Why Hire Us?

Personal Relationships

Working with an attorney is personal and is built on a foundation of trust. We serve individuals, families and businesses when their financial futures are on the line. Every client, every matter, and every case is personal to us. We aren’t interested in handling one case or one deal, or solving one problem. We want to partner with you, to develop a relationship of trust, and to help your family or business accomplish your objectives for the future.

Industry Experience

Our attorneys have more than just law degrees. Ryan C. Johnson graduated from a top-five engineering school and worked as an engineering consultant for a Fortune 100 company. Mark C. Hobbs holds an MBA from Baylor University and worked as a financial consultant for Deloitte & Touche. Rod Squires was an accountant for a top-five accounting firm prior to his successful trial practice. Scott H. James holds an MBA and was the CEO of a multi-chain statewide retail company. Our attorneys continue to deepen their experience by serving on boards of nonprofit and for-profit companies.

In-House Expertise

For assistance in planning for long-term care expenses, our team includes John Wessler, a Registered Investment Advisory owner, who has been helping families qualify for Medicaid and VA long-term care benefits for over 10 years. John also helps clients to plan in advance to protect assets in the event of a future need for skilled nursing care.

Our Partnerships

We work closely with individuals and businesses to come up with long-term solutions that add value. Often, we work alongside engineers, accountants and financial or wealth advisors to serve the broader needs of individuals, families or businesses. Our relationships with other professionals are key to ensuring that our clients’ broader needs are served. We also receive referrals from many lawyers because of our reputation for working with some of the best engineers, accountants, wealth managers and doctors in the country. There are no shortcuts to success in the boardroom or the courtroom and when we have the privilege of representing a client, we have one approach — bring in the best.

Peer Recognition

Other lawyers recognize the value that we bring to our clients. Our attorneys have been recognized by their peers as among the top lawyers in Texas in their respective practice areas. In 2013, Rod Squires was named to the Texas Super Lawyers list and Ryan C. Johnson was named to the Texas Super Lawyers – Rising Stars lists. And in 2014, all three founding partners were included in the Texas Super Lawyers list, with Scott H. James and Ryan C. Johnson included in the Rising Stars list of top attorneys in Texas under the age of 40. Scott H. James has also been named to the Texas Super Lawyers – Rising Stars list eight times (2007-2009, 2011-2015).

Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selections were based on a statewide evaluation by other lawyers. No more than 2.5 percent of all Texas attorneys were selected for this honor.

Our Business Model

Our clients hire us to solve problems and achieve positive results. Most firms in Central Texas are focused solely on billing clients for hours worked. Law firms have been working this way for fifty years and change is hard. And when it is the most effective approach, we do bill certain projects on an hourly basis. But billing and paying for legal work by the hour is a dying model. We find that most of our clients want to pay for results, not for hours. So we often work by retainer or on a flat-fee basis, giving families and businesses some level of cost certainty. In order to add value, we need open and constant communication with the client and that is often difficult when clients are worried about the cost of every phone call. In litigation, we prefer to work on a contingency-fee basis so that our effort pays only if we win. When we share the expense and are paid for winning, our interests are aligned with the client.

Technology

Over the past five years, the use of technology in the legal industry has exploded – from electronic filing to use of the iPad in the courtroom and boardroom. Nevertheless, many law firms still use outdated technology, or none at all, and are behind the curve. Cherry Johnson Siegmund James LLC is committed to using the latest technology to better communicate with clients and the courts and to make document preparation, review and storage efficient and less costly.

Cherry Johnson Siegmund James LLC is committed to running a paperless office. Upon receipt, client documents are immediately encrypted, saved and backed up on secure, off-site servers. At other law firms, client paperwork is easily misplaced and attorneys and staff waste valuable time handling paperwork. Not here. Going paperless means secure access to client files from anywhere, anytime, freeing up our attorneys to spend their time focused on accomplishing your objectives.

Call us today at (254) 732-2242 to request a free consultation.