About Us
Managing Attorney
Urenia Ricks-Johnson is the Founding and Managing Partner at Ricks and Associates, PLLC. The law firm was established in 2005 and has grown to service clients throughout the State of Michigan. With over 15 years of vast experience in state and federal courts, Attorney Urenia’s firm specializes in the areas of Real Estate, Bankruptcy, Probate/Estates, Contracts and Non-Profit Law.
Attorney Urenia earned her J.D. from Thomas Cooley Law School in 2003 and her undergraduate B.S in Public Law and Government with a minor in Business Management. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Oakland County Bar Association, and the Black Women Lawyer Association. Attorney Urenia gives back through her 501c3 non-profit Corporate Development Institute, which provides legal clinics and workshops to the community throughout the year.
She is the Co-Host of Trust Issues Podcast an unfiltered podcast where money meets mindset, power meets protection, and legal meets legacy. Attorney Urenia also serves as a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Through Ricks & Associates, Attorney Urenia provides aggressive, personable, and affordable Legal Representation and Consulting for individuals, businesses, and non-profits. Contact her now for your legal and consulting needs. She is the winning choice.
Urenia Ricks-Johnson, Esq.
Partnering Attorney
Prior to joining Ricks & Associates, PLLC., Attorney Waddles served as a Judicial Attorney for Wayne County Family Court Judge Nicole Neal Goodson; Deputy Chief Counsel of Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc.; Chief Counsel of Affordable Legal Services of West Bloomfield, PLLC; Chief Investigator for the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners; Assistant General Counsel for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MI; Commercial Litigator for Howard and Howard Attorneys, P.C., beginning her career as Judicial Law Clerk to then-Michigan Supreme Court Justice Dennis W. Archer.
Attorney Waddles graduated from the Michigan State University College of Law in June of 1988, having received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English from Western Michigan University in 1985.
Attorney Waddles prides herself as a servant who utilizes the breadth and depth of her education in human psychology, her communication skills earned from her English language studies as well as her mastery of legal jurisprudence to help her clients traverse through and conquer their legal concerns. As an extension of her dedication to service, she has been a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. since 1983. She considers her private practice partnership with Attorney Ricks-Johnson to be the utmost rewarding use of the skills her years of experience has gifted her.
Lori Bobbitt Waddles, Esq.
Legal Assistant
Laylah Carter is a Legal Assistant here at Ricks & Associates, PLLC, where she has been a valued and impressive member of the firm since October 2025. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from Purdue University—a Bachelor of Science in Forensic & Investigative Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry—providing her with a rare and highly analytical foundation that enhances her legal research, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities.
In addition to her work at the firm, Laylah serves as the Executive Assistant for the Corporate Development Institute, one of the firm’s partnering 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, where she plays a meaningful role in supporting strategic initiatives and organizational development. Laylah is recognized for her professionalism, intellectual curiosity, strong work ethic, eagerness to learn, and consistently exceeding expectations in every role she assumes.