JACK OF TWO TRADES

The legal profession has divided itself in two:  Litigation and transactions.  Litigators try cases.  Transaction attorneys draft documents.  The division or specialization certainly exists but does not serve the client well.  Often, litigation represents a failed transaction.  When planning a transaction and drafting the required documents, you have to know what can go wrong.  Please look at the description of my areas of practice.  I have represented both sides in lawsuits and transactions. 

I have three advantages over most attorneys.  My first full time job was not as an attorney.  I taught eighth graders Introductory Physical Science at Drew Middle School in Stafford County.  Second, I have had to serve as a witness in two civil cases (including an auto accident) and one criminal case.  Third, as an Assistant Attorney General, I hired, paid, and supervised private-sector attorneys retained by the Commonwealth of Virginia.  I have been a client.

WHY I STARTED MY OWN FIRM.

I started my own firm for the same reason that many of you went into business for yourselves and the same reason that many of you have climbed up the ladder to positions of considerable responsibility.  I like the idea of running my own ship.  I wanted to return to a more traditional practice of law.  In that "model", the attorney manages transactions and represents clients in court.  I have also wanted, for some time, to find other ways of charging for my services than the standard fee hourly basis.