Watson & Ryan, PLC

As of July 2022, Brett Ryan is under investigation by the Iowa Attorney Disciplinary Review Board for ethics violations. In my direct experience, he is a dishonest and unethical attorney.

Engage with him at your own risk.

UPDATE:

I cannot speak freely on this forum. When I started down this path, a different attorney cautioned the judge and legal process would 'run me out of the court room'. I was told that some lawyers/judges don't take kindly to a commoner playing in their sandbox. I moved forward because I believed it was the right thing to do. I moved forward to demonstrate how broken the property assessment appeal process is in Iowa.

A libel lawsuit was filed against me for the original review, which is posted above in it's entirety. I firmly believe the review contains verifiable facts or personal opinions from direct experience. We live in America; stating facts or expressing personal opinions is not libel. I did not settle any lawsuit. My insurance company, State Farm, decided it was cheaper to pay out $20K than pay to litigate the lawsuit and win. I can't control State Farm, but their choice has everything to do with minimizing overall cost to them and absolutely nothing to do with the merits of the case.

The lawyer in question represented Mills County (of which I am a taxpayer) in court due to property assessment litigation I initiated. I did not receive $1,500 in court sanctions. While suing my local government, the judge assessed a $100 sanction on me, along with court costs, for what amounted to a procedural violation.

At the end of the day, the public records from District Court, the Property Assessment Appeal Board, the Iowa Public Information Board, and the Attorney Disciplinary Review Board tell the story and I stand behind my efforts. I am a private citizen. I filed a property assessment appeal with my local government. The county hired a private attorney with taxpayer dollars to fight against me. My personal property tax liability has decreased dramatically over what it otherwise would have been. Unfortunately, the county didn't actually fix the core problem and as such, history is bound to repeat itself.

I am currently working with State Legislators to pass legislation to improve property tax equity for all Iowans, and hopefully, prevent local governments from hiring private attorneys to fight against citizens in property assessment appeals.

Mr. Watson and his staff are very kind, professional, organized and effective. Office location is easily accessible. We did not wait for our appointment once arriving. Jim was up front about his fee. He was prepared, on time for our appointment and proficient filing our taxes. Compared to filing previously with H&R Block, we saved a good amount of money utilizing Watson & Ryan, PLC. We are very pleased with all aspects of our experience filing taxes with Jim Watson! We will be returning next year and highly recommend you contact his office to setup an appointment.

Never return calls. Told us they could handle our mothers estate but we never heard back from them. James even said a couple times he would get back within the next week. Never heard from him. Very unprofessional.