When I started law school in 2005, I wasn’t sure exactly what type of law I wanted to practice after graduating, but I knew that I wanted to do something that helped people. After graduation, I started my legal career working for a large firm in downtown DC. As much as I appreciated the job, I knew right away that it wasn’t a good fit for me. I worked almost exclusively for large corporations. The very few individuals that I represented were all former congressmen turned lobbyists. In other words, not the average everyday person that I envisioned helping while going through law school.

I left that firm and started focusing on helping clients going through divorces. I fought hard for my clients both in court and out of it. The hardest part of being a divorce attorney, though, is that awkward moment when my clients would ask how much it would cost them. I could never really give a straight answer because it’s just so difficult to predict. I billed hourly (most recently $450 an hour, which is the standard fee in my area for a lawyer with my experience) and there was just no real solid way to predict how many hours I would need to put into the case. There were so many variables, with the biggest being the name of the lawyer on the other side and the tactics they use to drag out the case.

Over the years since starting my own practice, I’ve specialized in family law and personal injury law. I was helping people who needed it the most, and that felt great.  It was also lucrative, but I still felt there was a way that I could add to people’s lives in a better way.

Then in May 2022, my father died. This was a turning point for me in both my life and my career. I learned first-hand just how important a solid estate plan is for surviving family members, and how frustrating (and expensive) probate can be when that plan isn’t rock-solid. My father had an estate plan that he and my stepmother probably paid about $3,000 for it. As of December 2024 (over 2.5 years later for those who don’t feel like doing the math), I still have assets held up in probate and I paid this lawyer about $20,000 to handle the process.  The fees and the delay could have been easily avoided with a better plan.  This lawyer’s practice method was malpractice; however, it was common practice.  I knew from my own practice that there was a better way.

After grieving his loss and gaining more perspective, I realized that dealing with the death of a family member would be much easier if all the estate stuff wasn’t such a hassle. Without all the complicated and practical things to handle surrounding my dad’s passing, I could have concentrated more on the emotional side of the loss. This inspired me to make a change in my law practice. I decided to shift from a litigation concentration to Life and Legacy Planning practice.  I really want to help people make it easier on their loved ones when they are gone.

When I started helping clients with their life and legacy planning, I had to decide whether to keep the same old model I used for divorces and bill my clients $450 per hour or adopt a new system.  I knew that my divorce clients would watch the clock when they were talking to me, and a lot of information that I needed to help them wouldn’t be communicated because of that preoccupation with the billable hour.  I don’t do that anymore.  Now my clients know all their fees upfront.  The fee doesn’t change if we talk for 30 minutes or an hour.

Backtracking a bit, I turned 40 right in the middle of the first year of the pandemic.  It was a huge milestone and we had initially planned a big celebration.  Because of social distancing, I didn’t get to see anyone in person.  My amazing wife didn’t miss a beat, though, and all the important people in my life record short videos that she put into a video collage.  I have about 60 seconds of my dad talking because of it.  It is the only audio/video I have left of him, and so many people don’t get even that. As part of our life and legacy planning, my firm helps our clients create a forever memory in the form of an audio letter to their children.  It doesn’t have anything to do with monetary assets but it is, in my opinion, the single most important thing we do.

I used to fight for my clients in court.  Now I fight for my clients’ families to stay out of court.  I used to fight over how much in assets my client would walk out of court with for their new life and how much would go to their ex.  Now I help keep as much money with their loved ones as possible when my clients are gone.  I used to help my clients get through times in their life they would do almost anything to forget.  Now I help my clients ensure that their family for generations to come will have cherished memories preserved forever.