Integrity. Our attorneys are honest in their dealings with clients, judges, and opposing counsel. We do what we say we are going to do. We do not make promises we cannot keep. We explicitly define caveats and expectations.
Service. Ours is a service profession, and our clients judge us on the quality, speed, and delivery of that service. A lawyer who is not accessible is worthless to a client. We return phone calls as quickly as possible. If the attorney is unavailable, his or her secretary returns the call and explains why the attorney could not call personally. While we discourage unrealistic deadlines, we respond to clients on their schedule, not ours. We remember that clients do not care about excuses; they care about their needs.
Advice to Clients. We give our clients realistic, pragmatic advice – we do not just tell them what the law is. We present alternatives and analyze the risks and benefits of each. Whenever possible, we make affirmative recommendations or clarify the factors that favor one alternative over another. When we do not know the answer to a question, we say so forthrightly and research the question promptly.
Quality. Our written and oral work product aims to be clear, well thought-out, organized, and tailored to the needs of the client and the matter. We strive to be thorough. We do not produce unnecessary paperwork. We look for the shortest, most efficient way of documenting a transaction and the most effective way of obtaining our clients’ goals in litigation. We attempt to avoid “lawyerese” and legal jargon, both orally and in our written documents, wherever and whenever possible.
Tactics. We do not double-or triple-team matters with multiple attorneys unless their expertise or backup is necessary to achievement of the client’s goal, and the client first approves their involvement. When a team approach is appropriate, we require that one attorney be directly responsible to the client and for monitoring and confirming that the work is being done efficiently, on time, and well.
