Motion to have me held in Contempt because I wouldn't sign what he agreed to. Todd made my situation worse. Answer your phone Todd.

anonymous
June 24, 2016

He handled my divorce. After I agreed to the ex's divorce terms as to who would get what and that there would be a standby at which time he would then be given his titles, my ex wouldn't answer his phone or respond to my text. I gave up. Then I received a contempt of court by his new attorney. I met with Mr. Hawkins and he said he would need $750 up front for court, paperwork, and contacting the ex's attorney. On court date, he told me we didn't have to go in the court room and that I could just sign over titles and house. Thinking he already had something for my ex to sign, i willingly obliged. Was I ever wrong! All I got was yes, he agreed to drop your things off in your yard. Days later I came home to a FEW broken and dismantled items that were dumped off in the yard. I met with Mr. Hawkins, explaining the situation and asking about credit cards that the ex agreed to pay off, he told me that it can't be enforced anyway and that although my contempt case didn't go before the judge (he called the ex's attorney and told her I would comply) he was justified in taking my $.

Keith
February 18, 2015

Hawkins represented me for a divorce and child custody case. I was in a time crunch and he was quick to see me to take on my case. He even took on a flat fee that I paid upfront in full - which was a mistake. He paid more attention to my case that during that first meetiing than he did over the next 6 months combined. There were multiple times I needed guidance as how to approach a situation that was thrown at me and he was constantly unavailable. I would send multiple emails documenting correspondences with the respondent needing advice as how to proceed and wouldn't get a reply, if at all, weeks later. Very hard to track him down and once i was able to, he was distracted. It was apparent that the paralegals there were overworked by how cranky and grouchy they were. As a father, i had put myself in a great position by maintaining primary custody of my daughter while waiting for the court date. There was no preparation for court. When I met him in the courthouse lobby the morning of court, he had already worked out a settlement with the opposong attorney without my direction or input. I trusted him to take care of my best interests and instead I've unfortunately had to learn over the years that his advice and the course of action he took that day put me in a worst position long term when,amongst other things, he told me that it wasn't possible to put a provision in the settlement dictating where the child would go to school because "the judge wouldn't rule on that because the child wasn't of school age." This wasn't true and he hard sold me with lies to persuade me that there wasn't another realistic option but to settle. Now I live with those consequences.

anonymous
January 14, 2014

Todd took our money after making one court apperience and speaking to us maybe four or five times by emails and couple of times by phone and in person. He took our hard earned money and now we are struggling to get another attorney. How can this keep happening to people looking for help.

Julie
November 10, 2021

Todd was a fantastic lawyer to me,he kept me upright and always,always kept me informed of my progress,things have worked out fantastic for us all in the end,so if you need someone to have your back this is the lawyer you need to have in your corner.thank you again todd and your firm. #happymom

Happy mother of 2
March 11, 2014

I hired Todd about 7 months ago. He is still going strong for me and doing his best to help me with my family matter. He has always been honest and upfront with me. To this day we still have more court dates to battle and he is keeping me strong. " you have to conquer the small battles before u can win the war" this quote I truly believe. I have nothing negative to say about Todd or the office staff, they all know my struggle and heartache and have and will be there for me til the end. Thank you so much Todd and staff for everything ur doing for me and my little ones.

disgruntled
December 10, 2021

We paid Todd over $3,000 (before we switched attorneys) to do next to nothing for us in this divorce case. He was crass and unprofessional in conversations. He never tried to move the case forward, never made any effort. He went to pretrial conferences and then did nothing; we had to bug the office for updates. Never conferred with opposing counsel to clarify confusions or follow up on a settlement proposal. When we wanted to try to settle WE had to write up the proposal in order to get it done, and when his office put it into their form there were multiple mistakes -- never proof-read, I suppose. He answered our emails with as little effort ad information as possible! When we switched attorneys his office became hostile and would not provide our file to the new attorney. And they are hounding us for more money.

Autumn
July 27, 2021

Hiring an attorney for your divorce is one of the most important decisions you will ever have to make. It is my social responsibility to warn you about Todd Hawkins. In one instance Todd told me I needed to appear at a hearing. I missed work to attend. I saw him speaking to other clients. He then left without speaking to me. Todd then had his secretary call me and say he simply did not have time to meet with me. Todd was continually dismissive of my case. After my divorce decree was written, he signed it without reviewing it with me. When I inquired about my divorce decree, his office had mailed it to the wrong address. All the billing miraculously made it to my correct address. When I had questions about the divorce decree I made a phone appointment with Todd. He then canceled our appointment via email saying he didn’t have any answers, but would let me know when he did. I never heard from Todd or his offices again. I was forced to hire a different attorney. Through the course of his service the mishandling of my case went far beyond human error. This law firm is a black hole they will take your money and give back no energy or effort for your case.

anonymous
May 26, 2020

We did not have a good exsperince anytime i asked him todo something it was tooth and nail to get him todo.it and todd even put me on the spot and argued with me in the middle of a court session about private details i did not wanna share with the court we gave him a list of questions to be brought up during court sessions and out of 6-10/questions each time one question was asked... Next probelm is this we where quoted 2500$ for the case half way though the case we get a bill for $4130.58 and we did do.our best at the time to make payments but because of the case it hindered my work by 85% and they dropped us after taking our money... Get a diffrent lawyer firm.

anonymous
August 18, 2018

I hired Todd ($1500.00 up front) to defend me for Contempt of Court. I received 6 years of unpaid medical bills from my EX's lawyer. My EX was seeking $2100. I wanted an offset of expenses of $1000 and more visitation or an agreement to stop having visitations cancelled. Showed up to court, Todd, my EX and her lawyer went into mediation (without me in the room). He assured me that we had "won" and I was to pay $1500.00 (he had to give a little more to get a little more) and that he would send the paperwork detailing the agreement once it was drawn up. Weeks later, I had to contact him for the paperwork and received the "stipulation". I was given 7 days to pay $1500.00 to the court (at that time I was 10 days beyond the 7 days). The stipulation also stated that I would agree to pick up 50% of all extracurricular activities (PP states those costs come out of CS). No mention of an offset for the items I am/have been paying for. No mention of visitation. I contacted him about what he agreed to and he told me he "did what he could", and that the modification of visitation would require an additional visit to court...with additional costs. I paid $1500.00 to the court. I asked him to change the stipulation, he informed me that was not possible and it was legal and binding...IF I SIGNED IT... I thanked him for his time and excused him. He withdrew. My EXs lawyer filed a Motion to have me held in Contempt because I wouldn't sign what he agreed to. Todd made my situation worse. Answer your phone Todd.

anonymous
June 24, 2016

He handled my divorce. After I agreed to the ex's divorce terms as to who would get what and that there would be a standby at which time he would then be given his titles, my ex wouldn't answer his phone or respond to my text. I gave up. Then I received a contempt of court by his new attorney. I met with Mr. Hawkins and he said he would need $750 up front for court, paperwork, and contacting the ex's attorney. On court date, he told me we didn't have to go in the court room and that I could just sign over titles and house. Thinking he already had something for my ex to sign, i willingly obliged. Was I ever wrong! All I got was yes, he agreed to drop your things off in your yard. Days later I came home to a FEW broken and dismantled items that were dumped off in the yard. I met with Mr. Hawkins, explaining the situation and asking about credit cards that the ex agreed to pay off, he told me that it can't be enforced anyway and that although my contempt case didn't go before the judge (he called the ex's attorney and told her I would comply) he was justified in taking my $.

Keith
February 18, 2015

Hawkins represented me for a divorce and child custody case. I was in a time crunch and he was quick to see me to take on my case. He even took on a flat fee that I paid upfront in full - which was a mistake. He paid more attention to my case that during that first meetiing than he did over the next 6 months combined. There were multiple times I needed guidance as how to approach a situation that was thrown at me and he was constantly unavailable. I would send multiple emails documenting correspondences with the respondent needing advice as how to proceed and wouldn't get a reply, if at all, weeks later. Very hard to track him down and once i was able to, he was distracted. It was apparent that the paralegals there were overworked by how cranky and grouchy they were. As a father, i had put myself in a great position by maintaining primary custody of my daughter while waiting for the court date. There was no preparation for court. When I met him in the courthouse lobby the morning of court, he had already worked out a settlement with the opposong attorney without my direction or input. I trusted him to take care of my best interests and instead I've unfortunately had to learn over the years that his advice and the course of action he took that day put me in a worst position long term when,amongst other things, he told me that it wasn't possible to put a provision in the settlement dictating where the child would go to school because "the judge wouldn't rule on that because the child wasn't of school age." This wasn't true and he hard sold me with lies to persuade me that there wasn't another realistic option but to settle. Now I live with those consequences.

anonymous
January 14, 2014

Todd took our money after making one court apperience and speaking to us maybe four or five times by emails and couple of times by phone and in person. He took our hard earned money and now we are struggling to get another attorney. How can this keep happening to people looking for help.

Julie
November 10, 2021

Todd was a fantastic lawyer to me,he kept me upright and always,always kept me informed of my progress,things have worked out fantastic for us all in the end,so if you need someone to have your back this is the lawyer you need to have in your corner.thank you again todd and your firm. #happymom

Happy mother of 2
March 11, 2014

I hired Todd about 7 months ago. He is still going strong for me and doing his best to help me with my family matter. He has always been honest and upfront with me. To this day we still have more court dates to battle and he is keeping me strong. " you have to conquer the small battles before u can win the war" this quote I truly believe. I have nothing negative to say about Todd or the office staff, they all know my struggle and heartache and have and will be there for me til the end. Thank you so much Todd and staff for everything ur doing for me and my little ones.

disgruntled
December 10, 2021

We paid Todd over $3,000 (before we switched attorneys) to do next to nothing for us in this divorce case. He was crass and unprofessional in conversations. He never tried to move the case forward, never made any effort. He went to pretrial conferences and then did nothing; we had to bug the office for updates. Never conferred with opposing counsel to clarify confusions or follow up on a settlement proposal. When we wanted to try to settle WE had to write up the proposal in order to get it done, and when his office put it into their form there were multiple mistakes -- never proof-read, I suppose. He answered our emails with as little effort ad information as possible! When we switched attorneys his office became hostile and would not provide our file to the new attorney. And they are hounding us for more money.

Autumn
July 27, 2021

Hiring an attorney for your divorce is one of the most important decisions you will ever have to make. It is my social responsibility to warn you about Todd Hawkins. In one instance Todd told me I needed to appear at a hearing. I missed work to attend. I saw him speaking to other clients. He then left without speaking to me. Todd then had his secretary call me and say he simply did not have time to meet with me. Todd was continually dismissive of my case. After my divorce decree was written, he signed it without reviewing it with me. When I inquired about my divorce decree, his office had mailed it to the wrong address. All the billing miraculously made it to my correct address. When I had questions about the divorce decree I made a phone appointment with Todd. He then canceled our appointment via email saying he didn’t have any answers, but would let me know when he did. I never heard from Todd or his offices again. I was forced to hire a different attorney. Through the course of his service the mishandling of my case went far beyond human error. This law firm is a black hole they will take your money and give back no energy or effort for your case.

anonymous
May 26, 2020

We did not have a good exsperince anytime i asked him todo something it was tooth and nail to get him todo.it and todd even put me on the spot and argued with me in the middle of a court session about private details i did not wanna share with the court we gave him a list of questions to be brought up during court sessions and out of 6-10/questions each time one question was asked... Next probelm is this we where quoted 2500$ for the case half way though the case we get a bill for $4130.58 and we did do.our best at the time to make payments but because of the case it hindered my work by 85% and they dropped us after taking our money... Get a diffrent lawyer firm.

anonymous
August 18, 2018

I hired Todd ($1500.00 up front) to defend me for Contempt of Court. I received 6 years of unpaid medical bills from my EX's lawyer. My EX was seeking $2100. I wanted an offset of expenses of $1000 and more visitation or an agreement to stop having visitations cancelled. Showed up to court, Todd, my EX and her lawyer went into mediation (without me in the room). He assured me that we had "won" and I was to pay $1500.00 (he had to give a little more to get a little more) and that he would send the paperwork detailing the agreement once it was drawn up. Weeks later, I had to contact him for the paperwork and received the "stipulation". I was given 7 days to pay $1500.00 to the court (at that time I was 10 days beyond the 7 days). The stipulation also stated that I would agree to pick up 50% of all extracurricular activities (PP states those costs come out of CS). No mention of an offset for the items I am/have been paying for. No mention of visitation. I contacted him about what he agreed to and he told me he "did what he could", and that the modification of visitation would require an additional visit to court...with additional costs. I paid $1500.00 to the court. I asked him to change the stipulation, he informed me that was not possible and it was legal and binding...IF I SIGNED IT... I thanked him for his time and excused him. He withdrew. My EXs lawyer filed a Motion to have me held in Contempt because I wouldn't sign what he agreed to. Todd made my situation worse. Answer your phone Todd.

anonymous
June 24, 2016

He handled my divorce. After I agreed to the ex's divorce terms as to who would get what and that there would be a standby at which time he would then be given his titles, my ex wouldn't answer his phone or respond to my text. I gave up. Then I received a contempt of court by his new attorney. I met with Mr. Hawkins and he said he would need $750 up front for court, paperwork, and contacting the ex's attorney. On court date, he told me we didn't have to go in the court room and that I could just sign over titles and house. Thinking he already had something for my ex to sign, i willingly obliged. Was I ever wrong! All I got was yes, he agreed to drop your things off in your yard. Days later I came home to a FEW broken and dismantled items that were dumped off in the yard. I met with Mr. Hawkins, explaining the situation and asking about credit cards that the ex agreed to pay off, he told me that it can't be enforced anyway and that although my contempt case didn't go before the judge (he called the ex's attorney and told her I would comply) he was justified in taking my $.

Keith
February 18, 2015

Hawkins represented me for a divorce and child custody case. I was in a time crunch and he was quick to see me to take on my case. He even took on a flat fee that I paid upfront in full - which was a mistake. He paid more attention to my case that during that first meetiing than he did over the next 6 months combined. There were multiple times I needed guidance as how to approach a situation that was thrown at me and he was constantly unavailable. I would send multiple emails documenting correspondences with the respondent needing advice as how to proceed and wouldn't get a reply, if at all, weeks later. Very hard to track him down and once i was able to, he was distracted. It was apparent that the paralegals there were overworked by how cranky and grouchy they were. As a father, i had put myself in a great position by maintaining primary custody of my daughter while waiting for the court date. There was no preparation for court. When I met him in the courthouse lobby the morning of court, he had already worked out a settlement with the opposong attorney without my direction or input. I trusted him to take care of my best interests and instead I've unfortunately had to learn over the years that his advice and the course of action he took that day put me in a worst position long term when,amongst other things, he told me that it wasn't possible to put a provision in the settlement dictating where the child would go to school because "the judge wouldn't rule on that because the child wasn't of school age." This wasn't true and he hard sold me with lies to persuade me that there wasn't another realistic option but to settle. Now I live with those consequences.

anonymous
January 14, 2014

Todd took our money after making one court apperience and speaking to us maybe four or five times by emails and couple of times by phone and in person. He took our hard earned money and now we are struggling to get another attorney. How can this keep happening to people looking for help.