PHILOSOPHY AND GOALS

The Problem: Bad Choices

In the past, businesses facing a dispute had two bad choices. They could hire the local general practitioner who handled their house closing, wrote their will, and could go to court when someone had a car accident or tripped on the stairs. The rates were reasonable, but the lawyer was often inexperienced in complex business matters. The specialists on the other side could overwhelm him in paperwork. They could outthink him, outgun him, and outmaneuver him.

The other choice was a firm that knew how to try a business case. But there is a cost associated with big offices and teams of litigators. The client would meet the litigation partner when it was time to hand over his retainer check. Then he would be delegated to a less experienced associate. Because several lawyers were working on the matter at once, the bills could be enormous.

Litigation is disruptive, expensive and stressful. It involves multiple filings, complex negotiation, and the need for strategic action. If not handled correctly, the consequences may be disastrous. And here is the strangest thing of all. It is entirely possible to win a case and feel as if you lost. That happens when the price of competent representation exceeds the amount in dispute.

Built-In Conflicts

Do you know what law firms look at when it's time to determine a lawyer's compensation? The amount of business he brings in and the number of hours he bills. Most of the lawyers I know really do try to put the client first. But:

• How can lawyers honestly evaluate whether a matter is worth pursuing, when there is so much pressure to bring in work?
• How can lawyers work efficiently, when there is so much pressure to produce billable hours?
• How can a lawyer, with dozens or hundreds of cases, really focus on your matter?
• How can any lawyer be competent in every area of the law?

A Unique Solution

During my thirteen years as an associate and then a partner in a business firm, I had to balance the client's need for a quick efficient solution against the firm's hunger for billable hours. And finally I figured it out. The trick was in eliminating overhead almost entirely, leveraging resources only as needed, and limiting the case load to those in which I really felt I could do some good.

When you retain the Rosen Law Office, you get what you really need: an experienced practitioner who knows how to handle cases just like yours. I concentrate in a limited number of areas: business, real estate, land use, employment, discrimination, and professional liability. I have plenty of work. There is no pressure to take cases just to get them on the books. If I can't help you, I'll recommend someone who can. And I'll tell you truthfully when a matter is not worth pursuing.

I keep my overhead low by developing strategic relationships with other business firms, like Metaxas, Norman & Pidgeon, LLP and the Law Offices of Arthur J. McCabe. I can staff a case with manpower to meet anything a major Boston firm can throw at us, but I use people only as I need them. You aren't paying salaries and benefits for secretaries and associates, or rent on a suite of big offices in a Boston tower. You pay only for what you use.

My Goal

I'll keep you out of the courtroom if I can. But when litigation is appropriate, my goal is to get it over with as quickly as possible, with the best possible result, and allow you to get back to work at your business. I consider the representation successful if: (1) I leave the client in a better position than the one in which I found him; and (2) the fees are in proportion to the amount in controversy and the result obtained.