Whatshot
Legal Talk
Legal Talk
I try to understand what my clients' needs and goals so that I can find acceptable path to get them what they want. Being tenacious whilst representing my clients and having the tenacity to find has earned us respect. I love what I do and pursue my work with a passion.
One of the best aspects of my job is that no two days are ever the same. Some days are spent at court, whilst others are spent at the office. This means consulting with clients, working on files, drawing pleadings, researching aspects of a particular case and so on. Even though the day is over, it doesn't necessarily mean my workload is done.
I'm often sitting at my computer late into the night to churn out the next day's work. It's not uncommon for me to send an agreement to my client by email at around midnight and by 6h30 the next morning the client and I are in contact with each other finalizing the contents of the document.My aim is to deliver a product to the client that can be up held up to the scrutiny of the courts. That means doing sufficient research on the matter whilst also having the technical skills and tools to handle the case.
What's great for me is that after 24 years of being in legal practice, I still find myself learning something new every day. I make an effort to gain knowledge as much as possible be it in a formal or informal way. In that regard I'd like to believe that I'm following the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) which was to acquire knowledge for the entire duration of your life until the day you die.I consider it a privilege that my client's have entrusted me to represent them, often during the most emotionally difficult period in their lives, for example in the case of a person who is going through a divorce.
Whilst it's true that the bigger law firms have bigger budgets and resources than the smaller law firms, ultimately this is a service orientated profession and at the end of the day it's that particular attorney's efforts and hard work (or lack thereof) which will yield the results for the client and not simply the name of the law firm. The practice offers civil litigation and commercial and property law services. I've found that from a litigation perspective one needs to have a pretty thick skin and be able to tolerate insulting, rude, and belligerent behavior.
Over the years I have developed a pretty high tolerance for bad behavior and very rarely do I take litigation affronts personally. Part of the life of a litigation practitioner is to engage with one's opponents in a robust manner. Being tenacious whilst representing clients has earned us respect amongst our peers. I'm also mindful of the costs (both financial and emotional) of litigation and the fact that not every person will have an appetite to run a full blown trial.
I would advise my client of the various alternative dispute resolution mechanisms which would be available to him and which would be more suited for getting the desired outcome for the client, including that of round table negotiations and mediation. Having said I'm always mindful that no matter how robust our dealings may be with our opposition, the aim has to always be to have the client's best interests in mind at all times and not to allow any sparring to become a personal ego issue between colleagues.
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