I see my role as your consigliere — your counselor. Think Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) as counsel to Michael Corleone from The Godfather. We all need counsel and direction during times of trouble; some of us bring on more ‘trouble’ than others because we don’t make conventional choices.
You can always google the law and lawyers are generally a dime a dozen. I know the law, but you pay for counsel and advice. Remember Lincoln’s wise words, “An attorney’s time and advice are his stock in trade.”
My Dad was a welder and his father was a farmer. Each faced death on a battlefield in a World War. So I understand that the ‘value’ I bring to your life is not clearly tangible. Sometimes, people joke about lawyers billing to ‘think’ about a case, as if that’s unfair. But, if we decide to work together, I strongly believe that good lawyers get paid for advice and thought, crafted onto paper.
My personal approach is to know the facts of your case and your personality. I ask lots of questions most other lawyers don’t — I want to know about patterns in your life and relationships; I want to know (to the extent possible) who you are and how you got yourself into the situation you face with your opponent. I require that you pay me because I am not playing a game, and neither should you.
That’s just how I do things.
I also research your opponents and their attorney(s). I will know what they’ve donated to your judge’s campaigns and I’m always updating my research on the judges themselves. Personalities run the system, so you need to know them — good, bad and indifferent.
So I rely upon experience, information, intuition and execution to succeed. I personally draft, argue and negotiate everything that’s done on your behalf. I personally prepare the case, and do so carefully.