Firm Culture
Philosophy
Results matter.
Good results most often flow from dealing with knowledgeable, experienced legal professionals that will take your problem to heart and care about solving it. We help clients with business, money, and property problems and opportunities. Some lawyers think clients are a problem. We don't think that way. We collaborate with our clients. Lawsuits and deals are stressful. We involve you and you will feel you are part of what is going on. The process will not feel mysterious and difficult.
A smart lawyer does more than work for clients. The smart lawyer works with clients.
You don't hire a lawyer just because they are likeable. You need a lawyer who is concerned about you and is effective in pursing your problem-solving objectives. You want someone who has been around and has learned from experience in the particular specialized area you want help with. That is smart business. If you are reading this, you are in the right place to make a smart choice. We are determined to help you take control of the problem you are dealing with. Business and real estate opportunities are in a way problems, because if you pursue them improperly, you probably will not like where you end up.
We have an internal motto: we want the hard cases; anyone can win the easy ones! There is a bonus for us there: the hard cases are more interesting. It takes persistence and patience. With the ultimate goal always in mind, you march on. And, when we solve a tough problem, it feels good. For instance, we have saved a lot of people from financial catastrophe. That feels great!
Jared Dillian writes about investment topics in an email newsletter entitled The 10th Man. In his April 7, 2016 newsletter, he advised about a winners versus losers (underdogs) approach to picking stocks and analogized it to picking professionals:
The first thing we need to do is to challenge and repudiate the idea of the moral superiority of the underdog—at least as it pertains to the business world.
I have a very good friend who is a real estate agent (prior to that, he was a public school teacher in a very impoverished area). When he became a real estate agent, he needed to choose a mentor who would guide him through his first five transactions. Early on, my friend would often complain about his mentor. He didn't have his act together, he was often late, he wasn't that smart, etc.
Finally I asked him: "If this guy is such a loser, why did you pick him as your mentor?"
He said, "I felt sorry for him."
That was when I sat him down. "This is the business world. You don't pick the worst guy, you pick the best guy. Got it?"
Striving to be the best, we don't merely provide services. We collaborate with our clients. We know how important it is to involve a client whenever possible. Our clients know the facts and have opinions about their situation. They know the opposition or other side of a deal better than we do. So, we actively involve our clients in helping us to get the best outcome we can. We even want you telling us if you are unhappy about something. Any team can get off track once in a while. We want to get back on track quickly when that happens.
How does active collaboration help? In lawsuits for instance, there is a very good chance you are going to be questioned under oath in a deposition. If you are actively involved with us in working up your case by providing us information and documents we ask for, you should think about why we want what we ask for and how we use those resources. You will better understand what we are doing as we put that to work for you. Then, you will be prepared to be deposed or testify at trial if it comes to that. You will understand your case better including how strong your position is and whether seeking settlement is the wise course. There are, after all, two sides to every story. Some cases become like a dead horse at some point. When riding a dead horse, whipping it more or trying to feed it are not good strategies. The best strategy when riding a dead horse is to dismount.
If we work together as an effective team, you will not go in to any event unprepared or uncertain what is going to occur. A good lawyer will want you to understand and to have you prepared for things like mediations, depositions, and trials. We want our clients to understand and be prepared for these important events.
We want you to feel like we are easy to work with. Again, our goal is to collaborate with you. We are experienced and we care about our clients' outcomes. Thank you for considering having us help you.
How does VLO seek to give our clients good value for the money they spend?
We do this through a combination of technology and systems. And, we also want our clients to know that hiring VolkLaw Offices means hiring a firm that is active in our community business, educational, and charitable endeavors.
Technology
We believe technology properly investigated, chosen, and implemented helps level the playing field with even the largest of law firms. More to the point, we have an advantage in this area, because we can move much more quickly than a large law firm in choosing new or upgraded technology. Hardware and software are regularly updated so that the efficiencies developed in the computer industry continue to benefit our clients. As an example, in August, 2014, we quickly chose and implemented a replacement of a key file server and all but one work station (which was almost new). We did not have to spend five years studying the issue. We saw the need and acted on it. All VolkLaw Offices, P.A. attorneys and paralegals are sophisticated computer users. We have been paperless for years. We work with double monitors which significantly increases efficiency. Electronic efficiency and the Systems described below allow us to accomplish more in less time with fewer staff members. Overhead expense efficiency helps us keep our services more affordable for our clients. The firm’s computers are networked which facilitates communications and ensures that multiple drafts of documents or forms do not exist and that a standardized set of forms is available and used throughout the firm.
Systems
The quickest route to mistakes is to make it up as you go along. We seek to avoid mistakes through the extensive use of Procedure Manuals which we also refer to as Systems.
The Firm developed and regularly updates an extensive office procedure Image Quality (IQ) Manual which is over one hundred pages long covering standards from opening a new file and uniform filing within client files all the way through extensive trial preparation. That manual assures the client that nothing will be missed and every proper step will be taken throughout their representation because VolkLaw Offices, P.A. has the checklists and protocol in writing that every employee follows.
These Systems also facilitate integrating new employees into the VolkLaw Offices, P.A. way as quickly as possible. Turnover in any business creates risks. Systems help assure that our high standards are met. The IQ Manual includes topics such as the following:
* Drafting documents such as complaints, responsive pleadings, discovery requests, and scheduling hearings, and mediations.
* Processing mail.
* Telephone answering and screening.
*Filing procedure.
* Confidentiality.
* Diarying and tracking of deadlines.
* Guidelines for making time charges more understandable.
We have a Litigation Plan and checklist that addresses how every case will be moved forward so the files are thoroughly and persistently worked up as circumstances call for that. Mr. Volk created the Plan which shows each type of case event that happens or might happen in a case, what we do in the circumstance, and why we do it. We also have separate manuals for bankruptcy, billing, and real estate.
We have sought and continue to strive to be a great company in the Brevard County business community. What defines a great company? We believe each client entrusts something special and important to us. We strive to make them feel important and to give each client the highest level of service of any law firm in this area. How do we do that? By first and foremost realizing that if we do not value the clients, we will dry up and blow away. A lot of business owners say ‘if it were not for the customers, this would be a pretty good line of work.’ We know better. A service firm depends on word of mouth and each of our clients is an ambassador for the Firm. Just getting paid is not enough. Where a practice can be systematized and made more efficient and effective, we strive to achieve that.
As an example, our lawsuits practice runs with great efficiency. Each key step in the process requires the use of a detailed checklist to make sure every required action has been performed. We use Atticus principles. Atticus is a law office practice management, marketing, and quality of life consulting company. We routinely participate in their electronic seminars and use their materials to guide us in efficiently serving clients.
In summary, VolkLaw Offices has the philosophy not many other law Firms possess. It is the same philosophy that successful Fortune 500 corporations such as Wal-Mart and McDonalds possess. We have a systematic, uniform way of operating which ensures the same high quality product in each instance. Think of McDonalds french fries or Wal-Mart’s well lighted stores and large selection. While those might seem like unusual role models for a law firm, they do things that instill comfort in the customer, exude reliability, and cause the customer to return time and time again and generate referral business. That philosophy has been adopted and is regularly reinforced at VolkLaw Offices, P.A.
As our client, we want you to know you are in good hands.