My Story
The idea of a personal attorney started in a courthouse. I was helping my wife do a legal name change, an important step in her transition. The form was confusing and I helped her sort out a few small questions.
I was glad I was there, but it made me wonder:
What happens to people who don't have a lawyer in their life?
It became clear that as a profession, we did not have a good model for delivering legal services to people unless they were in a special situation. The kind of general help I was offering was called "cocktail party law" and mostly featured in stories about the annoyances of being an attorney.
I had to look back in time to find a model for giving people general legal advice and still supporting yourself as an attoney.
I am inspired by the small town general practice attorney. The small town isn't for me, but what I really want is the commitment to a community of people and their understanding that I will be there for them when things are confusing or scary.
This is the heart of my practice and why I have chosen a community supported model. I want people to feel like they have back up in a world where lawyers are too often a tool used against them.
I offer legal primary care. I am mostly here to help diagnose legal problems, generally I recommend self care, but occasionally someone really does need the services of an expert, when that happens I try to find the right help.
Being a generalist is my specialty.
The Vision:
The legal community has historically focused on serving the needs of clients by offering deep expertise in narrow practice areas.
Often the opposite of a good idea is also a good idea.
People need legal advice on a variety of subjects throughout their lives.
I serve people who have general problems and need a specific approach by someone with broad legal knowledge.
I offer legal primary care.
My Promises
I will do my best to keep myself up to date with ongoing education.
I will be as transparent as possible about what I know, what I need to research and when you really need an expert.
I will never accept payment for referring my clients.
I will respect my clients right to self-identification, to make their own choices and to disagree.
I will always try to support and empower my clients. Sometimes that is by telling them that they have reached an end and need to stop fighting, but even when I have to do that I will respect their battle.
I will respect my clients’ feelings and experiences.
Empowered people are in the best place to make effective decisions. I strive to remove fear and confusion so clients can understand and make informed choices.
I am successful when a client is comfortably and knowledgeably empowered to make their decision, not when a client makes the choice I would.