Our Values

Fulfilling that objective requires us to listen carefully and to ask questions that we know, from experience, will be helpful in assisting a client in realizing their goals. We pride ourselves on educating a client who wishes to have a detailed understanding of an estate or business plan. However, we know that clients may want to know only enough to have a comfort level, and that’s fine also.One way or another, we realize that while law is a profession, it has a business dimension made possible only by our clients. We may guide and advise, but the client directs and decides. We strive to fulfill the client’s purposes by all means at our disposal.

Many of the services we provide result from the client’s sense of urgency, rather than an external calendar. For example, estate planning may be prompted by an event which is a reminder of one’s mortality. We understand that a client’s interest in estate planning may be a window of opportunity in which a plan can be constructed after listening to a client’s objectives and concerns.

Some client matters are subject to an external calendar. For example, following a client’s death, the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return must be filed within nine months after death. Similarly, the income tax return for a trust or an estate must be filed by a prescribed deadline such as April 15.

In the transactional area, there are also client opportunities that require us to help “strike while the iron is hot.” For example, we have assisted in business sales or merger transactions in which the pace quickened because of a buyer’s demands. We know how to make our pace match the client’s schedule.

We excel in reaching closure, whether the matter is an everyday preparation of legal documents or a more unusual transaction. Our ability in this regard is not just a matter of being able to follow through on our dedication to having specialized knowledge in an area. Our dedication to our craft means that a client’s transaction or planning objectives will not have to wait because our resources are scattered across many other areas of legal practices. In our experience, broader objectives such as business succession planning often require more steps and take more time than a client might originally anticipate. Nonetheless, we know how to work carefully with the client to reach a satisfying conclusion.

Numerous subject matter areas within our specialty have been abandoned by larger firms that have turned to more lucrative areas of practice. At the same time, even as we compete with other specialized firms, we have access to the best thinking and information available to practitioners in our areas of expertise. Our attorneys have been leaders in bar association committees and other professional organizations, such as estate planning councils and tax oriented organizations in which both attorneys and accountants are active.

Our dedication to our specialized area practice has permitted us to participate in, and interact with, nationally recognized experts in areas such as estate and gift tax planning, business transactions and valuation matters. Very often, we can accomplish what our competition might do at larger firms with much higher fees and a larger number of attorneys, not all of whom are experienced in a given matter.