The clients we work with have been dealt catastrophic losses, and each client is affected deeply. They each face the tragedy in their own way, trying to make sense of what happened and to begin to heal. The civil justice system is best set up to provide money to compensate someone’s loss, but we’ve found that winning a case for our clients isn’t just about compensation. It’s about healing, and closure, and moving on. And how that happens will vary from client to client.
Some clients need to face the wrongdoer. Others want an explanation—how, why did this occur? Most just want everything back to normal. To achieve this requires attorneys with both a strong legal and emotional skill set.
Asking the right questions
When we first meet clients, our goal is to develop a personal connection with them, not just gather the facts of the case. We seek to peel away the layers to determine what is important to the client—financially, physically, emotionally—to make sure we have a true understanding of the case and the people involved.
We do this by listening carefully. We start by asking a client what their goals are. Often we hear general responses like “I want answers.” We then probe deeper, listening for the real issues.
In a medical malpractice wrongful death case, for example, where a family member has died tragically, we often find our client feels tremendous guilt. They feel they are somehow responsible for what happened. Perhaps if they’d only sought another opinion or asked different or more questions, they think, their loved one would still be alive. In a case like this, one of our goals—both during our meetings, and at trial—is to reassure the family¬ that they did nothing wrong.
We also listen very carefully in these types of cases to understand family dynamics. When someone is seriously injured or killed, it’s important to delve into their relationships with other family members and how they lived their life. That helps us plan tactically how we approach issues at trial. It lets us paint a complete picture of what the victim and their family have lost.
Solid relationships
Our decades of experience have taught us that solid relationships throughout the civil justice system are also critical in achieving successful outcomes for our clients. From judges to co-counsel to opposing counsel to potential clients, we make sure everyone knows that it’s our ultimate goal to reach the best result for our client in the most efficient manner possible.
As civil litigation attorneys, it’s our job to assess what it will take to get to the desired goal, work toward that goal, and gain the respect of our peers and clients along the way. That makes each and every subsequent case that much easier to handle.
Many people think civil litigation attorneys are like two boxers in a ring slugging it out. While knock-down battles are sometimes necessary, when possible we prefer to work things out and avoid unnecessary battle. It’s simply better for our clients.
We don’t needlessly argue over minor legal points, like petty discovery disputes, if it won’t ultimately serve our client. Choosing the right battles builds credibility with the court and opposing counsel, and it avoids tying up a case and prolonging its resolution—all to the benefit of our clients.
Resolve
Just because we understand the art of compromise doesn’t mean we won’t fight for our client with all we’ve got. Knowing when to take a stand is an important aspect of successful civil litigation. We dig in when we need to and are exceptionally tenacious when we feel our client has been wronged.
Recently, our office received a referral from an out-of-state attorney who had referred several clients to us in the past. He told us he knows that we fight hard but that we’re reasonable, which made him confident we’d be able to achieve a successful outcome for his client.
Passion, care, and excellence
We look for these qualities in every person who joins our team, and we live by these qualities with every case. When it comes to civil litigation, we are passionate about pursuing justice and righting wrongs. It’s just the way we’re wired.
We care deeply about our clients. We get to know them personally so we can understand and internalize their needs. That lets us best represent their interests and help them find peace and closure.
We pursue every case, every client, with excellence. We bring equal parts communication, creativity, and intelligence to each case, which ensures that everyone involved—clients, judges, juries, opposing counsel—ultimately feels like the best possible outcome has been achieved.
We know that a person or family looks to us for help because they want to heal. They want our help putting the pieces of their shattered life back together. We believe it’s our job—our obligation—as civil litigation attorneys to understand what a successful outcome to the case will be for each individual client, and then use everything we’ve got to achieve that outcome.
The outcome of any client’s case will depend on the particular legal and factual circumstances of the case.
