Lawyers on their own -The Law Center opens doors to independence for Missoula attorneys

There’s now an alternative in Missoula for attorneys who’d like to set up their own practice but lack start-up capital.

By MICK HOLIEN of the Missoulian

The fourth floor of the historic Florence Building has been transformed into managed office space for independent attorneys.

And renting space at The Law Center comes with a myriad of other technological facilities and services geared to free its occupants from mundane responsibilities.

It allows attorneys who have an office in the 7,000-square-foot confines to spend their time seeing their clients and doing the work of lawyering, said Teri Wellings, the facility’s director.

"It’s a very professional atmosphere. We have tremendous people here all ready to just jump through hoops to help these attorneys, to service these men and women," she said about the concept, which is unique in Montana. "If they’re successful, we’re going to be successful."

Opened in September, The Law Center was developed by the Attorneys Liability Protection Society, a burgeoning firm initially opened by Bob Minto to sell malpractice insurance to lawyers.

"He’s just full of great ideas," said Wellings. "This is his vision and his concept."

Founded in 1988, ALPS has about 10,000 clients, nearly 80 employees and now is a multimillion-dollar operation. It also provides investment management for attorneys and has a general insurance business.

The facility on the fourth floor of the Florence – where Rock Hudson used to stay in a room on the northeast corner overlooking Higgins Avenue when he visited Missoula – features high-end furnishings and an array of technological services.

Monte Jewell, one of three attorneys renting a 10-foot by 12-foot furnished executive office, researched the most cost-effective way to set up his own office when moving to Missoula from Butte and said The Law Center was by far the best option.

"One of the big challenges is start-up capital and I was coming right off this nonprofit job. As I continued to do research it kind of floated to the top as this undiscovered opportunity," he said. "This gives you a chance to have a professional office at a pretty high caliber, licensed software, top-of-the-line equipment and top-of-the-line staff in what would otherwise be a nontraditional atmosphere."

While the autonomy that comes with hanging out a shingle is attractive for any lawyer, said Jewell, start-up solo practitioners are mindful they have to avoid any negative perceptions: "You run the risk of stigma of a down-scale operation," he said.

"Perception is everything," added Wellings. "I think that because of the appearance of The Law Center … clients coming in view them as successful attorneys, solo practitioners, even if they’re a new solo practice."

While furnishings, including telephone, collateral materials and office supplies are included, there’s also legal and research assistance available.

"The quality of client contact goes up and if there has to be face-to-face time, you’ve got a comfortable place to have it," said Jewell. "I’ve been pretty excited about it."

The Law Center also has five conference rooms for mediation, a case-preparation room and a room set up for video or teleconferencing.

"It’s a huge thing for an attorney to sit down and be able to have a video conference," said Wellings, who moved here recently from Florida where she’s been involved in legal management for years.

A reception secretary also is part of the agreement. Financial and accounting services also are available and when mail and faxes are received, they’re scanned into individually secured databases; the hard copy then is forwarded to each attorney.

"They can spend 99 percent of their time practicing and billing and we are the ones that are supporting and servicing them," said Wellings.

"Professionalism has been their highest aspiration and that’s crucial," said Jewell. "As long as I think that’s there then I’m going to be here."

Two suites in the Law Center are available to visiting attorneys, which gives them an option other than working out of a hotel room.

"We’ve had a lot of interest from outside from people who were coming into federal court," said Wellings, adding the U.S. District Court docket is researched to determine who might be in need of the center’s services.

Contacts have come from as far away as Colorado and North Carolina.

A fourth attorney is due at The Law Center shortly and other proposals are out on the street, said Wellings. In all, 15 offices are available, although she’d like to have 10 full-time attorneys and five part-time occupants.

"I’ve had the time to actually work on the legal end of what I’m supposed to do. I’m not having to do things that are administrative, support kind of tasks," said Jewell, sitting in front of a file drawer of cases that have been scanned into his computer and made available for remote access.

Currently the center has four full-time employees, including Tina Sunderland, who sits on the state’s paralegal board, and one consultant and there’s no shortage of qualified help.

"They’re out there," said Wellings of potential employees. "People have called us. We’re excited as we grow we’re going to have a great staff."

Although Wellings wouldn’t be specific, she said if the concept takes off there’s possibility of satellite offices or similar operations.

Also available at The Law Center are the subsidiary corporate services offered by ALPS.

Wellings said each attorney strikes an individualized contract with The Law Center; she declined to say what the current occupants are paying. But she said the center is affordable, especially when compared to the costs of establishing a solo practice, which she estimated at $20,000 to $30,000 a year.

"It’s very cost-effective," she said. "People don’t realize how comparable we are in the market and how much money we can actually save solo practitioners."

And it’s more than just start-up costs, she said, that make The Law Center attractive. There’s no payroll and accompanying insurance costs, monthly rent or other expenses.

"We can prove that we can save them money," said Wellings. "They can step off an elevator and walk into an office and start practicing law."

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