We’ve all heard tales of the client who called his lawyer to offer him tickets to a basketball game, only to later be billed two-tenths of an hour for the 7 minute phone call. Yeah, we think it’s absurd too. 

Did you also know that there are attorneys out there that still dictate their letters and memos and then bill you for the additional time it takes to have a secretary transcribe it?  Yes, really.

These are just some of the things we set out to fix:

Billing Practices

Some things fall squarely into the category of “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”  Billing for regular client communication is one of those things.  Because we want you to be a part of the process, we never bill you for the phone calls, emails, or letters it takes to keep you informed. 

You hired us as a team, you shouldn’t be penalized when we perform like one.  We don’t multiple bill attorney time when we consult with one another in the office.  The free flow of ideas should be…well, free.

It doesn’t cost us a dollar to fax a sheet of paper, so it shouldn’t cost you that either.  In fact, most in-office copying, faxing, and scanning is free when doing so doesn’t put an undue strain on our office equipment.  Nickles and dimes shouldn’t be part of a law firm’s profit model.

Client Access

It’s likely you have a nine-to-five job.  We don’t expect you to give up your lunch-breaks to get in touch with us.  Our offices can be opened early, closed late, or available on weekends by arrangement.  Our attorneys work staggered schedules to suit their needs (we believe that everyone has a different peak productivity window, and that it doesn’t always fall between the hours of nine-to-five), and you’ll often find that emails and phone calls are being answered well after most firms are closed.

Speaking of phone calls and emails: our emails and phones are answered by attorneys.  We believe that if you take the time to call or write to us, then an attorney–not a secretary or a paralegal–should take the time to answer.  If you can’t get a hold of a particular attorney, speak to another: they’ll have access to your file, and can help you just as quickly.

We understand that your legal matter is important to you.  You worry about it, you stress about it, and in many cases, you are more excited about it than a kid is on Christmas.  You shouldn’t have to check in on us to see how its going, because we make it a policy to maintain contact with our clients at least once every 72 hours while the matter is active and awaiting our action.  Isn’t it nice to know that we’re thinking of you as often as you are of us?

Smart Office

We worked with some of the very best process and workflow management people out there to develop our firm.  Our office didn’t “go” paperless…it was born paperless.  Being paperless isn’t just about being eco-friendly.  It allows us to instantly share knowledge between attorneys in-office, and to share data across offices as well.   It allows us to index and pull up files instantly, to collaborate without having to duplicate documents, to seamlessly transition from office to home to travel, and allows us to provide you with digital copies as they become available.

We also believe that in-firm collaboration leads to superior results.  We use “micro-collaboration” techniques such as Instant Messaging, passive Audio and Video Conferencing, and step-traceable document histories to make sure each and every product we produce benefits from the shared knowledge base of the firm, without having to bill extra hours for it.

We also hate to admit it, but saying we are a green office these days has “marketing” stamped all over it.  The truth is, however, that we produce only a fraction of the paper waste a traditional firm produces, recycle nearly 100 percent of what we do produce, and take active steps to reduce our energy and water consumption.