Mission Statement: Objectives And Philosophy
We recognize that as lawyers we act in several capacities: as representatives of and advisors to our clients, as officers of the legal system and guardians of law, and as public citizens with special responsibilities for the quality of justice. We, therefore, owe duties not only to our clients, but to the legal and judicial system as a whole. Hence, while we fully subscribe to the philosophy that the client is our “master” who rightly possesses the authority and responsibility to determine the means and direction of representation, we as lawyers are circumscribed to some extent by professional obligations and the limits imposed by law. Our objectives and philosophy as a law firm are best summarized as follows:
- Our commitment to quality legal work is not enough. We must strive to provide quality service and remain accessible to our clients throughout the representation;
- We shall endeavor to be cost-effective advisors, advocates and problem-solvers to the extent practicable under the circumstances, while remaining reasonably thorough, innovative and diligent;
- We will strive to be cooperative, not confrontational, in an effort to find a means to achieve our clients’ objectives within the limits of law and our professional obligations, and not merely point out the existence of legal problems and deficiencies;
- We commit to maintain the confidentiality of our clients’ communications, information, and affairs and to not knowingly breach such confidences or reveal such communications or information unless permitted to do so by our clients or as may be required by rules of professional conduct; and
- While we might value acclaim from professional peers, regulators or the public, our greatest reward is a client’s expression of satisfaction.
Although control of legal representation is the responsibility of the client, we fully recognize that clients must keep their business objectives in mind while focusing on decisions throughout legal representation. Accordingly, we will keep clients directly involved in important decisions concerning the representation, while avoiding burdening clients with undue bureaucracy, red tape, hyper-legal technicalities and, to some extent, the development of legal strategies and tactics.
We endeavor to treat each client as “our most important client.” However, because we do represent many other clients, it is necessary to prioritize our work for various clients on the basis of deadlines imposed by law, regulation, order or administrative response, the existence of an emergency or an urgent situation, and requested deadlines or specified time frames. To some extent, we request understanding and tolerance from our clients about the demands on our time imposed by other clients, but with the assurance to each client that should an emergency or urgent situation arise affecting his/her or its affairs, top priority will be given.
The attorney-client relationship is founded upon mutual candor, trust and confidence. In order to ensure that this relationship is not eroded, our clients are encouraged to communicate any dissatisfaction with our representation or quality of services so that the matter can be addressed and resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both client and attorney.
As a top San Antonio law firm Drought, Drought & Bobbitt consider privacy a top priority.