Ms. Smith’s law practice philosophy is molded by her many years of experience in a variety of law firm settings, as well as her personal values of justice, integrity, loyalty, strength, and courage. Ms. Smith personally gives every client the zealous representation and level of sophistication that their case deserves. Ms. Smith knows that sometimes clients need an aggressive litigator, and other times they need empathy and some creative and collaborative problem solving. In the case of each client, Ms. Smith formulates a results-driven plan of action designed to efficiently and swiftly achieve the individual client’s goal.
Having represented individuals who are victimized in the workplace for several years, Ms. Smith knows that your employment case is more than just a case, it is a critical piece of your life and the final outcome of your case may have serious effects on you and in some cases your family. Ms. Smith prides herself on tirelessly working to ensure that each and every client is pleased with their representation and gets the best result possible.
Ms. Smith’s philosophy is to mediate as appropriate and litigate when necessary. Ms. Smith uses creative approaches to resolve disputes prior to filing a lawsuit. Ms. Smith is not hesitant, however, to file a lawsuit and aggressively litigate a case when it is necessary to restore or protect a client’s rights. No case is the same and no one size fits all. Depending on the size and complexity of your case it may be staffed with additional qualified attorney(s), paralegal(s) and/or law clerk(s). Ms. Smith believes in combining forces with co-counsel with other accomplished attorneys to scale up for larger disputes. The staffing of your case will be discussed in the initial consultation. In all cases, Ms. Smith makes a point to get to know her clients as people and is at all times their direct point of contact, providing highly personalized, individual attention.
Ms. Smith recognizes that to many of her clients the law, legal terminology, and the legal process can be confusing and overwhelming. This is true even for lawyer clients who find themselves in a situation that is outside of their own practice areas. Ms. Smith takes the time to educate each of her clients on the law and legal process to ensure they are as comfortable as possible with the process and to give them the information they need to weigh in on important decisions in their case. Ms. Smith teaches her clients how to best present themselves in depositions, mediations and before a judge or jury, as is necessary.
Ms. Smith believes that the more the client is actively involved in their lawsuit, the better the outcome will be. Toward that end, Ms. Smith encourages all her clients to commit to their case by participating with her in frequent lawyer-client brain-storming sessions and by actively assisting with the collection of facts and documents and presentation of the evidence. Ms. Smith also expects her clients to be forthcoming about potential pitfalls and “bad facts” in their case. In Ms. Smith’s experience, it is much better to be alerted to potential pitfalls by the client than to be blindsided with the pitfalls at an inopportune moment by counsel for the defense. More often than not, the “bad” facts are not as “bad” as the client may think.
Ms. Smith believes in offering her clients flexible fee agreements tailored to meet their goals of representation and financial situation. Some clients seek reinstatement to their former position, others seek changes and the workplace, and still others desire monetary awards. In your initial consultation, Ms. Smith will listen carefully to you and help you identify appropriate goals of any representation. Depending on the circumstances, Ms. Smith offers contingent, hourly, hybrid and/or flat fee agreements. During your initial consultation, Ms. Smith will discuss with you potential fee arrangements. Ms. Smith will also provide you with an honest and realistic assessment of your case. Ms. Smith does not believe that clients are benefitted when they are only told what they want to hear about the strength of their cases.
