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PHILOSOPHICAL GOALS
1. WE ENDEAVOR TO TREAT EACH CLIENT AS AN INDIVIDUAL. ALL CLIENTS ARE AND WILL BE GIVEN DUE RESPECT.
2. EACH CLIENT HAS INDIVIDUAL NEEDS AND CONCERNS. IT IS OUR GOAL TO PROVIDE EACH CLIENT WITH THE PERSONALIZED SERVICE THEY DESERVE AND NEED.
It may surprise many clients to know that while it may seem that most legal cases in the realm of consumer law would define the priorities of the individuals concerned, it has been my experience over 20 years that many people that I represent have different issues, values, needs and expectations when it comes to representation. The purpose of this philosophical goal is to make all clients aware that we are cognizant that they are all individuals, and that our goals for a particular legal matter are focused on those aspects which are of most concern to the client. That does not mean that we won't advise the client as to what we consider to be the salient points of the representation. It also does not mean that we will not be afraid to explain with clarity the consequences we anticipate that will not be beneficial to the client if a certain legal option is pursued.. Nonetheless, it is the client who must make the ultimate decision as to what is best for them and their families and loved ones, and we will respect their wishes and try to accommodate their wishes within the confines of the law. Thus, each client is different; and each legal matter is of variable importance and concern to the individual[s] affected. This is what we mean by catering to the client as an individual, whose goals and aspirations are not necessarily uniform in each circumstance.
3. WE VALUE REFERRALS FROM OUR CLIENTS WHICH IS WHY WE PROMISE TO REPRESENT EACH AND EVERY ONE TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITIES. THE REAL VALUE WE OBTAIN FROM OUR CLIENTS IS THE CONFIDENCE AND TRUST WE ESTABLISH TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO REFER OTHERS TO OUR OFFICES.
We are the first to admit that our advertisement is quite minimal as compared to larger firms. We are not ashamed to admit that we do not, nor will we likely ever expend the same level of resources of other firms in this regard. There are two pertinent reasons for this. The first is, that commensurate with extravagant advertising is the need to 'make back' the money expended on such. That is, many firms with heavy advertisement expenditure will transfer the costs of this expensive approach to the client in order to even have a chance at breaking even, much less turning a profit. I can say with confidence that this is less of a problem in the area of 'personal injury', wherein a single 'enormous' settlement can pay for large advertisement dollars sometimes even for years to come.
However, with regard to other areas of consumer law, such as 'criminal or dui defense', 'bankruptcy' [which we don't currently practice but can provide referrals], 'family law' [ditto], 'contracts', or 'wills, estates & trusts', this same economic principle does not apply. That is why so many large 'consumer firms' with heavy advertising actually charge substantially larger fees than the average attorneys. I can assure you that this is not because you are getting better quality legal representation. It only means that the costs must be increased to the consumer to make up for the staggering advertising costs.
With this brief explanation out of the way, we can now begin to explain the substantive philosophical motivation for this principal of conduct in our law firm. In essence, our law firm does not practice what is known as 'churn and burn' client relationships. That means that we will not be seeking to get you in the door, sign you up with a slew of empty promises, and then forget about you knowing that based on our massive advertising it matters very little whether you actually refer any clients to our firm. This is particularly true in Arizona where there is a constant, monthly influx of new citizens relocating to this state for a variety of reasons, none of which are important to this discussion. On the contrary, our focus is to provide such good quality representation at such a reasonable cost that you would not hesitate to recommend us to friends or family. In the long term, the reason we have been so successful over 10 years is because even though our advertising as been nearly non-existent for years at a time, we have plenty of referrals time and again which have allowed us to thrive and grow at a gradual, but practical, pace, as a law firm.
One of the underlying goals of allowing many clients to pay us on a budgeted payment plan is because it is our conviction that by providing high quality representation at an affordable price, we obtain extra 'value' or 'interest' on our financial payment plans. The reason for this is two fold. First, by allowing more people to obtain our services we can 'spread the word' so to speak as to our quality and competence. Therefore, even though in the short term we will be obtaining less 'monetary reward', in the long term we will be rewarded with additional referrals and 'word of mouth' recommendations that more than make up for the short term 'financial debits' we accumulate. Second, by providing value and quality we will be countering the 'trend' of larger and greater advertising expenses, with the idea that we can continue to thrive on 'word of mouth', and therefore provide even better services at less cost to the consumer.
4. WE ARE SINCERE IN OUR HOPE THAT OUR CLIENTS WILL FEEL THAT THEY ARE OBTAINING ANSWERS TO THEIR LEGAL QUESTIONS, AS WELL AS THE ABILITY TO EXPLORE WITH COUNSEL ANY VIABLE OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THEM IN WHATEVER LEGAL PROCEEDINGS WE ARE RETAINED FOR.
After 20 years as a practicing lawyer there is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to a legal matter. We hope that our clients understand that we recognize that, as a consumer law firm, our clientele are made up of individuals from very different backgrounds, experience with the legal system, and education levels. The point of this 'goal' is to make the client aware that you should never be ashamed or embarrassed to ask us a question. More specifically, THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR! If you are unclear or uncertain as to either what an attorney or paralegal is trying to explain to you, please, don't ask, DEMAND, clarification.
You have to understand that most of us have been doing this for many years, and, like doctors, we sometimes forget that what we take for granted in a conversation may be 'news' to you. We are not offended, nor are we upset if something needs to be re-explained or put in a different perspective for you, the client, to grasp. It certainly does not mean you are uneducated or slow witted, it only means that you are unfamiliar to a system wherein we have been trained and have been practicing a long time. Please understand that when I go to Jiffy Lube for an oil change, and they provide me with a list of 'other things' that 'need' to be done to my car, I am as lost as I expect some of you may be when we try to explain a complex legal complex. However, I do not pretend with the Jiffy Lube guy that I understand what he is 'babbling' about. Instead, I ask him to 'explain' what he is trying to get me to 'buy'. If I am unsatisfied that I understand correctly the problem then I will get a second opinion. This leads me to a final point in this section.
You will never hurt our feelings, embarrass us, or betray us, by getting a second opinion on a case from another law firm if we, for whatever reason, have you feeling dissatisfied in terms of the answers we give you. Just as many doctors are more than happy to refer you as a patient to another doctor for a 'second opinion' we will never take offense at that. Quite frankly, it is more important to us that you are understanding our opinion, and utilizing an outside source to garner further insight, so that you can make the right decision for yourself, as opposed to allowing 'egotistical' irrelevancies get in the way of you obtaining the further advice you want.
5. IT IS OUR GOAL TO MAKE OUR SERVICES AS AFFORDABLE AS POSSIBLE TO AS MANY INDIVIDUALS AS WE ARE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE. WE BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE DESERVES HIGH QUALITY REPRESENTATION AND WE ARE WILLING TO MAKE EVERY ATTEMPT TO MAKE OUR SERVICES VIABLE TO EVEYONE BY NOT ONLY SETTING UP REASONABLE FEE SCHEDULES BUT ALSO PERMITTING PAYMENT PLANS ON AS MANY CASES AS WE CAN IN ORDER TO CUSTOMIZE OUR PROGRAMS TO FIT WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL'S BUDGET.
We are aware that the economy is a shaky commodity even in the best of times, and so it should come as no surprise that we have always allowed payment plans for many of our services. We ordinarily will make every effort to accommodate anyone who comes into this office for help. We hope that by doing so, people will see that real quality private counsel is not 'out of reach' for the average consumer, but is rather right within their grasp. We know that sometimes coming up with large amounts of money is difficult if not impossible for many. We therefore strive to assist as best we can in that regard and hope that, in exchange for our 'financing' our legal representation to you, you will do us the return service of honoring your financial arrangements with our firm.
It really is a 'two way street' when we permit unsecured payment plans. In part, we are taking a 'chance' on you the client, because many times the work we will be doing may exceed the payments you are making to us, especially in the beginning of a case. Alternatively, we hope that you will not disappoint our trust in you to do the honorable thing and continue payments even if your case is completed in less time than the payment plan. Please keep in mind that from our perspective, these are 'interest free' loans to you the client. We are not earning anything on allowing you time to pay your legal fees. We are merely helping to get the 'help you need when you need it', regardless of whether you have the ability to accommodate full payment during the time of representation. We ask you with all honest intentions to return the 'favor' by 'helping' us continue to permit payment plans to help as many people as we can. Remember, this level of trust benefits you and anyone else with legal matters because otherwise the alternative will be low quality or over priced or impossible to meet payment terms, which will ultimately damage the entire community of consumer law individuals, including your own friends and family.
6. WE INTEND THAT A MINIMUM OF TWO ATTORNEYS WILL SUPERVISE AND CONSIDER ALL POSSIBLE AVUES OF REPRESENTATION FOR A CLIENT SO THAT MORE THAN ONE VIEWPOINT CAN BE ASCERTAINED PRIOR TO OFFERING OUR CLIENTS OPTIONS AVAILABLE IN THEIR LEGAL MATTERS.
7. WE WISH EVERYONE TO FEEL WECOME TO CONTACT US AT ANYTIME WITH QUESTIONS CONCERNING THEIR REPRESENTATION, AND WE STRIVE TO RESPOND TO ALL INQUIRIES WITHIN A 24 HOUR PERIOD FROM INITIAL CONTACT.
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