September 1, 2021 marked the commencement of our firm’s tenth year since starting up on September 1, 2011.    

A popular way to celebrate an anniversary is to reminisce, to look back in time, to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done, to celebrate all the things that worked well.   At this mile marker, we are going a different direction.

Ten years ago, on September 1, 2011, there is no way we, or anybody else, likely could have envisioned the world as it evolved to September 1, 2020, or for that matter September 1, 2021.            

It goes without saying that moving towards a successful outcome in anything should avoid the mistakes and stupidity of the past.  But we have also learned that even the ideas and methods well done in the past do not necessarily or even routinely work well in the present or in the future.  Things change and require adaptability and innovation for success.  We cannot rest or rely upon what we might have accomplished ten years ago or five years ago or even one year ago.  We are learning the hard way, for example, that the biology in our daily environment changes and requires adaptability and innovation to implement and accomplish things we used to take for granted.   Relying on the successes, ideas and methods of the past is often not only unhelpful, it can be unhealthy.

Our world, our profession and our clients predictably will and should require us to innovate and reinvent ourselves in order to be successful.   To live in the present.  To think creatively.  To understand and embrace change.  To plan for the future.   And to innovate as best we can with the simple six inches in front of our face.            

The other principle we have learned about professionally and personally more acutely over the past year and a half, than perhaps in years past, is the need and value of community.   The pillar of our law firm is framed and finished by the talents, energy, commitment, creativity and perseverance of our attorneys and remarkable employees individually and all of us collectively.   And our partnering clients who continue to honor us with their confidence.

Community is not weakness - it is strength that leads to problem solving and success.  Collaboration is not weakness - it is a multiplier of talent.   Respect, based on something other than fear or intimidation, is a powerful motivator of individuals that nurtures energy and innovation.   Empathy, the willingness to understand the views and hardship of others, is a strength in lawyering and problem solving, not a weakness.   Diversity, differences in backgrounds and experiences, creates strength in culture and outcomes.

And so, today, our celebration is not so much directed to the past ten years, but to today and the future, which we believe is filled with hope.  We use this marker in time for celebration and continued implementation of innovation and community in enthusiastically chasing the opportunities and navigating the challenges ahead for us as a law firm and each of us individually.            

We also continue to pray for and support those who continue to be harmed by Hurricane Ida in our area and ask for your continued prayers and support of their needs.