Who We Are

• Overview
• Client Service
• Diversity
• Pro Bono
• Community Responsibility
• Women's
  Initiative
• Culture
• Billing
  Philosophy
• Careers

Billing Philosophy

Gordon & Rees was founded in 1974 by two lawyers who wanted to create a new law firm that would set new benchmarks in the legal profession for the fair and respectful treatment of both clients and employees. The 1970s were very challenging economic times, and opening a new law firm was a risk, but those challenging economic times turned out to be a lasting advantage for the firm, and its clients. The combination of the difficult economy and the founders' client-focused approach resulted in a business model that enables the firm to deliver the best possible results at a price that continues to be 30-40% lower than other firms. While our client-friendly rate structure provides a definite financial benefit to clients, we know that it is just as important, if not more so, to back-up our reasonable rates with a Billing Philosophy that embodies the same principles of fairness and respect for clients.

Gordon & Rees's Billing Philosophy is simple:

Transparency

Our invoices explain exactly what we did, which lawyer or staff member provided the service, the time it took to complete the service, and at what cost. We understand that a client's confidence in our work is directly impacted by the client's confidence in the truthfulness, accuracy, and appropriateness of our billing. We stand behind our bills as proudly as we stand behind our service and results.

Fairness

We do not overcharge for anything, nor do we charge for items that represent the daily operational costs of running a law firm, such as word processing, secretarial overtime, standard letter postage, and electronic database charges for routine legal research. Advanced technologies we utilize to serve clients is also provided at no charge, such as providing secure client-specific extranets and using smartphones/cell phones to facilitate our accessibility and responsiveness to clients. We also do not charge clients for activity relating to the training of our lawyers, and we do not overwork matters. Most importantly, we put the right person on the job, assuring that the lowest cost lawyer or staff member with the highest necessary skills and experience is assigned to cost-effectively complete each task.

Value and Success

We measure our success the same way clients measure our value - was the cost of the result worth it? We regularly debrief with clients to analyze the cost of hiring Gordon & Rees and the cost of the result, whether it be a court's decision, a jury's verdict, a mediator's ruling, a negotiated settlement, or a completed business transaction. We do not measure our success by how much we raise our rates, how high we get our invoices, or how many nickels and dimes we squeeze from our clients. Our milestones of success are not measured by our fees; our success determined by our clients' satisfaction with our results and our cost.

Long-Term Client Relationships

The future of Gordon & Rees depends on developing and maintaining long-term client relationships - relationships that result in clients engaging us for additional work and clients referring us to business associates. Gordon & Rees is privileged to have many clients who have been with the firm since our founding, as well as new clients that join us every day. We are proud to have a Billing Philosophy based on fairness, respect, and, most importantly, upholding our commitment to operate and manage our firm in a fiscally conservative manner that will continue to enable us to live up to our promise of providing client-friendly rate structures for e very long-term client relationship.