Why We Do What We Do

This story that we share below illustrates the kind of relationship we would like to have with all of our clients.

Mr. and Mrs. Klein (not their real names) came to us in late 1997.  It seems that they received notice that their brokerage, retirement and life insurance accounts, which they believed were intact, had been drained by an unscrupulous investment adviser in a well-publicized scam involving 40 to 50 elderly investors in Marin and Sonoma Counties.  They had been to several attorneys previously, who told them they couldn’t help them.  The perpetrator, Mr. Scammer, was in a federal penitentiary, had no assets, and more than $20 million in liabilities to various institutions.  

We realized that a number of investors were involved and offered to establish a document repository and a legal analysis of the claims the investors might have against various third parties who assisted Mr. Scammer in carrying out an elaborate but fraudulent ponzi scheme.  By analyzing the claim early, and plotting a course forward, we concluded that the weaknesses of any individual’s claim could be buttressed by strengths in the claims of others.  The third parties had materially assisted the scammer, but they were sure to hire top notch defense counsel to vigorously defend each of the claims.  We brought in capable litigation counsel (in case the matter could not get settled) and immediately made overtures for mediation with the third parties.  The third parties included two life insurance companies, a stock brokerage firm and a lawyer, each of whom was either solvent or had sufficient liability insurance to cover part of the claim.

The matter proceeded to mediation and we were able to resolve the matter with the defense.   The defense attempted to point out the weaknesses in a few of the cases, but our overall “safety in numbers” strategy paid off:  they saw the wisdom in paying a large portion of the loss the investors incurred, instead of paying more significant losses, attorneys fees and court costs that would be certain to occur if the each of the matters went to trial.  

Many of the families we represented in that case are still our clients.  Mr. Klein himself, after recovering the settlement in the case, then developed Parkinson’s Disease, a progressively debilitating illness that impaired Mr. Klein’s physical movements and speech.  He had a tremor, and a slowing of physical movement.  We learned that his son had failed to pay him the $350,000 loan he made him five years earlier, which, because of the prior elder financial abuse at the hands of Mr. Scammer, was now needed for his care.  We assisted Mr. Klein with advice and counsel that protected him and his wife from enormous private health-care costs, left an estate for his daughters, and gave him peace of mind that his wishes would be carried out by our firm.  He died in 2005.

Mrs. Klein and her daughter continue to be our clients.  We have assisted them with their own estate planning and have helped them find suitable professionals for some of the other financial concerns of their families.  We have worked with their existing advisors, where that was appropriate, to fashion overall solutions that left multiple generations with significant peace of mind over the families’ many internal financial arrangements.  

We do what we do because we, too, have been there. Firm personnel have each suffered sudden loss and confusion as a result of events in their own lives with their own families.  We understand where you are coming from and we work on your case as though it is our own, because it is.   We have all been given great and wonderful gifts by our Creator. We are called to share these gifts with those “who have ears to hear.”

If you would like more information about us, or if you have a legal matter and would like representation or advice, please call us at (415) 896-1500 or submit an inquiry using our online form.