What Makes A Good Attorney?

I am a sucker for the Olympics.  I love watching people push themselves to be the best in the world at some obscure event that requires an insane amount of skill and talent.  Then there are the guys who make you scratch your head and wonder “What do THEY do?”  The middle guys in the four-man bobsled-what do THEY do?  They run a few steps, jump in, duck their head, and you never see them again.  

You would know who they were if they screwed up, though.  If they don’t push hard enough, or slip and fall, or forget to duck, they can ruin a perfect run.  Many of our prospective clients ask us these same questions-what exactly do you do? It doesn’t look too hard-make a few calls, write a few e-mails, duck your head down.  Why are you worth the price?  Surely you can cut your prices for ME?

My only response; it’s our job to make interpreting law appear easy.  If we do our job right, you only see the positive end result, and not all the training and experience that went into that outcome.  For instance, in a real estate transaction, we have reviewed every real estate contract from every major real estate agency.  We know what specific clauses to add to each “stock” contract to make sure you are protected.  It might not look like we are working hard, but our contract review letter is specifically tailored to your needs based on the contract you signed and your specific circumstances.  We have the “muscle memory” of completing literally thousands of residential real estate transactions over the past 35 years; just like the guy who pushed the bobsled out of the starting gate a few thousand times beforehand.

If we do our job right with the initial “push,” all you will see is the smooth run down the track, not the thousands of hours that came before.  That’s why an experienced attorney is worth the price.  There is an old adage that you get what you pay for. You can finish the race smoothly, or you can slip and fall in the first turn.  Don’t expect a gold medal finish if you only want to pay for a back of the pack qualifier.

Written by Larry Kroll, Attorney At Law, 2017