“The most important function of an attorney is to help you solve your legal problems”
I have been helping individuals and small business owners solve their legal problems with other people, big business and insurance companies, and big government since 1995. I began my practice in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida shortly after graduating Law School and being admitted to the Florida Bar. During my career as a trial attorney, I have travelled to many different places across the United States in pursuit of witness testimony, evidence, justice and dispute resolution on behalf of my clients.
During my career, I have personally handled over 10,000 cases, and I am a Certified Florida Circuit Court Mediator. I am admitted to the Florida Bar and Federal Court for the Middle District of Florida.
The primary function of my practice is to help you solve your legal problems. In many cases, obtaining the advice of an attorney early on can prevent or lessen the risk of expensive and disruptive legal or other related problems. Also, obtaining the advice of a competent attorney at a time of crisis can provide clarity and security in your decision making and planning, and likewise may stop other related problems from arising.
This Website is more than just a tool to inform you about my law firm and of my areas of practice. It is also intended to help you find many helpful resources that are not always obvious to someone trying to solve a personal, business or legal problem.
YOUR RIGHTS AS OUR CLIENT
At the Mitchell Law Firm, our goal is to provide you with a feeling of security in making your choice of attorneys. You have the right to have an attorney that will not only fight hard for your interests and rights, but you also have the right to an attorney who has the creative thinking process, knowledge of the law and experience to know what to do. You will always have the right to complete, frequent and open communication, and to have your questions answered fully and without delay. Each client is given my personal cellular telephone number for emergency or urgent telephone or text contact. Email is of course the preferred communication method these days, since the oldest legal advice known to man is “get it in writing!” Text messaging and emails are returned promptly.
COMMUNICATION IS A RIGHT
In my years as an attorney, the single biggest problem I hear of between clients and their attorneys is that the attorneys do not return telephone calls promptly (or not at all) nor answer their questions completely (or not at all). In addition to the original problem, secondary problems frequently arise from lack of communication. When you retain an attorney, generally you have encountered a problem you cannot solve on your own and in many instances, you and your family may be in a severe crisis. Not being able to get a quick and useful answer to your legal questions seems to defeat the purpose of even having an attorney in the first place.
EXPERIENCE
As a practicing trial attorney since 1995, I know that having ability in the courtroom translates to negotiating skill outside the courtroom. Knowing which cases have enough evidence to be tried successfully and which ones do not is a very important skill that can only be learned by direct participation in the litigation process.
When a client comes to me with a legal problem that involves or could involve the court system for resolution, it is my sworn ethical duty to advise that client about what their expectations should be and what the chances of successfully meeting those expectations with a court case are and WHY. This skill can only come from years of courtroom and negotiating experience.
COMMITMENT
It takes commitment to successfully run a law practice and maintain a high level of skill in obtaining successful results for an attorney’s clients. A client has the right to expect that their attorney will be supervising every aspect of their case and will be paying close personal attention to every detail. In addition to experience and skill, attorneys have a duty to only take on the number of cases that they can work to the
PROVING YOUR CASE
“It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove in court” is an old saying that attorneys frequently use to communicate with each other about the quality of their cases. Knowing what can and cannot be proven in court, and what the other side can and cannot prove, is perhaps the single most important skill an attorney uses to advise their clients on the value of their cases.
You see, it is not how many cases a particular firm has taken all the way to trial that matters. While the number of successful trials is certainly one indicator of an attorneys’ skill level, it is the number of successful case resolutions (both settlements and trials) that is the true indicator of an attorney’s ability to effectively represent their clients. A trial is simply the end of a longer process known as litigation. During the process of litigation, the strengths and weaknesses of each sides case are learned through the process of “discovery”, and long before any trial is started, each side should know what they can and cannot prove and what the opposing party can and cannot prove. With that knowledge, each side can fully evaluate their position and the need for a trial becomes less and less except in very, very close cases.
NOT EVERY CASE IS A WINNER – AND HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY
An attorney’s advice is not always what a client wants to hear. Another important part of an attorney’s job is to know when a particular case will not produce a recovery or will produce a low recovery, and advise the client well in advance so that the client can move forward and make decisions with full knowledge. In a case where the attorney is defending an individual against a claim, it is very important that the client knows early on if the other side has a better case. By the same token, it is very important for an injured person and their family to know what the chances of recovery are and within reason what the potential recovery is. While each case is different, many cases have facts that are clear enough to advise the client of their prospects for a recovery and whether they have a case worth pursuing or not. An honest and fair opinion about your case is one of the guiding principles at The Mitchell Law Firm.
DON’T GET LOST IN THE SHUFFLE
Many law firms specialize in volume. This can lead to a loss of personal involvement as the common business philosophy of “quantity versus quality” can cause a law firm to have more cases than it can effectively manage. At The Mitchell Law Firm, our practice is limited to assisting individuals and small business owners with their specific needs. We do not market our firm as a one stop shop, but instead we assist our clients by giving a thorough case evaluation and if it appears that the case requires an attorney of a different specialty we refer our client to one of the attorneys in our referral network who practices the appropriate type of law and who is reasonably close to the clients home city. We never take more cases than we can handle at any given time, assuring you that your case will not be neglected or “set aside” due to our office suffering from a case overload.
If the case is within our areas of practice, we devote personal attention to each case we accept representation for, and our clients all enjoy frequent contact from our office. You will not get “lost in the shuffle” as can happen when you are represented by a firm that has hundreds or even thousands of open cases.