There is a reason George W. Bush appointed Carter Casteel to oversee the well being of the Battleship Texas. She is a battleship. When it comes to litigation, she is the best. She stopped my ex-wife from taking my son to another state. I imagine the 1 star reviews are because those people who did not get what they wanted. Carter does try to settle with opposing council. She has convinced me to settle at times. But she is also realistic. She is a former Judge and a State Representative. If you have to litigate there is nobody else better. She caught my ex-wife lying then she made her cry! read more

Casteel & Associates is neither efficient nor client-focused, and they show little interest in resolving cases in a timely manner. They take what could be a relatively peaceful and straightforward process and turn it into an expensive, drawn-out conflict over items that often end up where they started. Excessive paperwork and poor communication with opposing counsel on straightforward matters frequently lead to increased billable hours and a more contentious case. Instead of reaching out for negotiations by telephone or correspondence, Casteel tends to file for court dates, using combative language that states "opposing counsel has been unwilling..." without ever attempting to negotiate. Like most attorneys, going to court incurs a minimum of $2,000 from your retainer. However, with Casteel, you may find yourself making multiple trips without ever actually seeing a judge. Instead, you will likely wait in a conference room for hours while the attorneys negotiate back and forth, eventually reaching an agreement that could have been proposed and accepted weeks earlier through a couple of conversations--making the court trip entirely unnecessary. Barron is an average attorney at best and often displays laziness. Discussions with other attorneys in town will likely validate this assessment. Carter, on the other hand, is a competent attorney but has a tendency to engage in disputes over virtually anything, regardless of its significance. She prefers fighting over negotiating, making it a costly process for even the simplest items that could be settled easily. It's essential to understand that not every aspect of a case has to be contentious; finding middle ground allows for greater willingness to compromise on more significant issues. Casteel frequently relies on temporary orders, which serve as rules of engagement until the case is finalized. More rules equate to more expenses and unnecessary tension. They will file motions requesting obscure and restrictive conditions without any supporting evidence, only to advise you later in court to concede to more generous terms. This approach is a waste of both time and money. During mediation, which is meant to facilitate compromise towards a final agreement, Casteel tends to focus on unnecessary temporary orders instead of discussing anything final. Their goal during mediation appears to be avoiding a resolution, as final settlements would not generate additional fees for them. Barron and Carter often swap cases, meaning that Barron could be your attorney while Carter represents you at mediation. Unfortunately, they do not communicate effectively about the details of the case, wasting time by rehashing events from months prior. Moreover, Carter may reopen previous agreements, choosing to fight for a different direction than what Barron previously agreed upon. They will request extensive discovery information from the opposing party while openly admitting that they do not review it unless it goes to court. Understanding both the strengths and weaknesses of the case is crucial in finding agreement outside of a courtroom. However, their team often spends an excessive amount of billable hours "reviewing" your own discovery response, which will ultimately be submitted incomplete to opposing counsel. This incompleteness leads to further requests and additional billable hours to respond. While it may not be accurate to label Casteel as a bad firm, they clearly capitalize on billable hours and lack a sense of urgency when it comes to settling cases. read more

I called to see if I could schedule a consultation to see what my my options are and to decide if I wanted to retain them and represent me with my legal issue. The consultation fee is a flat $250, which I wouldn't mind paying if I decided to retain them, but not if it's just an initial consultation! I'm glad I didn't because I look at some of the reviews now and it's disheartening read more

Did my first consultation with Barron Casteel. He made sure I heard the good, the bad, and everything in between. I believe faith has put me in good hands. Thank you Mr. Casteel. read more

Carter is fair and the staff is helpful. My Temporary Orders got messed up by another lawyer; and this group fixed it.

Run far away from this firm! Casteel pads his numbers to inflate his fee. He lies to clients, requests the same information repeatedly from you and opposing counsel, fails to do pre-work, and doesn't show up to key events. I know, I was his client. read more

Barron Casteel represented me in my divorce. He was patient, knowledgeable and thorough. When I was flustered or upset, he took the time to explain context and recommend next steps. Chris (paralegal) was friendly, prompt and diligent. McKenzie (administrator) was unfailingly kind and polite. Barron's confidence, legal acuity and persistence helped me through a difficult time in my life, with great results. Highly recommended. read more

This firm doesn't even deserve 1 star. Carter came to the deposition late and without my file ---She was clueless then lazy and whined about how bad she felt .The whole group of them are a bunch of rude and arrogant low life's who made a single phone call made me feel like I was the most annoying,inconvenient and unwanted . All this and they took a year and a half to do a simple divorce. The opposing lawyer never received any documents in a timely fashion which jacked up the price for me. I lost my house and had to pay 20,000.00 paid her 6k upfront and Carter has the audacity to say I owe her another 1100.00. Crooks and should be disbarred and the whole bunch deserve to be shamed beyond the limits.i am the women in the divorce and she and her firm didn't help me at all.Run away and don't look back. read more

I am trying to keep primary custody of my girls. Carter as been very through and timely with her responses back to me. I would definitely recommend her or her son to anyone needing legal counsel. read more

Carter Casteel Rocks! She is one of the best trial lawyers I have seen and I come from a family of lawyers. I was in an ugly custody case and she got my son the justice he deserved. I wouldn't want to be cross examined by her. read more