Practice Values

“Exceptionally smart and bright attorney. Always a gentleman, very friendly,
great with clients and managing expectations. I have and would
immediately recommend him to my own clients.”
—Martindale Hubbell Peer Review, 2013

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There are times when there is no option: A lawsuit must be filed, or one that has been filed must be defended, all the way to trial and a judgment. When there is no alternative but to fight, counsel and client must form a collaborative partnership and develop shared objectives throughout the litigation. 

However, as a trial lawyer for more than 30 years, Terry has seen that, regardless of the merits of a lawsuit, far too often only the lawyers profit by the process.
 
Whatever the nature of the dispute, there is one constant and overriding fact that must be kept in mind: Less than five percent of all cases filed go to trial because the overwhelming majority of all cases are settled short of trial. Understanding that reality, Terry looks for opportunities to achieve a  constructive resolution negotiated from a position of strength. That strength derives from Terry’s dedication to thorough preparation and from his close collaboration with his clients as they develop litigation strategies that are both cost effective and outcome driven. Trial is always an option and sometimes unavoidable but the focus must always be on the client’s best interests, not the attorney’s.

Particularly in Trust Litigation, emotional issues can override all other considerations, with the tragic possibility of lasting damage to the family structure and the dissipation of the family legacy that the parents spent  their lifetimes building. These emotional issues have to be recognized and addressed in order to avoid depleting an inheritance just to fund litigation. Trust litigation, like unrestrained divorce litigation, has the very real potential of an outcome in which the lawyers win and the clients lose. Terry’s ability to work through the emotional aspect of litigation helps keep the real issues in focus. 

Business owners and real estate entrepreneurs distracted by litigation can lose twice: first in the fees paid to prosecute or defend a lawsuit and a second time because every hour the owner or entrepreneur devotes to the demands of the dispute is an hour taken away from growing the business or managing the investment. Terry works with his business and real estate clients to first assess the risk/reward of the litigation and then to develop a sound business solution.