The Cattleman July 2009 - Pick and Choose

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You know how to choose a new herd bull. You know how to pick the right supplements or pickup. But when it comes to selecting an attorney, the right choice may not be as clear.

Pick and Choose

By KATRINA WATERS

When you're making your rounds on the ranch, an attorney is probably the last person on your mind. There's the drought to worry about, cattle prices, input costs and a host of other worries. But, chances are, at some point you'll need one.

Whether you need an attorney to handle estate planning, eminent domain or employment issues, you want someone you can trust, someone you can talk to and someone who understands your case — which may also mean someone who understands ranching.

You could grab the phonebook, but the odds of finding an attorney who will understand your business are less than favorable.

Philip Mack Furlow, an attorney who practices in Denton County, and Kevin Duddlesten, a shareholder with Littler Mendelson of Dallas, are both familiar with TSCRA members' needs and have served as presenters at TSCRA events in 2009. The two offer their advice on selecting the right attorney for the job.

The right attorney comes highly-recommended

Both Furlow and Duddlesten speak highly of referrals. There may be no better single indicator of whether a particular attorney is right for you than whether he or she was right for your friend.

Furlow says referrals are the place to start.

"I am a big fan of referrals," he says. "Talk to your neighbors, talk to your friends. Find out who they have used and if they were comfortable with them and like them and get some personal recommendations.

"You can look at all kinds of stuff on the Internet, but nothing is better than talking to someone who has been down that road before."

Duddlesten adds, "The one key rule is word-of-mouth. I always try to do a good job for clients so that if they have friends, colleagues or family members who may be in the market for an attorney, I would hope that my name would come up.

"I always think no matter what attorneys spend on advertising, the cheapest way to advertise is to just do a great job on the work that you do for existing clients. The corollary to that is I think the best way to find an attorney, or at least start the search, is to ask around to some people who are in the same industry."

Although conversing with a former or current client is probably the best way to get the inside scoop on the attorney, Web sites are a good source for supplemental information.

Duddlesten recommends checking out the attorney's (or their firm's) Web site. He says the Web site is a good place to find out information like an attorney's area of specialty, practice experience and where he or she went to law school.

"For example, I would imagine that, for a lot of the cattle raisers, if they find out that the attorney went to New York University [law school] and University of Chicago undergrad, it would probably dawn on them that they may not have a good grasp of the [rancher's] issues."

Outside Web sites can also be helpful. Sites like AVOO.com offer ratings on attorneys with feedback from clients and fellow legal professionals. And just doing a simple Google search can lead to a wealth of information and publicity on an attorney.

Clients can also make sure they do not hire an attorney who has been in trouble with the bar association by visiting the state bar's Web site, www.TexasBar.com. By entering the attorney's name in the "Find a Lawyer" box and clicking search, one section that will appear is any public disciplinary history. If that area is blank, clients know that attorney has not been in any trouble with the bar.

The right attorney knows your business

Beyond an attorney's recommendations, his or her grasp on what you do is important. After all, it is hard to help a rancher without first understanding a rancher's needs. A general understanding of the industry also helps the attorney better communicate with the rancher, Furlow says.

Furlow, who grew up on a cotton farm on the south plains of West Texas and is an alumnus of the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership program, still got a real-life lesson on how to talk to clients early in his career.

He was a rookie lawyer and had just opened an office in Lamesa when some people he had known for years came to him with a succession planning issue.

Furlow, in all of his excitement to jump in with several possible solutions, made the mistake of using too much legal jargon when explaining the options.

He says, "My client looked at me and said, 'OK, Philip Mack. That all sounds really, really great and really smart but I don't understand a darn thing you just told me.' He said, 'Talk to me like we were sitting window-to-window in our pickups on a dirt road.

"I said, 'Well, option No. 1 is like getting a three-quarters socket out of the toolbox and going over and working on your equipment when you need a three-quarters socket.

"This second method is, let's say you don't have a three-quarters socket, but you have a crescent wrench. It'll work OK, but it's not the best.

'This last option that we talked about — the least expensive — is kind of like using a seven-eighths wrench on a three-quarters bolt. If you hold your mouth just right and angle it, it will probably work. But it's not real good.'

'So, he says, 'OK, Philip Mack, I want the socket and I don't care if it costs more.'"

Furlow says the experience taught him that you can know all of the complex legal theories in the world, but if you don't know how to communicate that to your client, so that they can make really good and informed decisions, then you're not doing a good job for them.

"Knowing the industry and your clientele is really important," Furlow says.

Duddlesten echoes that sentiment.

"You want an attorney who can explain the law in layman's terms. I don't think a client would want to work with an attorney whom they cannot understand," he says.

"It's just like when you go to the doctor," Duddlesten adds."You want the doctor to tell you what is wrong with you in terms that you can understand. You don't want them to give you scientific, medical terminology. You want them to tell you in plain English what's wrong. An attorney should be held to the same standards as well."

Communication goes both ways, though, and the right attorney will also be a good listener, he says.

"When I do that first consultation with the client, 90 percent of it is the client talking to me, telling me what their issues are while I take copious notes. I don't immediately jump in with a game plan and say, 'Here is how I am going to resolve it,'" Duddlesten says.

Both Furlow and Duddlesten would encourage asking lots of questions before making the final decision on hiring an attorney, and both recommend inquiring about specific experience.

For example, Duddlesten says if your issue is in real estate law, ask the attorney how long he or she has been practicing real estate law.

"Some attorneys out there who have their own law firms that make themselves out as full-service — they do it all: from negligence to slip and fall cases, to estate planning, to real estate," he explains.

"But you want to get real detailed and say, 'OK, I need you to help me on some real estate matters. How long have you been practicing specifically in real estate? Give me some ideas of your experiences and skill set in this particular area.'"

Furlow adds, "Lawyers love to tell old war stories," and encourages potential clients to work with that, asking about their background in their area of interest.

"You might just ask them, 'Have you seen projects like this before? What was your experience?'

"That's a little bit harder for younger lawyers than older lawyers, but a lot of times I'll be able to tell clients, 'You know, I had a similar case and this was the outcome in that case. It doesn't mean that's what the outcome will be in this case, but it was similar,'" he says.

When it comes down to it, it is important to select an attorney you can work with until the matter is settled.

Duddlesten says while he could "give you a list of specific questions to ask, it's more about how the attorney answers the questions."

In a way, it's no different than selecting a new herd bull or a new pickup — in the end, you just have to make the decision you feel best about.

"Pick and Choose" is from the July 2009 issue of The Cattleman magazine.