|
WHAT DOES REAL SOLUTIONS FOR REAL WORLD CASES MEAN?
This is another 'catch phrase' I have adopted for our firm to try and educate the consumer about what is 'important' in analyzing the best course of action in a legal matter and to allow the consumer some common sense foundations upon which to measure the quality of legal services they are receiving from whatever law firm they ultimately choose.
Before defining the phrase, let me preface any discussion by sharing some insight after 20 years of having clients from all walks of life specifically advise me of the promises they have supposedly extracted from other law firms before actually 'signing on the dotted line' of a fee agreement. Unfortunately, I have 'lost' many a prospective client by simply telling the truth to them. It seems counterintuitive that telling the truth would actually cause an attorney with integrity to lose business but when you consider some of the circumstances perhaps you will see wherein the problems lie.
Let's take a couple of common examples we run into on a day to day basis and see wherein difficulties arise. I will be the first to admit that our offices are not super 'fancy' or that our personnel are not dressed in 'super slick' raiment. In part this is a conscious decision on our end to not cause undue fee expenses to pay for items that are not really related to better legal services, but instead, are more 'sales' tactics designed to suggest that these 'expensive' furnishings and 'tailored suits' somehow add credibility to what a client is being told. While we are not opposed to making a decent presentation, 'looks' in and of themselves are no more persuasive in the law as they would be on the floor of a car dealership. In other words, simply because a firm has 'first class' executive suites is not a rational basis to choose the law firm that is right for you. 'Glitz' is not a measure of talent.
The second common situation we run into concerns 'large consumer firms' wherein the prospective clients are actually meeting with professional sales personnel [typically from the vehicle and furniture retail realm] who have absolutely no understanding or conception of the law, the courts, the prosecutors, or the legal system itself whatsoever. We are frequently given the cards from these 'sales persons' by clients who came to our offices because they felt they were 'being pressured like in a car dealership to sign up for a legal case without any sort of realistic assessment of the truth of their legal standings in 'the Real World'. Many of the 'business cards' we have reviewed have titles like 'Legal Administrator', or 'Executive Administrator', neither or which has any bearing whatsoever on the law, the lawyer's perspective on the matter, or any other legal insight whatsoever. We measure this tactic from our Palmisano Law Firm's perspective as being a means of deceiving and deluding the public into suggesting that these fancy firms with their 'sharp dressed' sales wolves have some sort of 'magic bullet' from which they can [via sorcery??] get a client's case dismissed.
Naturally, many clients who are bamboozled in this regard find out the hard way, and thousands and thousands of dollars later, that they were essentially 'lied to from the beginning', have no hope of accomplishing what is 'promised' at the outset, and then are left to face the hard consequences of their circumstances given that neither the law nor the facts from the very get go supported the empty promises made to them. This is a sad and despicable form of client deceit which not only punishes the client, but also gives the entire legal profession a 'black eye' by making consumers hostile to other lawyers, who now have to 'go the extra mile' just to show that they are not anything like the 'slick law firms' who thrive in misrepresentation and lies to accomplish an intake of money, without any sort of justified recompense to the client.
The second common 'trick' we have seen utilized by various law firms is also applicable to some lawyers in Arizona as well-and not just the 'glorified car salesmen'. This misrepresentation, in a sense, is almost more egregious than the situation identified above because these presentations are actually made by lawyers as well as the 'sales' people and is extremely misleading in regard to client presentation in terms of a criminal charge. A common example of this type of misrepresentation derives from initial client intake at some law firms. In essence, for example, in criminal law, a client is told of the 'very serious' consequences of the charge, even if the lawyer or 'salesperson' knows better. For instance, in Arizona, even a tiny useable quantity of marijuana is charged as a Class 6 Felony. When consumers hear 'Felony' they immediately get concerned [naturally]. They want to know what their options are.
Every month we have several new clients who come into our offices in tears because they were told that they are looking at 'One Year in Prison' on account of being found in possession of a 'joint'. The fact is that we have no problem advising the client that, under Prop 200, not only will they NOT go to prison for possessing a joint, they can even usually qualify for either a Misdemeanor or a TASC program and not have a felony on their record at all. We obviously can assist in this kind of case but usually for no more than $500 to help them complete the entire process. Nonetheless, we have seen clients pay $5,000-6,000 dollars at other firms because the threat of prison was presented as a 'real possibility' in the case 'unless' the client paid the law firm this large sum of money. Naturally, the poor client, not familiar with the law, when they receive TASC or a Misdemeanor now think that the money was well spent and that the lawyer or law firm was 'outstanding' on account of the result.
The sad truth is for these clients that the 'outcome' was never in doubt [because Arizona State Law guarantees it!!] and that the client was 'bilked' out of their hard earned money by a fundamental misrepresentation from the inception of the case. What has been remarkable from our perspective is the number of clients we have specifically advised of the truth concerning their case, who nevertheless go back to the 'flashier' firm with 'nicer' offices and pay 10 times what we would charge for the same case, because they mistake the 'glitz' of the presentation as 'proof' of the quality of the legal advice given. They honestly believe that the larger firm, with advertising fluttering throughout the state, must be more 'knowledgeable' on these subject matters than the less pricey but ultimately truthful attorneys that exist in Arizona.
Now that we have presented a foundation for the basis of our slogan, 'Real World Solutions for Real World Cases', it should be more readily apparent as to what we mean by this. In essence, we at the Palmisano Law Firm will always give you what we perceive after many years of experience as a realistic assessment of your legal matter. That means that if, for example, you are charged with possession of a pot pipe, we are not going to pull out a sentencing chart and show you how a Class 6 Felony can carry a One Year Prison Term and therefore this is a 'very serious' case. It means that if you come to us with a personal injury case, we are not going to tell you that you are going to be a 'millionaire' on account of a minor fender bender. It also means that if you wish to create a contract, or make a will or trust, that the ramifications for such legal documents will be explained with accuracy so that you can make an intelligent, informed decision concerning you legal matter.
I have been successful as an attorney for 20 years because I have always had the ability and the desire to tell my clients the Truth concerning their legal matters. That does not always mean that a client will 'like' the truth, but nevertheless it is critical in developing a useful and trustworthy relationship that a client have realistic expectations going into a case. It means that a client must be able to weigh his/her options based on 'Real World' Solutions designed to present the absolute best options for their consideration in 'Real World' Cases. Thus, by presenting clients with realistic expectations, we have found that the 'truth' is the absolute best way to help them in legal representation. It is based on this philosophy that our firm generates most of its revenue from 'return' and 'referred' clients. This is, in our opinion, proof of the success of our system of legal services.
|
|
|
