Method must match

Before we can talk about what we do and who we do it for, you should understand who we are, why we're here, and how we work. In our last two posts, we've shared a little bit about the identity and purpose of consilium. In this post, we'll talk about how we work - our methods - and how those methods are designed to best serve you. Lawyers can sometimes be smug about the law: 'only we know it, only we can operate within it, and if you don't rely on us for all of your needs, you'll surely fail.' That approach is rooted in fear, and candidly, its arrogant and simply not true. At consilium, we know you operate within the law daily, and we understand that you must in order to run your business well. Rather than gatekeepers for coveted information and hard-won experience, we are partners who share openly with our clients and we hope to do so long before they need us. Education and empowerment are powerful methods, and at our core, we are teachers and guides. You should know what we know so that you can think as we think, and ultimately, make decisions for your business as we would make them. We can't supplant your judgment, but we can certainly influence it (and we should) for the better. Of course, when technical expertise is required, and it oftentimes is, our approach is to serve and assist. Every matter belongs to you, the client: you are the decision maker. But in relationships as intimate as ours, we become an extension of your will...a wise and steadfast advocate for someone who needs our help. Your matter isn't about us; it involves us, but our interests aren’t at stake: yours are. And our job is to understand what your true interests are, and to walk with you through the process of pursing them in a way that not only accomplishes your objectives, but leaves you with a solution that you can live with – personally and professionally. How you resolve legal situations is important: it speaks to who you are and how you run your operation. A counselor at law is no different. At consilium, we educate and empower our clients to avoid issues and operate their businesses wisely. And when the need for us to become directly involved presents itself, our approach is simple: professional, high-quality and timely service above ourselves.

Start with why

When we first envisioned consilium, we didn't plan to launch it in the middle of a global pandemic, but we also don't believe in coincidences. In our last post, we shared a little bit of who we are. Simon Sinek says that when endeavoring on anything new, we should also understand why we're doing it. We believe that our friends, supporters and clients might want to know that as well. So, why are we doing this? That's best answered with a summary of our beliefs. We believe that sophisticated and wise counsel should be available to every business owner; that it should be communicated in a way that is easily understood; and that it should be provided on a value-added basis, the collective effect of which is an impact that ripples beyond the client and even the matter at hand. That's certainly a mouthful, but what we're saying is this: providing quality legal services alone is no longer enough. Businesses want a legal partner that feels like a member of their team. They want services that they actually need, and they want them delivered quickly at a high level of quality. They don't want to have to re-finance the business in order to be well-served, and they want to receive something of greater value than the cost incurred in the exchange. Ultimately, the people and the circumstances that we encounter at consilium should leave us in a better position than they came to us. Legal solutions should be an investment in our clients, our economy and our society, not simply a cost, and certainly not an emotional burden. Lawyers should be lifegivers, friends and supporters; not simply problem solvers and hired guns. In a nutshell, that's it; that's why we're doing this. Perhaps we're just idealists, and naively believe that we can do better than the traditional law firm and its antiquated practice model. Then again, maybe we're on to something…

Who Matters Most

What's in a name? For us, a lot. In fact, before we can even talk about what we do, how we do it, or why it should matter to you, we believe at consilium that the most important thing that you should know about us is who are are. So at the beginning of our existence, we find it only fitting to talk about our name and what it represents. "Consilium" is the latin word for counsel. There wasn't an easy way to add the latin modifier for 'wise' to front of the word, so we just left it at 'consilium.' Before we are wizards with language, problem solvers, strategists or even advocates, lawyers - by design - are counselors. We are paid for our time, but even more so, the wisdom, judgment, skill and expertise that we've developed across myriad opportunities and long periods of time. But nothing of what we know, or even what we can do, matters until the people who have hired us understand that they and their interests are what truly matter most. Solving problems alone isn't enough. Though everyone hires a lawyer with an outcome in mind, what we really want is a practitioner who understands who we are and will walk with us through a process that honors our individual character. As professionals, if we can't offer that to our clients, then we've not really been their 'counselors' at all. And if we fail our clients as counselors, not even the best outcomes will rest well. We get one life to live, and one very brief opportunity to leave our mark on a world that's counting on us to show up with our ‘best’ daily. We believe that opportunity begins and ends with people and it bears itself out through the counseling process. So that's who we are: lawyers, but really counselors; the wise kind. Welcome to consilium.