The meeting was not going as I had hoped.
For the first 90 minutes of this meeting with a prospective client in her living room, I told her how our law firm could help in her wrongful death case involving the death of her husband. Nothing I said seemed to resonate. Our prospective client stared silently and occasionally nodded, but there was no connection between us. I was beginning to think this client would not hire our law firm. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, everything changed.
Just as an afterthought, I mentioned to our prospective client that our firm never agrees to confidential settlements. I explained that confidential settlements would not serve our purpose of “stopping medical injustice”, as they prevent the disclosure of wrongdoing. I explained that our purpose is not simply to compensate victims of malpractice but to improve the quality of medical care for other persons in the future. Of our firm’s core values, none are more sacrosanct.
Seemingly out of nowhere, our prospective client’s face lit up and she exclaimed, “Now I know you are the right law firm for my case. I could not agree more.” Our new client shared her belief that the lawsuit is not only about money for her but rather, it is to ensure that other patients do not receive the same medical neglect as her husband.
Have to admit, I did not expect this. Our core value just resulted in a new client, who we otherwise likely would not have retained. This is not why we created our core values, but surprisingly, our core values have attracted prospective clients to our law firm.
The Evolution of a Law Firm’s Core Values
In October 2013, our firm’s core values were virtually meaningless. The core values were aspirational and contained such phony phrases as “We treat our clients like our family.” This is hogwash and every on our team knew it. I asked our team members to get rid of the aspirational core values and come up with 3-5 core values that are real and that we are doing.
Over 1 ½ years, we whittled down the aspirational values and our team members came up with 4 core values that are real and practiced every day at our firm. Our team came up with:
- We only practice catastrophic injury law.
- We never agree to confidential settlements.
- We are brutally honest with our clients.
- We do not accept cases that have questionable merit.
Over the past 10 years, these 4 core values have served our firm well. We put the core values on the back of our business cards and posted them on frames in our lobby and conference room. We have been proud of our core values, but then we came to realize that our values were incomplete.
“It’s not hard to make decisions, once you know what your values are.”
Roy E. Disney
Craig Goldenfarb, Esq., a highly successful plaintiff’s lawyer in South Florida, pointed out that we needed to simplify the core values with a noun that defined each value and then a blurb that explains the meaning of each value. We tweaked the core values to make them simpler and easier for our team to memorize. This is what we came up with:
The 5 Core Values of The New York Injury & Malpractice Law Firm, P.C.
PASSION: “We are passionate about the rights of the disabled.”
GRATITUDE: “We focus on the positive things in our lives.”
TRANSPARENCY: “We never agree to confidential settlements.”
HONESTY: “We are brutally honest with our clients.”
INTEGRITY: “We do not accept cases that have questionable merit.”
These 5 core values will guide our law firm for as long as we exist. When questions arise as to what we should do, we always turn to our firm’s purpose, values, and mission.
How to Bring Your Core Values to Life
When creating your firm’s core values, less is more. Be simple, precise, and real. No aspirational or phony values are allowed. Then, to breathe life into your core values share stories that illustrate each core value.
Story #1: TRANSPARENCY: “We never agree to confidential settlements.”
On the first day of trial, the defendants make a settlement offer that is accepted by our client. Our client will not have to worry about her lack of income or paying for medical expenses with the $4,000,000 settlement.
In the courtroom, I begin putting the terms of the settlement on the record in the presence of the Judge and 4 defense attorneys. About halfway through my statement of the terms of the settlement, one of the defense lawyers blurts out, “We’re going to have to have confidentiality.” I responded by telling the Judge, “We have never agreed to a confidential settlement and today won’t be the first time.”
Then, the defense lawyer quickly muttered a few words to the claims adjuster in the back of the courtroom and responded, “We won’t need confidentiality.” I knew this was coming.
When you draw a line in the sand and tell opposing counsel that you will never agree to a confidential settlement, they will back down every time. And you will become known as an idealistic and value-oriented lawyer. Isn’t this why you became a lawyer?
Story #2: PASSION: “We are passionate about the rights of the disabled.”
In the late morning after jury deliberations, the jury announces a defense verdict in a grueling and hard-fought malpractice trial in a rural county (where there are more bears than people). The defense verdict was devastating, as our client was brain-damaged and partially paralyzed.
One of our litigation paralegals did not return to work that day and the next day I asked what she did after the verdict. The answer was not what I expected. Our team member shared that she was shaken up by the defense verdict and she had to pull her car to the side of the road after leaving court, where she was trembling and wept for our clients. Our team member was so shaken up that she could not compose herself enough to return to work.
When you have team members who are as passionate as you about the rights of the disabled, you have something special. A generally over-used term, “culture” is best defined as a group of people who share common beliefs and values. Truth be told, our team members will only succeed at our firm if they are passionate about the rights of the disabled. If you work for a paycheck, you won’t succeed at our firm. Nothing is more important.
Story #3: INTEGRITY: “We do not accept cases that have questionable merit.”
On the night before his trial testimony, our expected medical expert discloses damaging (and stupid) comments that he wrote on a yellow sticky note and he asks whether he should remove them from his file. I told the medical expert to keep everything in his file, as otherwise he would be forced to commit perjury if asked whether his file is complete when questioned by defense counsel.
What happened next was the most embarrassing thing I’ve seen in a courtroom. The sticky notes contain idiotic questions such as “Should I wink at the jury?” and “How can I get the jury to like me?” None of the notes are relevant to the lawsuit, but the defense lawyer has a field day during cross-examination of the expert. And the inevitable defense verdict follows a couple of days later.
I could have told the medical expert to remove the notes from his file and no one would have known…except me. Our integrity is our most important possession. We would rather lose cases than compromise our integrity.
How to Define the Purpose of Your Law Firm
When we first began to define our law firm’s purpose, we came up with catchy phrases like, “Providing Clear Answers to Complex Medical Malpractice Questions” and “Raising the Standard of Care for Patients”. But those phrases do not really define why we exist. So, we kept searching for why we do this and kept pushing to define our purpose.
Finally, after 3 days at a mastermind in Arizona in October 2013, my friend, Lane “Dawg” Bowers, came up with the phrase, “Stopping Medical Injustice”. As soon as I heard it, I knew we had come up with our firm’s purpose. Our purpose, “Stopping Medical Injustice” will be the north star that guides our firm for as long as we exist.
Other law firms embrace their purpose. Jim Hacking, Esq., an immigration lawyer in St. Louis, has a purpose of “We fight for immigrants every day.” Rich Grungo, Esq., a plaintiff’s lawyer in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, puts family first for his team members with his firm’s purpose, “Family First.” Everyone at these law firms knows what they are fighting for because they have a common purpose.
“We believe that it’s really important to come up with core values that you can commit to. And by commit, we mean you’re willing to hire and fire based on them. If you’re willing to do that, then you’re well on your way to building a company culture that is in line with the brand you want to build.”
Tony Hsieh, former CEO, Zappos
When you are faced with difficult questions, turn to your firm’s purpose and ask your team members whether the question at hand can be solved by reference to your purpose. Almost always, your purpose will guide you and your team members as to what to do in most situations.
How to Define the Mission of Your Law Firm
The mission of your law firm must have a quantifiable goal and a deadline, e.g., President John F. Kennedy, Jr. set an awe-inspiring mission of having a man on the moon within 10 years. JFK’s mission was considered practically unattainable, but great things do not happen without wildly ambitious goals.
When we began our law firm, we knew that lawyer referrals generated more clients for our law firm than any other form of marketing. So, rather than focusing on referrals from former clients or internet marketing, we put all of our time and marketing budget into acquiring and nurturing lawyer referrals.
On October 19, 2013, our firm had 124 “referral partners” (lawyers who refer clients to our firm) and our mission was to have 500 referral partners by October 19, 2016. We didn’t come close to reaching our goal, but we kept pushing and with the ever-present mission facing us, we exceeded 500 referral partners 2 years ago.
“Whatever you are thinking, think bigger.”
Tony Hsieh, former CEO, Zappos
As of May 19, 2024, our firm has 628 referral partners and our current mission is to have 1,000 referral partners by October 19, 2026. One of our team members strikes a gong in our conference room with every referral from a new referral partner and we celebrate and chart our progress. Without keeping our team focused on our mission, our crazy goal would be unattainable.
If you had to pick one key performance indicator for your law firm, what would it be? Be bold and ambitious. Share your mission with your team and create a scoreboard in your firm’s conference room to show your progress. Get your team members focused on your firm’s mission and watch great things happen.
Why Your Law Firm Should Have Purpose, Values, and Mission
With a well-defined purpose, values, and mission, you are not just another law firm. You are a value-oriented firm that places more emphasis on values than money. And instantly, you are set apart from just about every other law firm.
And a side benefit of having purpose, values, and mission is that they may attract potential clients to your firm. But even if they don’t, is there anything more important? Only you can answer that.
