Lanigan and Lanigan P.L., founder Eric Lanigan said he made a decision when he started the law firm that only the Lanigans handle your case.
Eric committed to always maintain a small, specialized firm in Winter Park, Florida, where the lawyer that the client met with the first time they were in the office would be the lawyer who would be working on the research. It’s the person who would be writing the pleadings. It’s the person who would be going to court and handling the hearings.
Only the Lanigans Handle Your Case
When Roddy Lanigan joined the firm as a partner in 2007, the same rule applied. While work increased across Florida, associates, law clerks were only allowed to work for the attorneys and do their work, not the client work. Only the Lanigans handle your case.
“It was not going to be a situation where you meet with the senior lawyer and then you never see them again until you’re walking into the courtroom for trial—if then,” Eric said. “I use law clerks and associates for the purposes of doing basic research to get me the cases that are on this or that subject and let’s sit down and talk about what those cases say pro and con.”
We Find the Case Law
And I always remember when I first went to work for a lawyer out of law school and he would bring me in his office all the time and he would say, “there’s a case out there that says such and such and I need you to find it.”
We do the Research
And I used to always say, “how does he know there’s a case out there that says such and such and why do I have to find it?” And it’s a great learning lesson in doing research and being able to come back and say, “not only did I find that case, but then I also found this other supporting law.”
Research Drives Insight on Cases
And I’ve always enjoyed that. I’ve always enjoyed the quiet time of doing research. And quite frankly I find that when you’re doing that research it really is an opportunity to spend a lot more time thinking in quiet about your case. And in today’s world of flash bang, emails, texts, fax, telephone calls, instant communication about everything,that’s an art that’s been lost to a great extent.
I think it’s been lost in a lot of professions and I know it’s been lost in the legal profession when you just take the time to sit and quietly think about your case. And I’ve always found and I think everybody in every facet of life thinks that when you have the opportunity to do that how things come to you that in the flash bang world of emails and texts just doesn’t happen anymore because you’ve just lost that luxury.
Old Way is the Best Way
So we’ve maintained our connection with the old way in the sense that we’re going to take the time we’re going to block off time where we are in quiet research on a particular case where we can study the law, review our facts. And it’s amazing how many times you review the facts and you go, “oh gosh I forgot about that. And now because of this case, I just read this fact which maybe before I thought was inconsequential, now is very significant.”
We Take the Time to Do What Works on Your Case
Well that just doesn’t happen if you don’t take the time to do that. So that’s a philosophy I’ve always maintained. So and it’s the way we do it and if it doesn’t work for a client then they need to find somebody else because that’s the way we’re going to handle the case. I think that’s the way it’s done effectively.
We Work Your Case
Roddy Lanigan confirms: “If you’re a client of our law firm either my father or I are the people working on your case.”
And generally speaking, I’m either going to work on it or he’s going to work on it, Roddy said. Sometimes we work on cases together. It’s a little bit more rare today than it was in the past, but we work on cases together, but we’re the people in charge of the case. We’re the people you meet with when you come into the law firm. We do have an associate. She’s very capable but she does our work. She doesn’t do work.
We Do All Client Work
There are clients who are incredibly happy. I can’t tell you how many times and it’s lovely to get that letter from a client after their case is over telling you that you you felt like you did a good job. Not only did you do a good job but you had somebody that felt like they cared about the client and their family and you felt like this was a person that had my back and it wasn’t just about making a buck. Or well we have to pay you and we wanted to pay you. It was all about in the end for you we felt it was like about whether or not you won or lost.
