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Hello and welcome to The Wallace Law Firm Website. I'm Lee Wallace and I believe that every client should get both top-quality legal expertise and compassionate, friendly guidance from their lawyer. Here are four principles that we follow with each client that we take:
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© 2007, Lee Tarte Wallace
Each case gets individual,
aggressive attention
I believe a lawyer needs to be prepared to give every case individual, aggressive attention. My goal is never going to be to shove cases inside cookie-cutter molds in order to handle as many as possible. My goal is to handle each case well.
I represented a family that got Legionnaire’s Disease because a hotel had not properly cleaned its whirlpool. I sent out a freedom of information act request to every county in every state where this chain of hotels had a hotel. I found out 1/3 of the hotels had had their pools or whirlpools shut down by the local county government at least once. That information completely changed the course of that case.
Handling each case individually may take more time, but it makes a big difference to the client.
The Client Matters
I believe a lawyer has to genuinely care about the client and what the client has been through.
Sometimes lawyers get busy and they forget about how much what happened matters to the client. I try to always remember that when a client comes to see me, the worst thing that ever happened to them has just happened.
Clients come in not knowing how a lawsuit works, and it is natural to worry about what you don’t understand. I sit down with my clients before the case begins and explain what is going to happen. At their deposition, I sit right beside them. I do not put up with anybody abusing my clients. If the other lawyer tries, I will jump in and stop him.
I care about my clients, and in my view, that is the way it ought to be.
Preparation is Critical
In law, there is no substitute for preparation. No amount of fancy talk will be enough if the lawyer is unwilling to do the hard work to prepare the case right. What happens in the courtroom is just the tip of what ought to be a very large iceberg. Months and months of preparation go into what happens there.
Once we found a former employee who was willing to testify about what had really gone on at his company. The company tried to block him from testifying. I thought that was just wrong. You should not be able to stop people from telling the truth. I spent two weeks in the law library and came up with the winning argument. The jury got to hear what the man had to say, but it took weeks of work behind the scenes for that to happen.
There is no substitute for doing the hard work to get ready for trial.
We're Willing to Go the Distance
I believe a lawyer has to be willing to try a case. If the lawyer is not willing to take a case to trial, then the insurance company does not have to deal fairly with the client – it can offer the client bottom dollar.
If the insurance company is not offering my client a fair settlement, I am willing to go the distance. In one case, I went up to Detroit every other Friday for several months, until I finally talked the court into letting us get some critical documents. The documents changed the course of the litigation.
I am committed to doing what it takes to get my client a fair deal, including going to trial.
 
© 2007, Lee Tarte Wallace
The contents of this page: (a) should not be considered or relied upon as legal, financial or other professional advice in any manner whatsoever, and (b) may be considered advertising under some state’s Bar Rules. Unless otherwise stated, no article or text at this Internet site is, has been, or will be updated or revised for accuracy as statutory or case law changes following the date of first publication. Always consult with your lawyer and/or your other professional advisors before acting.
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