There is a certain allure to the big law firm with many attorneys, but I will tell you that its not necessarily a benefit. I once had a case many years back that went to trial with a very big law firm representing the other side. In fact, it was the last trial for the Defendant’s lead attorney before he took his position as a federal court district judge. Later, he further moved up the ladder to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. It was clear that the attorney had the help of associates and many support staff. Despite the big name behind him, I was thorough and methodical in taking the testimony of a key witness during the trial, and I won the case.
When you go to a typical large Law Firm , what are you getting? You are paying for that beautiful setting, which has spiral staircases, multiple long conference rooms with beautiful views of the city, and spacious corner offices for the partners. The big law firm might also include multiple attorneys working on your case that are pressured to meet billables. You might even have multiple attorneys discussing your case and receive a bill for all of them for the same hour consultation.
Typically, you might meet with a partner, for an hour, and he or she will listen to your case and take a multitude of notes on a legal pad. Then after the meeting, he (or she) passes off those notes and thoughts to one of their associates who will work up the case. Somehow, some way, it is hoped that those notes are supposed to make it onto a computer into a nice word file. Perhaps the notes will never get onto the computer. Perhaps the associate won’t understand the notes completely since they are not the one that was part of the initial meeting. They’ll end up asking the partner a lot of questions. More billable time for which you are paying. The associate might not ask questions and write something far afield for your case, which leads to more drafts and more billables. You’ll end up paying for the partner’s time and the subordinate’s time.
When you meet with with me, I am respectful of your time and money. I realize people want to meet at places that are comfortable to them. I’m willing to travel to a mutually suitable location to discuss your case with respect to the confidentiality of your case. When you meet me, I’m usually not handwriting notes. Rather, I am immediately putting facts down in my laptop which tell your facts and ultimately, your story.