Skip to content

Testimonials

Being faced with a felony drunk driving charge for my third offense; I knew that I needed to have an extremely talented litigator on my side. Russ Donelson, who came highly recommended to me from a family member, proved himself to be undoubtedly one of the best DUI attorneys in the Metro Detroit area. Using his in depth knowledge of the legal system and his drive to see his clients have a positive outcome; Russ Donelson was able to negotiate my FELONY DUI CHARGE 3rd OFFENSE all the way down to a misdemeanor for a FIRST OFFENSE drunk driving. A result I did not even believe was feasible! Thus, allowing me to keep my job, my license, and avoid being incarcerated. I interviewed several attorneys before making an informed decision to hire a litigator and Russ Donelson separated himself from the others. He was always available to answer any question my family members or I had during the case, and always gave straight forward answers. Throughout this dramatic event, the one thing I can be proud of is selecting Russ Donelson as my attorney and I am truly thankful for everything he has been able to do for my family and I.

MB

Russ Donelson is a phenomenal attorney. Unfortunately, our family has needed an excellent defense attorney two times; both of our incidents involved alcohol.   Russ met with us in his office within 24 hours of our first call to him.  During our initial meeting, Russ took down many notes as we were talking so he knew what he was dealing with after we left.  Russ then made sure we had paper and pen to write down what he needed us to do before our next meeting.  He is great to work with you via phone (office or mobile), e-mail, fax or if necessary Russ will meet with you in person.  He will even return calls on the weekend if you need him in an emergency.  If at all possible, Russ will re-arrange his schedule to accommodate an unforeseen court appearance if necessary.  When you do have to go to court, Russ will meet with you as his client but he will also meet with the family/friends that are there to support their loved one, before he appears in front of the judge with his client.  He will prepare everyone for what to expect while he and his client are standing in front of the judge.  Afterwards, he will then motion for the family to join him and your loved one in the hallway where he can freely speak to re-iterate everything the judge had just said.  Before everyone leaves he makes sure you have no unanswered questions.  Russ will review and try every angle possible to defend his client to the best of his ability.  If I am ever in the position to need an attorney again, I would not hesitate to call Russ Donelson, in my opinion he is the BEST  DEFENSE  ATTORNEY  IN  MICHIGAN !!!!

LLP

Re: Exceptional Representation of Jeanine

Dear Russ,

We are writing to thank you for doing an outstanding job handling our daughter’s case. Both my wife and I are lawyers so we have a sophisticated frame of reference to evaluate the performance of other lawyers. We both thought you were extremely responsive, thoughtful, willing to consider every strategy, and pushed when you had to and pulled back when it made sense to do so. In addition, you gave us clear, concise, honest, and timely advice throughout the process.

You also seemed to have a great rapport with the judge and his staff, the probation department, and even the arresting officer that you somehow persuaded to drop the refusal to take a breathalyzer and as a result our daughter’s license was not immediately suspended. It appeared that the prosecutor was quite difficult to work with, but you still negotiated the best deal possible under the circumstances in our opinion.

In short, we were delighted with your work and will not hesitate to refer others to you.

Thank you again

Sincerely,

D&DB

Dear Russ:

You’re the man! Thank you again for your continued representation of me. As you know, the last couple of years have not been easy for me but knowing I had you at my disposal has helped to calm my nerves and eliminate some of the stress in my life. Hopefully this will never happen again. I appreciate the fact that you did not candy coat my situation and gave me a straightforward assessment of not only my case, but also informing me on what to expect along the way. Through you, I have learned more of the law than I ever cared to know, however it has made me open my eyes and realize that it’s up to me to choose my destiny. You have inspired me to reevaluate my life and to appreciate quality legal service. The offer still stands for you to come up and hunt with me this season. My family would love to meet “Joe’s attorney”. Take care and hope you get the big buck.

Sincerely,

J.B.

Southfield, MI

Dear Russ:

Just wanted to drop you a note of thanks for your continuing representation and counseling you have given me, as well as family members, during the past two years. I wanted you to know that my sister was very impressed with the representation you recently provided her on her drunk driving matter. I appreciate your prompt return of phone calls anytime I have needed legal services. I will continue to send friends and family your way whenever legal issues arise. Not only have you been more than an excellent attorney, you have been a friend to me and my family.

If you ever need a reference or anything, please give me a call. Thanks again.

Sincerely,

JL

Allen Park, MI

Russ,

We would both like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you have done in the last year and a half. From providing us with excellent representation during both our divorces, to the ongoing court battle with my ex-husband, you have been there all the way! I truly believe you have the children’s best interest at heart! You have walked us through the court processes and helped us to be more patient with the processes (which is nearly impossible to do)! We feel that with you representing us, both of us and our children are in good hands. You spend the time to explain the why and how, always return phone calls no matter how trivial the issue, and provide excellent legal advice and support. You can be tough and compassionate when necessary. We appreciate your straightforwardness as always! Above all, we respect you and your staff for your legal knowledge and ability to get the job done! But we also love the comfortable “family” atmosphere. Like we said at Christmas, you are our best paid friend and we sincerely mean the friend!

Sincerely,

P&JW

I was referred to Russell Donelson by a personal friend who recently worked with Russell in dealing with a similar legal situation to that which I was now faced with. I reached out to Russ on a Friday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to hear back from him not even two hours later, prior to his close of business. The initial discussion was very satisfying, and his demeanor very informed and helpful. I immediately felt very confident and comfortable with Russ, as his knowledge of the law and his personable style very much eased my mind at the onset of a very stressful situation. In the weeks that followed, Russ litigated my case to an outstanding resolution, one that was far better even than the best case scenario we originally discussed. I recommend Russ highly to anyone in need of strong legal counsel with a personal touch, and will certainly be passing his name along to my friends, family members, and colleagues who I know to be in need of such representation.

Patrick F., Extremely Satisfied Client

Russ,

I wanted to thank you for doing such a wonderful job on my case and helping me get through it. The bottle of scotch is a token of my appreciation of the work you have done for me; just remember not to make the same mistake I did.

Cheers and all the best!

T.Williams

Dear Russ:

I just wanted to thank you for your help during my time of need. It’s nice to finally be able to put all this behind me and get on with my life. I could not have done it without you and Renee. Despite my numerous phone calls, questions, and just generally being stressed out, Renee was very professional and patient in addressing all of my concerns. After seeing you in court countless times, I am glad you were my attorney.

Sincerely,

J.S.

Livonia, MI

Dear Russ,

Just a quick thank you to you and your staff for the exemplary services I was recently provided. Not only was I impressed with your ease of accessibility, but also the genuine effort and concern you displayed in representing me. While I do hope I never have to utilize your services in the future, rest assured that if (hopefully not) I ever get in trouble with the law again, I will be contacting you immediately.

Again, thank you and take care.

Sincerely,

J.T.

Fraser, MI

Russ,

I am so thankful that Joe referred me to you in my time of need and crisis. When I first contacted you, I thought my life as I knew it had come to an end. I thought I would end up in prison, lose my business, and my house. You were able to save me a lot of sleepless nights. I appreciate all of the hard work you did for me and the countless hours you put in getting such a wonderful result. I appreciate your honesty, integrity, and your ability to help me make informed decisions along the way. As you are aware, I feel very lucky and fortunate that I had you rather than the attorney representing the other people. I’ve heard them constantly complaining about their attorney and how frustrated they are with him. I know that if I am in need or anyone else I know is in need that you will be the first person to be called because I realize how great an attorney you are, It is truly rare to find someone that lives up to such a high professional standard as you and for that reason I am compelled to write this. Again, thank you for seeing me through my problems and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

R.F.

Russ,

I don’t know where to begin other than to say that I am truly amazed at your ability as an attorney. I can’t believe you got my case dismissed and were able to save my driver’s license. you did an incredible job attacking the officer’s testimony and winning my case. Please send me lots of cards as I have several friends that I will be recommending you to that are in current need of legal services. While I hope I will never need your services again, I have your number programmed in my phone and know that you will be there if I need you. Again, thank you for such a wonderful job and for kicking ass on my case.

Cheers,

T.K.

Dearborn, MI

Dear Russ,

I just wanted to thank you for doing such a wonderful job in representing my father. Not only did you help my dad but you helped the entire family as well through a very difficult time. I know that between myself and my father we’ve bugged you to death with emails, phone calls, and perhaps silly questions, however you were always accessible and compassionate about our needs. I cannot thank you enough for helping my dad through this difficult situation. You have become a friend of the family and are welcome on our home at any time. Grandpa was also impressed with you. I have enclosed some pictures of deer on our property and dad has already set you up a blind for this fall. Make sure you come up because he’s saving the big one for you. Thanks again.

N.S.

Russ,

I’m not sure where to begin other than to say thank you thank you thank you, thank you for helping me and my family through some very difficult times. It seems every couple years I make some mistake and need legal help and you’re always there willing to take my call any time of the day or night. My brother was also impressed with your services you rendered to him and we both wanted to say thank you for not only being our attorney but being our friend. Rest assured that anyone we know that has any legal problems will be sent your way as we truly have the utmost confidence that you will take care of them as well.

Signed,

Jeff C

Russ,

I just wanted you to know that I referred another client to you today. He should be calling you in the next couple days on a drunk driving he received last weekend. I told him what a wonderful job you did for me on my last drunk driving case and how you convinced the judge to dismiss it. I appreciate all the hard work, time and effort you put into my case and truly believe that you care about your clients. I cannot thank you enough for your services and your commitment to get the job done.

Thanks Again,

Gary V.

Russ,

I can’t believe what happened the other day in court and how you got my case dismissed. I know I had to be a pain and i appreciate your putting up with me and also appreciate your perseverance in seeing my case until the end. Because of you, not only was my license saved, but also my job and my marriage as well. Thank God that you didn’t give up despite the many times I was ready to give in. I just want to let you know that after my first offense when you picked up my wife from the police station after I was arrested, you had a client or life. I’m sorry I disappointed you by picking up the second offense, however, I know now that it will never happen again. Thank you again for getting my case dismissed. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday.

Sincerely appreciative.

Charles H.

I knew from the start, that you were going to go above and beyond…and you have. Russ, you are an outstanding lawyer, because you are an outstanding person. I speak very highly of you when talking about my situation, and the real seal of approval is my friend Linda asking for your card. She has spent her whole life looking after messed up people, and she wants YOU to help the next one. I will be your entire sales and marketing department, without commission. Most importantly, I too, feel like we have become friends. I have always made bad choices with women, but never with friends… they seem to prove themselves ahead of time, as you have. I know “it aint over yet”, but when it is, I will be very grateful for your talents and efforts in this very bad time in my life.

Thankfully,
Tom N.

Blogroll

Most Popular Posts

Recent Comments

    About Us

      Being faced with a felony drunk driving charge for my third offense; I knew that I needed to have an extremely talented litigator on my side. Russ Donelson, who came highly recommended to me from a family member, proved himself to be undoubtedly one of the best DUI attorneys in the Metro Detroit area. Using his in depth knowledge of the legal system and his drive to see his clients have a positive outcome; Russ Donelson was able to negotiate my FELONY DUI CHARGE 3rd OFFENSE all the way down to a misdemeanor for a FIRST OFFENSE drunk driving. A result I did not even believe was feasible! Thus, allowing me to keep my job, my license, and avoid being incarcerated. I interviewed several attorneys before making an informed decision to hire a litigator and Russ Donelson separated himself from the others. He was always available to answer any question my family members or I had during the case, and always gave straight forward answers. Throughout this dramatic event, the one thing I can be proud of is selecting Russ Donelson as my attorney and I am truly thankful for everything he has been able to do for my family and I. MB Russ Donelson is a phenomenal attorney. Unfortunately, our family has needed an excellent defense attorney two times; both of our incidents involved alcohol.   Russ met with us in his office within 24 hours of our first call to him.  During our initial meeting, Russ took down many notes as we were talking so he knew what he was dealing with after we left.  Russ then made sure we had paper and pen to write down what he needed us to do before our next meeting.  He is great to work with you via phone (office or mobile), e-mail, fax or if necessary Russ will meet with you in person.  He will even return calls on the weekend if you need him in an emergency.  If at all possible, Russ will re-arrange his schedule to accommodate an unforeseen court appearance if necessary.  When you do have to go to court, Russ will meet with you as his client but he will also meet with the family/friends that are there to support their loved one, before he appears in front of the judge with his client.  He will prepare everyone for what to expect while he and his client are standing in front of the judge.  Afterwards, he will then motion for the family to join him and your loved one in the hallway where he can freely speak to re-iterate everything the judge had just said.  Before everyone leaves he makes sure you have no unanswered questions.  Russ will review and try every angle possible to defend his client to the best of his ability.  If I am ever in the position to need an attorney again, I would not hesitate to call Russ Donelson, in my opinion he is the BEST  DEFENSE  ATTORNEY  IN  MICHIGAN !!!! LLP Re: Exceptional Representation of Jeanine Dear Russ, We are writing to thank you for doing an outstanding job handling our daughter's case. Both my wife and I are lawyers so we have a sophisticated frame of reference to evaluate the performance of other lawyers. We both thought you were extremely responsive, thoughtful, willing to consider every strategy, and pushed when you had to and pulled back when it made sense to do so. In addition, you gave us clear, concise, honest, and timely advice throughout the process. You also seemed to have a great rapport with the judge and his staff, the probation department, and even the arresting officer that you somehow persuaded to drop the refusal to take a breathalyzer and as a result our daughter's license was not immediately suspended. It appeared that the prosecutor was quite difficult to work with, but you still negotiated the best deal possible under the circumstances in our opinion. In short, we were delighted with your work and will not hesitate to refer others to you. Thank you again Sincerely, D&DB Dear Russ: You're the man! Thank you again for your continued representation of me. As you know, the last couple of years have not been easy for me but knowing I had you at my disposal has helped to calm my nerves and eliminate some of the stress in my life. Hopefully this will never happen again. I appreciate the fact that you did not candy coat my situation and gave me a straightforward assessment of not only my case, but also informing me on what to expect along the way. Through you, I have learned more of the law than I ever cared to know, however it has made me open my eyes and realize that it's up to me to choose my destiny. You have inspired me to reevaluate my life and to appreciate quality legal service. The offer still stands for you to come up and hunt with me this season. My family would love to meet "Joe's attorney". Take care and hope you get the big buck. Sincerely, J.B. Southfield, MI Dear Russ: Just wanted to drop you a note of thanks for your continuing representation and counseling you have given me, as well as family members, during the past two years. I wanted you to know that my sister was very impressed with the representation you recently provided her on her drunk driving matter. I appreciate your prompt return of phone calls anytime I have needed legal services. I will continue to send friends and family your way whenever legal issues arise. Not only have you been more than an excellent attorney, you have been a friend to me and my family. If you ever need a reference or anything, please give me a call. Thanks again. Sincerely, JL Allen Park, MI Russ, We would both like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you have done in the last year and a half. From providing us with excellent representation during both our divorces, to the ongoing court battle with my ex-husband, you have been there all the way! I truly believe you have the children's best interest at heart! You have walked us through the court processes and helped us to be more patient with the processes (which is nearly impossible to do)! We feel that with you representing us, both of us and our children are in good hands. You spend the time to explain the why and how, always return phone calls no matter how trivial the issue, and provide excellent legal advice and support. You can be tough and compassionate when necessary. We appreciate your straightforwardness as always! Above all, we respect you and your staff for your legal knowledge and ability to get the job done! But we also love the comfortable "family" atmosphere. Like we said at Christmas, you are our best paid friend and we sincerely mean the friend! Sincerely, P&JW I was referred to Russell Donelson by a personal friend who recently worked with Russell in dealing with a similar legal situation to that which I was now faced with. I reached out to Russ on a Friday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to hear back from him not even two hours later, prior to his close of business. The initial discussion was very satisfying, and his demeanor very informed and helpful. I immediately felt very confident and comfortable with Russ, as his knowledge of the law and his personable style very much eased my mind at the onset of a very stressful situation. In the weeks that followed, Russ litigated my case to an outstanding resolution, one that was far better even than the best case scenario we originally discussed. I recommend Russ highly to anyone in need of strong legal counsel with a personal touch, and will certainly be passing his name along to my friends, family members, and colleagues who I know to be in need of such representation. Patrick F., Extremely Satisfied Client Russ, I wanted to thank you for doing such a wonderful job on my case and helping me get through it. The bottle of scotch is a token of my appreciation of the work you have done for me; just remember not to make the same mistake I did. Cheers and all the best! T.Williams Dear Russ: I just wanted to thank you for your help during my time of need. It's nice to finally be able to put all this behind me and get on with my life. I could not have done it without you and Renee. Despite my numerous phone calls, questions, and just generally being stressed out, Renee was very professional and patient in addressing all of my concerns. After seeing you in court countless times, I am glad you were my attorney. Sincerely, J.S. Livonia, MI Dear Russ, Just a quick thank you to you and your staff for the exemplary services I was recently provided. Not only was I impressed with your ease of accessibility, but also the genuine effort and concern you displayed in representing me. While I do hope I never have to utilize your services in the future, rest assured that if (hopefully not) I ever get in trouble with the law again, I will be contacting you immediately. Again, thank you and take care. Sincerely, J.T. Fraser, MI Russ, I am so thankful that Joe referred me to you in my time of need and crisis. When I first contacted you, I thought my life as I knew it had come to an end. I thought I would end up in prison, lose my business, and my house. You were able to save me a lot of sleepless nights. I appreciate all of the hard work you did for me and the countless hours you put in getting such a wonderful result. I appreciate your honesty, integrity, and your ability to help me make informed decisions along the way. As you are aware, I feel very lucky and fortunate that I had you rather than the attorney representing the other people. I've heard them constantly complaining about their attorney and how frustrated they are with him. I know that if I am in need or anyone else I know is in need that you will be the first person to be called because I realize how great an attorney you are, It is truly rare to find someone that lives up to such a high professional standard as you and for that reason I am compelled to write this. Again, thank you for seeing me through my problems and I look forward to seeing you again soon. R.F. Russ, I don't know where to begin other than to say that I am truly amazed at your ability as an attorney. I can't believe you got my case dismissed and were able to save my driver's license. you did an incredible job attacking the officer's testimony and winning my case. Please send me lots of cards as I have several friends that I will be recommending you to that are in current need of legal services. While I hope I will never need your services again, I have your number programmed in my phone and know that you will be there if I need you. Again, thank you for such a wonderful job and for kicking ass on my case. Cheers, T.K. Dearborn, MI Dear Russ, I just wanted to thank you for doing such a wonderful job in representing my father. Not only did you help my dad but you helped the entire family as well through a very difficult time. I know that between myself and my father we've bugged you to death with emails, phone calls, and perhaps silly questions, however you were always accessible and compassionate about our needs. I cannot thank you enough for helping my dad through this difficult situation. You have become a friend of the family and are welcome on our home at any time. Grandpa was also impressed with you. I have enclosed some pictures of deer on our property and dad has already set you up a blind for this fall. Make sure you come up because he's saving the big one for you. Thanks again. N.S. Russ, I'm not sure where to begin other than to say thank you thank you thank you, thank you for helping me and my family through some very difficult times. It seems every couple years I make some mistake and need legal help and you're always there willing to take my call any time of the day or night. My brother was also impressed with your services you rendered to him and we both wanted to say thank you for not only being our attorney but being our friend. Rest assured that anyone we know that has any legal problems will be sent your way as we truly have the utmost confidence that you will take care of them as well. Signed, Jeff C Russ, I just wanted you to know that I referred another client to you today. He should be calling you in the next couple days on a drunk driving he received last weekend. I told him what a wonderful job you did for me on my last drunk driving case and how you convinced the judge to dismiss it. I appreciate all the hard work, time and effort you put into my case and truly believe that you care about your clients. I cannot thank you enough for your services and your commitment to get the job done. Thanks Again, Gary V. Russ, I can't believe what happened the other day in court and how you got my case dismissed. I know I had to be a pain and i appreciate your putting up with me and also appreciate your perseverance in seeing my case until the end. Because of you, not only was my license saved, but also my job and my marriage as well. Thank God that you didn't give up despite the many times I was ready to give in. I just want to let you know that after my first offense when you picked up my wife from the police station after I was arrested, you had a client or life. I'm sorry I disappointed you by picking up the second offense, however, I know now that it will never happen again. Thank you again for getting my case dismissed. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. Sincerely appreciative. Charles H. I knew from the start, that you were going to go above and beyond...and you have. Russ, you are an outstanding lawyer, because you are an outstanding person. I speak very highly of you when talking about my situation, and the real seal of approval is my friend Linda asking for your card. She has spent her whole life looking after messed up people, and she wants YOU to help the next one. I will be your entire sales and marketing department, without commission. Most importantly, I too, feel like we have become friends. I have always made bad choices with women, but never with friends... they seem to prove themselves ahead of time, as you have. I know "it aint over yet", but when it is, I will be very grateful for your talents and efforts in this very bad time in my life. Thankfully, Tom N.